Cyberchondria: The dark side of digital body measurement

However, one should be aware that the measurements are error-prone. The saying “numbers don’t lie” doesn’t always apply here, says sociologist Stefanie Duttweiler, professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, in the “Apotheken Umschau”. For example, if you lie in bed breathing shallowly at night, the sleep tracker may still measure that you are asleep. Because the tool reacts to movements. The devices also differ in their performance.

Promotes stress and anxiety

The use of digital devices and information from the Internet can even increase the fear of illness. Anyone who is constantly evaluating and observing data may only fuel existing fears that something is wrong even more. Experts have now even given the phenomenon its own name: cyberchondria, a term that combines the words hypochondria (fear of disease) and cyber (for digital media).



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.