7 ms·

Why do people give their health data to Silicon Valley corporations? I just don't get it. Didn't people train before the advent of "smart" watches?

toomuchredbull 6y ago
I actually have the opposite complaint. I would like my doctor to have access to info from my Apple Watch. Certainly I trained before a smart watch but I didn't necessarily know how fast I was going, if my metrics (like v02 max) were improving, how its affecting my heart, etc. Why would I care if Tim Cook could theoretically look up my resting bpm?
- angelbar 6y ago
  Insurance?.... Job seeking?....
- mrkeen 6y ago
  Substitute 'Tim Cook' for 'law enforcement', 'theoretically' for 'warrantless fishing expedition', 'resting bpm' for 'location' & 'known associates' & 'search terms' & 'browser history'.
  - bootlooped 6y ago
    Those things seem more related to smartphones than smart watches.
    - angrais 6y ago
      Your smartphone is a sensing devices that can record medical and fitness measures. So it is important to raise alongside a wristband
- moistbar 6y ago
  > Why would I care if Tim Cook could theoretically look up my resting bpm? Because a company can tie the timestamp of your BPM reading to your activity on your phone/desktop/what have you and judge your emotional response to whatever you're doing at the time. Psychotic as this may sound, it opens the door for a lot of particularly Orwellian mass surveillance under the guise of targeted ads. They wouldn't be knowing just what you do or buy, they'd know how you feel about it too.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  In the future you could have a hard time getting insurance, because they bought that data and can tell you’re going to require expensive care soon.
nradov 6y ago
Some of the largest players in the fitness tracker market such as Garmin, Suunto, Samsung, and Coros are hardly "Silicon Valley" companies. Sure it's possible to train without a smart watch, but having one makes it much easier to follow a structured training program, measure your progress, and share data with coaches and friends. Didn't people travel before the advent of the "wheel"?
anonuser123456 6y ago
I trust Apple over Epic. Hell, I trust Apple over my doctor.

toomuchredbull 6y ago

I actually have the opposite complaint. I would like my doctor to have access to info from my Apple Watch. Certainly I trained before a smart watch but I didn't necessarily know how fast I was going, if my metrics (like v02 max) were improving, how its affecting my heart, etc. Why would I care if Tim Cook could theoretically look up my resting bpm?

angelbar 6y ago
Insurance?.... Job seeking?....
mrkeen 6y ago
Substitute 'Tim Cook' for 'law enforcement', 'theoretically' for 'warrantless fishing expedition', 'resting bpm' for 'location' & 'known associates' & 'search terms' & 'browser history'.
- bootlooped 6y ago
  Those things seem more related to smartphones than smart watches.
  - angrais 6y ago
    Your smartphone is a sensing devices that can record medical and fitness measures. So it is important to raise alongside a wristband
moistbar 6y ago
> Why would I care if Tim Cook could theoretically look up my resting bpm? Because a company can tie the timestamp of your BPM reading to your activity on your phone/desktop/what have you and judge your emotional response to whatever you're doing at the time. Psychotic as this may sound, it opens the door for a lot of particularly Orwellian mass surveillance under the guise of targeted ads. They wouldn't be knowing just what you do or buy, they'd know how you feel about it too.
tinus_hn 6y ago
In the future you could have a hard time getting insurance, because they bought that data and can tell you’re going to require expensive care soon.

nradov 6y ago

Some of the largest players in the fitness tracker market such as Garmin, Suunto, Samsung, and Coros are hardly "Silicon Valley" companies. Sure it's possible to train without a smart watch, but having one makes it much easier to follow a structured training program, measure your progress, and share data with coaches and friends. Didn't people travel before the advent of the "wheel"?

anonuser123456 6y ago

I trust Apple over Epic. Hell, I trust Apple over my doctor.