Wearable devices: tracking your every step may not make you happier

Self-tracking apps and devices allow us to monitor our behaviour, but we should be cautious in expecting them to drive improvements in our wellbeing

"Fitter, happier, more productive" is a cynical line even by Radiohead's standards. But the band's song, released in 1997, did manage to predict the near future: an explosion of apps and wearable devices devoted to monitor people's lives with the purpose of boosting self-control and suppressing naughty habits. This movement, referred to as the quantified self, revolves around enhancing self-knowledge through numbers, in particular data capturing our everyday behaviours, habits and activities.

As the Economist noted when the trend began to make waves, its users "are an eclectic mix of early adopters, fitness freaks, technology evangelists, personal-development junkies, hackers and patients suffering from a wide variety of health problems. What they share is a belief that gathering and analysing data about their everyday activities can help them improve their lives - an approach known as self-tracking, body hacking or self-quantifying."