The temporal flows of self-tracking: checking in, moving on, staying hooked
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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The temporal flows of self-tracking : checking in, moving on, staying hooked. / Lomborg, Stine; Thylstrup, Nanna ; Schwartz, Julie.
In: New Media & Society, Vol. 20, No. 12, 2018, p. 4590–4607.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The temporal flows of self-tracking
T2 - checking in, moving on, staying hooked
AU - Lomborg, Stine
AU - Thylstrup, Nanna
AU - Schwartz, Julie
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - This article conceptualizes the experience of self-tracking as flow, a central technique, utilized by digital media companies to hook their users. We argue the notion of flow is valuable for understanding both the temporal lock-ins of self-tracking practices in sequences and repetition, and the way self-tracking technologies thrive on data sequences for retaining users and creating viable businesses. To substantiate this, we present a qualitative empirical study of how users experience flow when tracking various aspects of their personal lives. Users find self-tracking technology and the metrics they generate to have much more limited relevance and thus guide their attention elsewhere. If they are hooked, they are so in ways different from those projected by the technology. Users find meaning in their self-tracking in moments of registration, allocution, consultation and conversation, but also problematize their attachment to specific temporal tracking regimes.
AB - This article conceptualizes the experience of self-tracking as flow, a central technique, utilized by digital media companies to hook their users. We argue the notion of flow is valuable for understanding both the temporal lock-ins of self-tracking practices in sequences and repetition, and the way self-tracking technologies thrive on data sequences for retaining users and creating viable businesses. To substantiate this, we present a qualitative empirical study of how users experience flow when tracking various aspects of their personal lives. Users find self-tracking technology and the metrics they generate to have much more limited relevance and thus guide their attention elsewhere. If they are hooked, they are so in ways different from those projected by the technology. Users find meaning in their self-tracking in moments of registration, allocution, consultation and conversation, but also problematize their attachment to specific temporal tracking regimes.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Feedback loops
KW - flow
KW - meaning-making
KW - record keeping
KW - self-tracking in everyday life
KW - temporality
U2 - 10.1177/1461444818778542
DO - 10.1177/1461444818778542
M3 - Journal article
VL - 20
SP - 4590
EP - 4607
JO - New Media & Society
JF - New Media & Society
SN - 1461-4448
IS - 12
ER -
ID: 195960985