[View the story "Cheating the machine " on Storify ]Cheating the machine Fitness application users find creative ways to fabricate their results before publishing them on social media. Storified by AJAMStream · Thu, Feb 20 2014 12:54:26
As the popularity of fitness wearables rises , the pressures ofkeeping up appearances on social media have pushed some users to exaggeratetheir outcomes before sharing with their online followers. Newer social media features are inspiring dialogue through engagements on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Users can post or tweet words of encouragement or motivation, compare workout results and use peer pressure to achieve their fitness goals.
Below, a Fitbit user shows the many ways he is able to 'hack' his step stats:
How to hack your Fitbitmihaiomega
The online community shared some of the ways in which they cheat their fitness apps below:
Bit of a lazy day so I had to cheat or risk breaking my streak #nikefuel http://t.co/Sn7lotG8AWThe Jonus
If you want to cheat with your @fitbit stats, you'd have better luck attaching it to a labrador. http://t.co/0bH27WKR8MR. Sowards-Emmerd
One way to get @NikeFuel while sitting on your bum? Play the drums for the Beatles (Rock Band reality only)! #cheatLilly Gallafent
According to the
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the market for fitness applications and other wearable technology will
exceed $1.5 billion this year, a 35 percent hike from 2013. Fitness technology like the
Fitbit ,
Jawbone and
Nike+ are leading the way, having just
released new versions of their products with more social features last year. Just this week, Apple
announced a plan to create a headphone system that targets health and fitness.
Below, a Fitbit user attaches the device to her dog, hoping her fitness stats won't diminish after a day without exercising:
It's cool to use your dog to cheat your @fitbit right? Laziest. Day. Ever. #fitbitinstagram.com
Apps like Fitbit provides even more options than just posting messages on social media. Fitbit's website
allows users to send each other a "Cheer" or a "Taunt". According to Fitbit's senior product manager, Nichiketa Choudary, users "tend to send more cheers than they do taunts, so it does tilt towards positive encouragement."
As fitness goals and results become more visible, there has been a rise in competition among users.
Strava , an online social network for athletes, allows users to compete against one another's GPS timings during certain segments of their ride. Last year, the app sparked a rivalry between users who claim some competitors were using a plugin known as
DigitalEPO to manipulate their GPS data. The plugin claims to "juice" rides by speeding up the stats that are uploaded through the app.
Below, Nike+ users compete during a run:
blog.zco.com
In an interview with The Stream, Dr.
Lisa Firestone , a psychologist, said, "The person who will cheat the machine is someone who is very self-critical." She went on to say that those who cheat do so to create a "façade of self esteem." Once you say you've achieved something, you have to keep living up tothat achievement. "The next week has to be even better."
With the newer gadgets, it's not as easy to wave around your arm to get extra Nike Fuel points, for example. Better sensors are making it more
difficult to cheat with wristbands and other wearable technology. But users still manage to find ways to manipulate their results.
Have you tried to outsmart your wearable fitnessgadget? If so, tell us why?
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