10.26180/5c0df62e0c9d9 Ben Lyall Ben Lyall Brady Robards Brady Robards Tool, toy and tutor: Subjective experiences of digital Self-tracking Monash University 2018 communications technology wearables self-tracking Quantified Self consumption visualisations Qualitative Investigation digital technology Sociology 2018-12-10 05:27:31 Journal contribution https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Tool_toy_and_tutor_Subjective_experiences_of_digital_Self-tracking/7441973 (2018)<i> Journal of Sociology </i>54(1)<br><br>Since the advent of the smartphone, users have become accustomed to alerts, notifications and reminders to interact with their internet-connected devices. But how do people make sense of prompts to exercise, eat or sleep? Digital self-tracking is a phenomenon that has grown substantially in recent years. However, despite some notable exceptions, there is still little sociological research into how users of wearable devices and apps subjectively experience self-tracking. This article draws on findings from a small qualitative study with 11 participants to reveal eminent themes in how users make sense of their self-tracking. Utilising and extending Lupton’s theorising of self-tracking, we argue for triple roles of self-tracking devices; ‘tool’, ‘toy’ and ‘tutor’. This trichotomy helps to characterise the use of self-tracking devices and apps, allowing us to reflect on the wider, ongoing implications of self-tracking.