A half-moon on my skin: a memoir on life with an activity tracker

Abstract

Experiential computing shifts the focus of IS research on how humans encounter information technologies in everyday life. For this, it invites explorations on the role of the body and its affective propulsions as the locus of human experience. I argue, in this article, that this embodied perspective, studied through the lens of enchanted materialism (Bennett in The enchantment of modern life: attachments, crossings, and ethics. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2001), needs to be combined with an alternative writing genre to fruitfully explore life in experiential computing. It is for this reason that I present my research as a memoir on the use of wearables – an instantiation of the Internet of Things – in everyday life. The aim is to show that, when studying emerging technologies, an open-ended non-fictional genre like the memoir can produce astute and imaginative insights that may be as informative as traditional academic writing. The memoir produces a thick description of the way people interact with digital devices in experiential computing; their expectations and the subsequent effort to entangle the data in their daily lives. This way, it problematises current organising visions of a data-driven life. I conclude the article with reflections on the contribution that enchanted materialism makes to information systems, as well as the memoir’s potential for academic research.

Keywords:

• memoir
• human body
• experiential computing
• enchanted materialism
• wearables
• Internet of Things

Special Issue Guest Editors: Michel Avital, Lars Mathiassen, and Ulrike Schultze.

Special Issue Guest Editors: Michel Avital, Lars Mathiassen, and Ulrike Schultze.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Ulrike Schultze, Special Issue Editor, for her critical observations and helpful suggestions throughout the review process. I would also like to thank Aletta Norval, David Bek, Nick Henry, Nancy Pouloudi, and three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments in previous versions of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elpida Prasopoulou

About the Authors

Elpida Prasopoulou is Research Development Executive for the Centre for Business in Society (CBiS), Coventry University (UK). Her research examines digital innovation focusing on three interrelated aspects of the phenomenon: user experiences in cyber-physical spaces; inclusive innovation with the engagement of users qua citizens; and, the historical development of information infrastructures. Elpida holds a PhD in Information Systems from the Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece). She held research positions both in academia (LSE, University of Essex) and industry (Open Data Institute).