Technology has become the forefront of human interaction. Everyone has a cell phone and their heads are usually buried in it. Computers are faster than ever now and your car can now brake on its own (we’ve all seen Ford commercials). When it comes to fitness, technology has taken advantage of people’s sensitivities towards weight loss or even muscle gain, capitalizing on our fears by offering dietary “guidelines” or “exercise recommendations” to help achieve our goals, instead of having to work and think on our own.
Personally, I have an issue with Fitbits. Fitbits, or any other application (app) have become the standard in the fitness world for providing “motivation” and calculating our every move…literally. However, technology can be flawed and motivation shouldn’t come from a device you bought; we are getting too lazy as a people when it comes to thinking about our own.
There is nothing new about seeking motivation to workout. People become motivated, if only for a little, and need a pick me up to get back in; that is where technology took over and cashed in. Fitbits, for example in this piece, calculate every waking moment and even some calculate every sleeping moment leaving humans completely apathetic to their own health. Often, people say the Fitbit keeps them motivated to get to the gym to reach their daily “goal” and this just seems absurd to me.
Technology should not make human beings think less or shut their brains off when it comes to our own health and well-being. First, Fitbits can be fooled and highly inaccurate; any person who owns one knows you can take it off and shake it and it calculates that as steps. Next, if looking in a mirror can’t motivate you to work your ass off in the gym but technology can; then that is truly pathetic. Are we as a people too lazy to actually care and think on our own that we allow technology to do EVERYTHING for us from our meals to our workouts? What’s next? The Fitbit wipes our ass and burps us? If you can’t look in a mirror and say “I can do this,” then I hate to tell you this, but technology certainly will not get you over the hump either.
By letting the Fitbit control your every movement, you will surely become apathic in no time; even the small stuff when it comes to exercising like form which is crucial for your success. Fitbits are even becoming just a fashion statement now by most people than an actual fitness tool used these days; it’s the new craze and “everyone” has to have one but few take it seriously. It’s like YOU people want to throw your money down the drain and those (bad word) who created these great “innovations” are banking on your inability to think and motivate yourself.
How did people work out and survive before Fitbits? What’s interesting about all of this, is as technology has become more advanced, it seems like we as humans have become dumber and lazier than ever. “Let me just type my calories into this app and it can tell me if I can eat again today?” What? How about you eat when you are hungry, work out by researching on your own what to do (and not steal someone else’s workout), and eventually you will succeed.
The body isn’t as simple as a Fitbit makes it out to be. Everyone’s composition and genetics are different and Fitbits don’t analyze everyone individually; they just let you put basic factors of the human composition but those alone won’t help everyone lose weight or achieve their goal; losing weight can for some, be really hard and it takes more to succeed at that goal than purchasing a glorified watch. And should you end up gaining weight or staying the same, who are you going to blame? The Fitbit, because you need a scapegoat when in reality; you just become too reliant and lazy to learn for yourself.
Fitbits were a great idea at the time it was first thought of because technology can be a great tool to aid in fitness success, but now these tools have become a way for us to turn off our brains and let the app do all the work. This goes with any other fitness app on a phone or computer; you can use it as a guide but if you start to live and breathe by it; seek professional help and I don’t mean a trainer.
Take a real interest in your own health because I get it; you are stacked high with family and a job with a boss breathing down your neck, so you really don’t need any more stress in your life but that is life. Besides, people are stronger than they think and often forget to believe in themselves sometimes. Ditch the expensive technology, blast some DMX in the gym and get to work.
