Re How the Spies Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fitbit

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Geoff Kuenning <geoff () cs hmc edu>
Date: Mon, Feb 5, 2018 at 5:02 AM
Subject: Re: [IP] Re How the Spies Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fitbit
To: <dave () farber net>


> From: L Jean Camp <ljeanc () gmail com>
...
> To prevent your data being shared by Strava, require seven
> options
> on at least three screens, plus the initial "Choose Enhanced
> Privacy". But "Choose Enhanced Privacy is just a start.
...
> Don't blame the victims!

This is a perfect example of why I try to avoid "the cloud" and
social media.  Seriously, what is the benefit *to me* of telling a
casual acquaintance that I did some random exercise?  Especially
because I'm getting on in years and can't possibly outperform a
22-year-old, and because I don't even have an interest in beating
a person of my own age.

I *do* care about recording my own workouts, for my own benefit.
I downloaded several apps, including Strava, in the hopes that
they would provide features I found useful.  Most expected me to
create an account and upload my data.  Many offered artifically
cheery "encouragements" of the general form "Yay, you burned 23
calories today!  Only 2977 more to go to stop being fat!"  And in
the background, as Jean points out, they wanted to publicize my
activities for no reason except bragging.

I don't need to brag.  I'm getting older and I know I'm slowing
down.  And when I do well compared to myself, that's its own
reward.

So although I completely agree with Jean that the apps are evil
and deliberately misleading, I also have to blame the trendy
desire to broadcast every detail of your life to the world.  I
have friends who literally photograph their dinner and post it to
social media.  Yeah, that's important for me to know.
--
    Geoff Kuenning   geoff () cs hmc edu
    http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~geoff/

Statistics don't bore people, people bore people.



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