The main objective of this project is to understand whether the use of wearables produces changes in the individuals’ body image and perception. As there is a growing debate in self-tracking literature about the possibility that body representations may be affected by activity tracker use, the study will empirically investigate this point by focusing on two constructs: body image and body awareness. We will apply a mixed-method design approach: first, participants will be asked to complete a set of standardized questionnaires before and after a 3-month period of wearable use; then, in-depth interviews will be conducted on a sub-sample of participants to better understand the underlying dynamics.
Project Leaders: Arianna Boldi (University of Torino)
UNIL Collaborators: Marc-Olivier Boldi, Alessandro Silacci, Mauro Cherubini, Kévin Huguenin
External Collaborators: Amon Rapp (University of Torino), Maurizio Caon (HEG-FR)
Publication
Arianna Boldi, Alessandro Silacci, Marc-Olivier Boldi, Mauro Cherubini, Maurizio Caon, Noé Zufferey, Kévin Huguenin, & Amon Rapp. (2023). Exploring the impact of commercial wearable activity trackers on body awareness and body representations : A mixed-methods study on self-tracking. Computers in Human Behavior, 108036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.108036
