Self-tracking and the quantification of health and fitness
Tuesday, Dec 02, 2025
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Lecture by:
Jonathan Finn
As part of the ‘quantified self’ movement, self-tracking has become a dominant practice within contemporary health and fitness. GPS-based watches and other wearables from companies including Garmin, Apple and Fitbit pair with hundreds of self-tracking apps and enable users to upload, display and analyze their activity data. There are clear benefits to the use of self-tracking in health and fitness including increased motivation, enhanced goal-setting, and personal accountability. There are also areas of concern such as privacy violations, surveillance, and feelings of inadequacy. This paper offers a critical examination of self-tracking, with a specific focus on what it means to quantify health and fitness.
About Jonathan Finn
Jonathan Finn
Dr. Jonathan Finn is Professor of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier. He is the author of Beyond the Finish Line: Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish (McGill-Queen’s, 2020) and Capturing the Criminal Image: From Mugshot to Surveillance Society (Minnesota, 2009) and editor of Visual Communication and Culture: Images in Action (Oxford 2012). His current research project is funded by the SDr. Jonathan Finn is Professor of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier. He is the author of Beyond the Finish Line: Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish (McGill-Queen’s, 2020) and Capturing the Criminal Image: From Mugshot to Surveillance Society (Minnesota, 2009) and editor of Visual Communication and Culture: Images in Action (Oxford 2012). His current research project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and is an examination of self-tracking in health and fitness with a focus on endurance sport.ocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and is an examination of self-tracking in health and fitness with a focus on endurance sport.