A few years ago I wore an oura ring, it was a grand device, of which I am very grateful. I learned a lot about my sleep the impact of food and alcohol on my body, my sleep and from that it wasn’t long before I was off alcohol completely.
Devices like these have a great purpose, but with them comes the likelihood of overconsumption of their benefits.
The makers would love us to wear them forever, fall in love with them and optimise ourselves endlessley. For a subscription of course.
Why did I stop wearing mine? Was it when the newest version came with a subscription? Not specifically but it came at a point when I realised that I had learned enough — for now — and that the living didn’t need to be in monitoring every minute of it.
The same with CGM (continuous Glucose monitoring). I use one periodically to get a good handle on what is occurring within my body, but I am not a Type 1 Diabetic, who does rely on the data to stay alive, and the looking at data regularly I found to detract from the actuality of being alive.
Yes I want to learn and understand about how things impact me, to use the science to improve my life, but I don’t wish to be over-optimised on everything all the time. Then we’re nothing more than machines.
You can see plenty of people learning nothing from the devices they wear, simply by observing their habits, so at that point such devices are merely accessories. Which is the other use of them, to help one be part of a ‘group’.
There’s so many things the digital age has us optimising, but in it, I don’t think we’ve uncovered the secret of happiness, or life itself. Just another form of distraction that distances us from others, that engages us in another digital thing, to capture and entrap our free thought.
Maybe, you don’t have to optimise everything about your life. Not every minute at least. Some of living is in the act, even flawed.
