The Digital Health Self: Wellness, Tracking, and Social Media

(Quantified Societies & Selves Series) Hardcover – 30 May 2023 PRE-ORDER HERE

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This is a detailed analysis of how understandings of health management past, present

and future has transformed in the digital age. Since the mid-20th century, we have

witnessed ‘healthy’ lifestyles being pushed as part of health promotion strategies, both

via the state, and through health tracking tools, and narratives of wellness online. This

marks a seismic shift from a public welfare state responsibility for health towards

individualised practices of digital self-care. Today health has become representative

of ‘lifestyle corrections' which is performed on social media. Putting the spotlight on

neoliberalism and digital technology as pervasive tools that dictate wellness as a moral

obligation, Rachael Kent critically analyses how users navigate relationships between

self-tracking technologies, social media, and everyday health management.

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• HEAT Magazine (2022) 'Is Fit-Tech Ruining Your Health'

• Women and Home Magazine (2022) 'Are You an Internet Addict'

• The Daily Mail(2022) 'Apple Face Courtroom Showdown'

• The Independent(2022)'Apple Facing full trial over anti-competitive App Store claims'

• Health and Wellbeing Magazine(2022)'How to Spring Clean Your Scroll'

• MixMag(2022)‘Have You Got Rave Fatigue – Why we’re all so tired after lockdown’ 

• The Innovation Group: Innovating Business and Organisations Through ICT (2022) ‘Lockdown and post-pandemic stress, how to get out of it’

• Business Community Magazine (2022)‘Five Tips to Combine Smart-Working and Wellbeing’

• Start-Up Italia(2022) ‘How to Break with Smartphone & co’

• Metro UK(2021) 'How to Stop Mindless Scrolling'

• The Independent 'What happens psychologically when we're cut off from social media'

• Stylist Magazine (June 2021) 'Re-entry Fatigue: Feeling extra tired post-lockdown? Here to boost your energy' 

• Metro UK 2021 'How to make your phone habits healthier following lockdown'

• The Independent 2021 '1/3 People are addicted to their phones, here's how to break up with your device'

• The Independent 2021 'Facebook will finally remove false vaccine claims, including that jabs cause autism'

• Metric Life 2020 'COVID-19, Toxic Productivity & Technology Overload: Our New Visceral Digital Life'

• Metro Newspaper 2020 'Lockdown 2.0: Staying the Course'

• Metro UK 2020 'Bullying, eating disorders and death, the dark side of a decade of Instagram, 

• Forbes Magazine 2020 'Should we all social media detox after the pandemic'

• Spotlight on COVID-19 2020 Investigating COVID-19's Effect on Digital Behaviour, King's College London Arts & Humanities Research

• The Know Show Episode 2020: 'The Impact of COVID-19 on Communication & Socialising'