Meaning, motive and reconfiguration: could Activity Theory provide design directions for personal fitness technology?

Gomer, Richard and schraefel, m.c. (2021) Meaning, motive and reconfiguration: could Activity Theory provide design directions for personal fitness technology? Body as Starting Point 4: CHI2021 Workshop on inbodied interaction, Online. 11 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

This paper reflects on how Activity Theory might be applied to suggest new design directions for technology that aims to support and promote personal health objectives like fitness or weight loss. We draw on interviews with people who have established fitness practices (running or cycling) and those who use devices like the Fitbit in order to understand how Activity Theory concepts can help to explain aspects of their practice. We draw on existing work in Activity Theory to suggest two new frames. First, an action-meaning frame that encourages us to consider the meaningful motives behind an activity, and to situate in-the-moment instrumental motivation within that meaningful context, second, a cultural-historical frame that encourages us to consider the historicity of personal healthful activity – where our activities came from – and the possible future activities that current activities could be reconfigured into. We suggest possible design approaches – such as designing in support of the ‘activity formation process’ itself, as promising avenues for future research.

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