Healthy obsession?
March 18, 2025
Are our smartwatches making us healthier – or just more obsessed?
Our very own Dr Jillian Ryan recently explored the unintended psychological impact of health tech with Broadsheet Media – how the constant tracking of heart rate, steps, and sleep can shift from helpful to harmful.
At Painted Dog Research, we see this all the time: when data changes behaviour, it changes emotions too. If you’ve ever felt your heart rate spike just from checking it, or pushed yourself to hit an arbitrary step goal, you know exactly what we mean.
The behavioural science behind it?
1. Hyper-awareness – tracking creates anxiety around things we never worried about before.
2. Motivation shift – we move from intrinsic (feeling good) to extrinsic (numbers, streaks), which isn’t always sustainable.
3. The observer effect – we behave differently just because we know we’re being measured.
So, what’s the answer? If brands want to nudge behaviour in the right direction, how do they design experiences that empower rather than overwhelm?
You can read the full article here: https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/active/article/health-tech-smart-watch-constantly-knowing-my-heart-rate-bad-me
Photography: Ben Siero