Do preventive health technologies promote or harm consumers' well-being?

Preventive health technologies—such as wrist-worn activity trackers or health and fitness apps—are popular tools for promoting well-being, but new research published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs reveals that consumer engagement with these technologies can be considered a double-edged sword. The study, which involved 30 in-depth interviews with users, found that consumers engage with preventive health technologies based on a variety of health goals—for example, to lose weight, improve performance, monitor data of an enjoyable activity, or acquire a healthy routine. These diverse goals led users to experience different "engagement trajectories.

" For example, some people had increased engagement initially and then reached a stabilization point of engagement, while others had reduced engagement after their initial interest. Still others became obsessive and over-engaged with the technology over time, while others had fluctuating cycles of engagement. Investigators found that consumer engagement with preventive health technologies can have beneficial or detrimental effects on well-being depending on these types of trajectories.

In particular, while these technologies can support healthy routines, they can also lead to compulsive usage, ultimately leading to users' ill-being. "As preventive health technologies become more integrated into our daily lives, it's crucial to understand the factors that lead to over- engagement and ill-being, so that designers of health apps .