The Fit Bit- A Cultural Phenomenon

– The Fit Bit is a common piece of jewelry worn by many Americans today regardless of age, race, and class.  It showcases a culture who wants to be fit and healthy, look good, and compete with one another.  The Fit Bit is a way to feel healthier even if you engage in mild exercise.   You can join social groups with step goals, and communicate with other people on your fitness goals.  The media images that are portrayed in our country give people unreal images of beauty and fitness.  Most people want to fit in to the standards of beauty our culture has laid out for us.  The Fit Bit is a quick and easy fix to make you feel you are meeting your exercise needs.

I was completely uninterested in the Fit Bit at first.  I was given one for my 34th birthday and it sat in the box for over a year.  I was very hesitant to even put it on.  I did not need a device to tell me when to move and when to be still.  I did not need my text messages vibrating at my wrist as soon as they were received.  What I did need was a watch to keep me on schedule during my busy teaching days.  I broke my Fit Bit out of the box, charged it and put it on.  I liked having a reliable digital time piece that I could count on.  That is until the battery died.  What? I have to charge my watch?  This is when I realized that if this gadget was to be a part of my daily routine, I should use it correctly.  I started to set step goals, and communicate with other coworkers about the fitness and sleep attributes that the device offered.   I am not an avid user, as I still think of it as a watch, but I see that it can occasionally encourage me to take the stairs, or realize I have been sitting for over an hour.   As a society we are looking for quick fixes, and I think the Fit Bit fuels this need.  If I wear my Fit Bit, I will lose weight, be fit and healthy.  If I track my steps, I can control the calories that I burn.  I think these are drastic misconceptions that many people have bought into.  The science of diet and exercise is much more complex than tracking the steps that you take daily.

We want everything smaller, faster, and quicker, and the Fit Bit delivers.  A small device you can wear all day every day that encourages you to exercise.  A constant reminder to move, and be active.  I have been reading articles on Fit Bit and its other competitors and here is one nutritionists opinion:

“We should be pursuing fitness activities not for the sake of pleasing the fitness app and hitting the numbers (nor to share the length of our run in Central Park) but because exercise makes us feel better, look better, and be better.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-dark-side-of-your-fitbit-and-fitness-app

The thought that exercise is just anther data figure to input at the end of the day takes some of the joy out of it.  I do yoga because I like the way I feel after not because my app told me to get up and move.  There is a disconnect in this digitized exercise phenomenon.

http://www.nadeauairservice.com/category/fitness/

Other people view the Fit Bit in very different ways than I do.  For example, when questioning a 65 year old male farmer (John) about the significance of the Fit Bit he shared his strong opinion with me.  John thinks that most technology is useless.  He is wary of “Big Brother” watching and tracking his every move.  He doesn’t even make online purchases for this reason.  John believes that he got enough exercise in a day if his chores are done, and his body is sore.  A gadget on his wrist isn’t going to tell him what or when to do something.  His wife wears a Fit Bit and he thinks this is very silly.  John feels there are more conspiracies involved with the Fit Bit than we need to dive into today.   After talking with John, I figured this cultural view must be shared with other people who are older than my generation.  After talking with several other 65 plus people there is sometimes a mistrust of technology, and a fear of the unknown.  There is also the issue of knowledge on how to use things like the Fit Bit.  Some older people do not have an interest in learning the ways that new technology works.

Another interesting view came from a friend living and working in Spain for fifteen years.  While she is my age, race, and SES, she spent many years living and learning a new culture.  She came home for the summer and asked me why everyone all of a sudden had a Fit Bit.  I never even noticed that everywhere you look people are wearing some sort of fitness tracking app.  She says this is not the case in Spain, and she didn’t realize it was such a phenomenon in America.  She asked why this happened and when, and it occurred to me that I had no answer for either.  I never considered why so many people are connected to this fitness craze until I started to look at the cultural aspects.  We are a culture obsessed with size and looks.  Fit people are treated differently than unfit people.  If only we put so much stock into our health, instead of our looks.

Gender, race, sexuality and socioeconomic status all play a role in the interpretation of the fit bit.  The Fit Bit is a middle class gadget that is affordable, but comes with strings.  You must have a smart phone with apps to keep your Fit Bit up to date.  You must have a charger, and other watch straps to keep it clean.  If you are struggling to buy groceries or transportation you are most likely not in the market for a fitness device.

The Fit Bit seems relatively gender neutral.  There are both styles and colors for men and women, and it can easily be turned into jewelry with the purchase of different straps.  These fitness trackers can even be disguised in a necklace.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-Fitbit-Flex-2-Accessory-Stainless-Steel-Pendant-Magnetic-Necklace-Fashion-For-Fitbit-Flex-2-Fitness/32821059045.html

Sexual orientation seems to be a non issue with this device as well.  It seems that all people desire fit partners and can even compete with partners in exercise battles.  It seems the Fit Bit is universally appealing to those who can afford it, and have an interest in fitness.

So Americans seem obsessed with this fitness gadget phenomenon, and I wonder is it really helping us become a fit country?  According to the website www.getyourfit.com America is not even in the top ten most fit countries.  Monaco is number one, Japan second, Signapore third, Andora fourth, Switzerland fifth, Australia sixth, Italy seventh, France eighth, Spain ninth, and Greece tenth.

In researching feminism and the fitbit I came across some interesting points, mostly summed up by this quote from:

https://fitisafeministissue.com/tag/fitbit/

” there’s the pressure on women to discipline our bodies, to take care of ourselves from the point of view of attaining or maintaining an attractive, thin appearance. From that point of view the Fit Bit and other forms of tracking look like body surveillance tools.”

I think this is a serious disadvantage to anyone struggling with body image.  If your wrist is yelling at you to get up and move, what is that doing to your self talk?  Is it making you feel worthless when you are taking time to sit and relax?  Could it ruin a meal or a quiet moment?  I think it could if you allow it to.

This is a complex issue with many different facets.  I believe that the Fit Bit is a great tool for those who want it to help them get up and get moving.  I think it can be detrimental to those who cannot afford it, or who are negatively affected by body image concerns.  You have to make a personal choice whether a Fit Bit is a priority in your life.  The cultural phenomenon of the Fit Bit is only worth the stock that you personally put into it.  If you believe this device makes you healthier and happier, wear it and use it.  If not, don’t!