Being constantly nagged by health apps is no fun at all
Personal stats gathering can be helpful, a latter day Jiminy Cricket-style conscience promoting better health, but recent innovations suggest these devices risk becoming, at worst, busybodies, and at best, purveyors of the absolutely blinking obvious. Witness the upgraded smart watch which can now tell its wearer they need to dose up on beta carotene, found in brightly coloured vegetables, to improve their antioxidant score. So, essentially, this clever new function on a clever watch tells its clever owner to eat more carrots.
Such redundant advice is in tune with those endlessly repeated announcements at transport hubs ordering passengers to carry water in hot weather, avoid falling over in wet weather, hold the handrail, apply the brakes on the buggy, collect their belongings and please don't smoke, skateboard or attack members of staff.
Worse, some trackers will tell you, without so much as a by your leave, when to start drinking coffee, when to stop drinking coffee, when to go outside to soak up some sun, when to go to bed, when to have a glass of water, when to stand up, when to sit down, etc. Paradoxically, these gadgets are most favoured by alpha-male types who hold a dim view of the nanny state yet submit to being bossed about all day by a cheeky gizmo on their wrist. Go figure.
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