Humanity measures itself: knowing thyself in the age of data through the use of self-tracking apps

Sheffer, H. (2025) Humanity measures itself: knowing thyself in the age of data through the use of self-tracking apps. PhD thesis, University of Reading. doi: 10.48683/1926.00127180

Abstract/Summary

Enabled by smartphones, AI, biometrics, and locative technologies, self-tracking apps allow users to monitor and track an increasing number of personal aspects of their daily lives. Yet this phenomenon is not solely technological—it is rooted in deep-seated ideological structures that shape how people experience their bodies, lives, and environments. This practice-based research critically examines the cultural and personal values embedded in the use of self-tracking apps and their impact on individuals and society. Focusing on the human within this paradigm leads to the following question: What critical perspectives can challenge and re-evaluate the promise of enhancement through self-knowledge as offered by self-tracking apps? The study develops a Zoetrope Methodology, rotating between multiple analytical lenses that, like the spinning pre-cinematic device, weave fragmented theoretical and artistic perspectives into a dynamic understanding of self-tracking practices. Four lines of inquiry are interwoven to form the research: a field study of the phenomenon; a multimedia artistic practice incorporating interviews, interactive installations, video, sound, and both low- and high-tech materials; critical dialogue with, and an expansion of, relevant theoretical frameworks; and an exploration of contemporary artworks that challenge political and cultural structures related to self-tracking apps. Synthesising these approaches, this thesis proposes that self-tracking apps privilege a worldview centred on scientific rationality and quantifiable objectivity, often at the expense of embodied, subjective, and ambiguous ways of knowing. It also demonstrates how these technologies reinforce capitalist ideologies of self-optimisation, performance, and efficiency. In response, I develop an approach I call Beyond Quantification in an attempt to reclaim complexity, uncertainty, and multiplicity as vital dimensions of human experience. Rather than rejecting technology, it reconfigures human engagement with it—treating subjectivity and technological knowledge as equal agents in shaping meaning. Ultimately, this work contributes to reimagining human–technology relations within the broader technological revolution, offering reflective and embodied alternatives to challenge dominant epistemologies of objectivity in digital culture.

Item Type	Thesis (PhD)
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/127180
Identification Number/DOI	10.48683/1926.00127180
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Arts and Communication Design
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