Self-Tracking In American Culture By Deborah Lupton

Growing up in a Vietnamese immigrant household, I learned early on that I would experience things differently than some of my peers. In Vietnamese culture, it is normalized to talk about appearance and weight, unlike in American culture, where the topic of weight is taboo most of the time. However, growing up it was made clear that beauty standards were highly valued by not only my family but in society as well. As a child, I was constantly reminded of how much I ate, how much I weighed, and to always look neat and put together. Although my parents’ intentions were well and normalized in their native country, their constant focus on my appearance had a major impact on my self-esteem and image. As I grew older, my entire focus was making sure

In the article, Lupton explores the rise of the use of technologies to analyze and track personal data such as physical activity, sleep, diet, etc. She argues that self-tracking is not a simple advancement in technology, but mainly reflects on the technological and social trends in the present. Lupton weighs the advantages and disadvantages of self-tracking. Self-tracking encourages some people to better themselves and take care of their health. Many self-tracking apps help their users to make more informed choices. However, Lupton highlights how self-tracking can lead to an obsession with personal data and sets general and narrow definitions of what being healthy is. She mentions that there should be a more critical approach to personal information. By revealing the underlying meaning behind tracking, we can see how self-tracking can be shaped by social and cultural factors not just personal motivation. For example, she states that “[s]elf-tracking is moving from purely personal use to becoming incorporated into many areas of social life and social institutions” (p. 2). She is acknowledging that as personal informatics continues to grow, it becomes more complex and rooted in society and culture (Lupton). As I mentioned in the beginning, personal informatics is the use of technology to track personal information such as weight, calorie intake, habits, behavior, etc. There are numerous apps and websites that can track everything from meals to sobriety. The primary purpose is to help encourage and improve one’s health and well-being. Recently, this form of personal informatics has become a societal norm because of the easy accessibility of these digital tracker apps. My personal experience connected with self-tracking because I used fitness and calorie apps to track my calorie intake as well as my physical activity throughout the day. I used personal informatics to set goals for myself