Self-tracking while doing sport: Comfort, motivation, attention and lifestyle of athletes using personal informatics tools. Issue 140 (August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rapp, Amon; Tirabeni, Lia
• Is Part Of: International journal of human-computer studies. Issue 140(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08
• Subjects: Personal informatics -- Quantified self -- Self-tracking -- Sport -- Elite athletes -- Amateur athletes -- Wearable devices -- Information visualization -- Physical activity -- Activity trackers; Human-machine systems -- Periodicals; Systems engineering -- Periodicals; Human engineering -- Periodicals; Human engineering; Human-machine systems; Systems engineering; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 004.019
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102434
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1071-5819

Abstract

Highlights: We interviewed 30 amateur and elite athletes. We explored what they seek in their trackers and how such trackers affect their internal states. We investigated how sports data are intertwined with lifestyle data. We identified three themes that are relevant for PI design. We outlined considerations for designing PI tools in the sports domain. Abstract: The spread of wearable technologies is paving the way for the mass-scale adoption of self-tracking instruments, which are progressively integrating into different social practices. Among these, sport seems to be a promising domain in which Personal Informatics tools can support individuals in performing their activities and in achieving their situated goals. In this article, we conducted semi-structured interviews with amateur and elite athletes to explore what they seek in their trackers, how such instruments may impact on their "mind", by affecting their motivation and attention during workouts and races, and how sports data are intertwined with other information pertaining to their lifestyle. On the basis of these findings we discussed three themes that may be relevant for Personal Informatics, also proposing a series of implications for design that may help researchers in designing self-tracking tools for sport.