The Digital Era introduces emerging product categories that have evolved around certain habits and concepts. One tendency in the Information Age is recording and storing quantitative and qualitative data based on an individual's life by using lifelogging and activity monitoring devices. Such products, bringing self-observation and autobiographical memory capabilities to an extreme level, have the potential to morph human beings by augmenting and altering their self-understanding through presenting previously non-existent information regarding their lives. The diversity found in this product range is increasing parallel to the growing demand. However, the meaning of these products for human life is rarely discussed. It remains a question whether these personal logs lead to an enriched self-knowledge for their users or not. This study aims to investigate the design principles and the influences of self-tracking products and services on daily life within a socio-technical framework in order to establish a connection between self-tracking by ubiquitous computing devices and the notion of self-concept.

1. SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI

2. Outline
The Digital Era introduces emerging product categories that have evolved
around certain habits and concepts. One tendency in the Information Age is
recording and storing quantitative and qualitative data based on an individual's
life by using ubiquitous computing devices. Such products, bringing
self-observation and autobiographical memory capabilities to an extreme level,
have the potential to morph human beings by augmenting and altering their
self-understanding through presenting previously non-existent information
regarding their lives. The diversity found in this product range is increasing
parallel to the growing demand. However, the meaning of these products for
human life is rarely discussed. It remains a question whether these personal
logs lead to an enriched self-knowledge for their users or not. This thesis aims
to investigate the design principles and the influences of self-tracking
products and services on daily life within a socio-technical framework in order
to establish a connection between self-tracking by ubiquitous computing devices
and the notion of self-concept.
Abstract
CHAPTER 1
What is self-tracking?
CHAPTER 2
Developing design guidelines
for the two main functions of
self-tracking devices
CHAPTER 3
Influences of self-tracking on
the nature of human beings
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

3. Outline
CHAPTER 1
What is self-tracking?
CHAPTER 2
Developing design guidelines
for the two main functions of
self-tracking devices
CHAPTER 3
Influences of self-tracking on
the nature of human beings
1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
CHAPTER2
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

4. 1.1 Definitions of Self-Tracking
1.2 Product Examples
1.3 A Socio-Technical Exploration of
Commercial Self-Tracking Products
CHAPTER1
A Background for Digital Self-tracking
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

5. 11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
“Memory Extender” (Memex) in 1945:
Record and store all information of one’s lifespan and function as a supplement for biological memory
CARPE
(Continuous Archival and
Retrieval of Personal
Experiences):
Aims to continuously
keep a track of daily
activities through a
product
The process of creating an artificial memory
through passively archiving individuals'
life experiences in digital format.
The process of collecting and reflecting on
personal data to regulate and gain an
understanding for one’s own behaviour.
PIM:
(Personal Information
Management)
Organise, retrieve and
control a data network
where every digital
footprint of an
individual is collected
Active participation to reach goals
Health monitoring
Bodily data through biosensors
Principle level goals with ideals
Gamification
Detecting problems and making changes
Defined as “positive technologies”
Claimed to bring insight and self-knowledge
What is Self-Tracking?
Lifelogging Personal Informatics
1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1

6. 11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
1) Recording information automatically through sensors and storing it in a hard disk
2) Retrieving stored information through a software
Self-watching system for life tracking: Stimulation of
muscles, heart beat, walking pace, voice input and
output, miniaturized head-mounted display and
cameras with wireless connections
Visual memory prosthetic
Perception enhancer
Design Guidelines:
Mobility, embodiment, immediacy
Second skin, third eye, second brain
Database with images, audio, documents, web
browsing history, sent and received messages,
phone calls, location data
Design Guidelines:
Associative system instead of hierarchical
Photographic visualizations for easier retrieval
Annotations for their narrative value
Hyperlinks within the archive
Memex vision: Supplementing biological memory
How Do Self-Tracking Devices Work?
WearComp, 1970’s MyLifeBits, 2001
1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1

7. 1) Recording information automatically through sensors and storing it in a hard disk
2) Retrieving stored information through a software
Sensor Types: Accelerometers (felt speed change), GPS (location and
time data), ECG (electrical activity of heart, PPG (optically measuring
pulse), EEG (electrical activity in the brain),GSR (level of sweat showing
distress or arousal), temperature, moisture, sound and light sensors
Product Types: Smart phones, wristbands, lifelogging applications,
smart watches, patches, reality-augmenting glasses, head-mounted
cameras, body-metric textiles, activity monitoring, medical tracking
Software Platforms: Reading information, interpreting data, meaning
making, activating lifelogging devices
How Do Self-Tracking Devices Work?
Commercial Products
1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

8. Discovery of new tools
Interest in data
Triggering events (ex: Health problems)
The desire to hear suggestions
Regarding the Archives:
Temporality is captured and materialized permanently
Seeking timelessness
Evidential value
It is about the act of collecting rather than the collection itself
Immortality: “Mind uploading”
Death drive: Erasing memoirs by burying them into an archive, “decay of aura”
Personal Drives for Keeping Lifelogs
1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

9. 1.1 DEFINITIONS
1.2 EXAMPLES
1.3 FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 1
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Feasibility of enhanced sensor
and storage technologies
Technological determinism:
Technology as an agent for social
change
Push strategies in the market:
Making customers accept
regardless of needs
Pull strategies in the market with
the increasing demand
“Selfie”
A cultural reflection in language
Online communities
Quantified Self (Self-Knowledge
Through Numbers)
Crowdfunded projects
Pebble smart watch, Emotiv
brain tracker
DIY products and forums are
signs of prosumer culture
(proactive consumers)
Surveillance transforming into
voluntary sousveillance
Violation of others’ privacy
Permanent pressure of an open
arrest, an imprisonment
Commercialized data, medical
e-commerce ventures through
health data
“To be forgotten” as a human right
Socio-Technical Extents for the Demand
Economical Social Political

10. 2.1 An Overview Of Self-concept
2.2 Self-observation Through Self-tracking Devices
2.3 Augmenting Autobiographical Memories
Through Lifelogging
2.4 Design Principles For Self-tracking Devices
That Contribute To Self-knowledge
CHAPTER2
The Design Of Digital Self-observation And
Autobiographical Memory Systems
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

11. The Concept of “Self”
Self-Concept
The total sum of beliefs
that people have about
themselves Making the Self-Concept
Content (Self-as-Known)
Structure (Self-as-Knower)
Self-Awareness
Self-focused attention, selective processing and
encoding of self-relevant information about the self
Self-Knowledge
= Self-Description (memories of the past)
= Self-Evaluation (observations towards the future)
Collecting information
Processing data
Lifelogging
Personal Informatics
Selectivity
Self-relevance
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

12. 2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
The Self is An Outcome of...
Physiological and genetic biological processes
Existential conditions of subjective experiences
Social practices that involve interactions with others
The unconscious thought
Conscious, cognitive ways of mentally processing information including:
Memory, thinking, feeling, motivational processes such as personal control and self-regulation
Especially the last category is
directly related with the two
main functions of
self-tracking devices:
Memory and observation

13. Developmental Models of the Self
The Changing Self
Childhood
Factual,
Objective, concrete
Private, intrinsic
Stable
Accurate, true facts
Continuous, linear
Coherent
Unity
Dynamic
Distorted, biased narratives
Shifts, self-seeking
Changing
Multiplicity
Adulthood
Symbolic, meaningful
Subjective, interpretative
Social , context-specific
Consistent
Integrated
Adaptive
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

14. Developing a Sense of Self through Self-Observation
The Rouge Test
The self-directed behaviors of rouge marked infants
towards their own faces instead of the mirrors
showed the existence of self-awareness in infants
through using mirrors
Pictures and videos are
also for increasing
self-awareness by
seeing one’s self
Representational
Tools
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

15. Motives, Methods and Dynamics of Self-Evaluation
Self-Enhancement
Placing one's self in positive
positions
Self-Assessment
Creating accurate representations
of the self
Self-Verification
Maintaining consistency
Self-Improvement
Expanding the self beyond its
current boundaries or limits for
identifying new avenues of
self-expression
Self-Other Distinctions
Separation and individualization
Private-Social Selves
Referential processing
Public judgments
Socially desirable responses
Self-blame, decreased motivation
Past-Present-Future Selves
Struggle with current self
Based on personal values
Abstract and strong distant goals
Actual-Desired Selves
Hierarchical goals for an ideal self
Self-Regulation
The overall process of
behavioural control through;
Self-observation,
Judgmental processes and
Self-response
Self-regulation is directly
connected to self-tracking
devices for observing,
assessing and acting upon
the self.
Motives Methods Dynamics 2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

16. Motives, Methods and Dynamics of Self-Evaluation
Perceptual Control Theory (PCT)
Hierarchical organization for goals
Parallel, simultaneous processing
Emotions, mental control, behavioral guides, attention Construal Level Theory (CLT)
Motivation for abstract goals are higher
Personal values are involved
Require deliberate focus
Motivation for concrete goals are lower
Personal values are less involved
Easier to achieve with no focus
ACT ACT
BE
DO
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

17. Self-Regulation as a Feedback Cycle
Cybernetics
Self-Regulation
Information Processes
The science of communication and
control that studies abstract princi-
ples of organization in complex
systems, where information, mod-
els and controlled actions steer
towards purposes, while counter-
acting various disturbances.
1) Defining:
Goals or behavioral standards
TOTE (Test-Operate-Test-Exist)
Test: Comparison of the existing
state to desired state
Operation: Action process where
existing state is altered
Test: Comparing until existing and
desired states are equals
Exit: End sequences according to
the outcome of the loop
2) Regulating:
Actions in respect to the goals
TOTE
Self-Awareness Theory
The consciousness of the lack of
compatibility between existing
and desired states result in
reducing one’s self-awareness.
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

18. The Observer’s Presence in a Feedback Cycle
Second-Order Cybernetics
The role of the observer in the construction of
systems
Observer;
is not neutral and detached
has assumptions
changes the results of observations
Self-consciousness;
requires the presence of the observer as a condition
Observers in Self-Tracking;
"What I perceive as the agent of my own experiences",
"What the computer reads from my experiences"
"What knowledge I make of the computer-generated
outputs regarding my experiences."
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

19. The Observer’s Presence in a Feedback Cycle
Observers in Self-Tracking
I
Experiences, perceptions
and cognitive actions are
the first-hand knowledge
of the world, not data
Knowing is a way of doing
Autopoiesis: Self-making
The observer sees only
what its system allows
him to see
Computer
Users are automatically
observed with sensors
and abstract data is
signified by the software
Regarding flexibility:
Which domains are
observed?
Regarding objectivity:
Commands of the
designer and programmer
makes it subjective
I + Computer
Interaction between the
message and the receiver
Hybridity:
The computerized and the
intrinsic knowledge are
integrated
Schemas:
Knowledge is mentally
constructed through
personal filters rather
than being passively read
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

20. 2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Design Directions for Personal Informatics Devices
Defining Goals
Assisting users for defining goals
Self-relevant goals
Several goals with a hierarchy
Ideal self with personal values
Future-directed goals
Monitoring Behaviour
Gathering and presenting data
Flexibility of gathering data
Watching motivational factors
Self-tailored feedbacks
Developmental social models
Preventing referential blame
Visually concrete desired self
Narrative literacies
ACT ACT
BE
DO
Taking Action
TOTE
Guiding users for reaching goals
Testing goals before operating
Acting simultaneously on goals
Testing progress and goals
Completing the loop

21. A Description of Autobiographical Memory
Self-Memory Systems
Self is rooted in the meaningful descriptions built into autobiographical memories
Building digital personal archives are integrated into this biological mechanism
Conceptual model for the dynamic processes involved in the autobiographical memories
Mainly explains encoding, storage, retrieval processes
Interactions between the memory storage & the control centre units
1) Autobiographical Knowledge Base
Raw material
Internal and external sources
Episodic & semantic memories
Limited
2) Working Self
Regulates encoding and retrieval
Selective filters according to:
Goals, interactions, coherence
Directive, social, self functions
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

22. Autobiographical Knowledge Base
Memory Types Content Structure
Provides raw material for building memories with permanent representation types
Biological Constraints
Trace Decay: Losing associations
Interference: Rewriting
Source-Monitoring Error: External
Episodic Memories:
(Similar to lifelogging)
Factual, concrete, mostly visual
With people, place, time details
Hierarchical grouping
“Lifetime periods”
“General events”
“Event-Specific Knowledge”
Semantic Memories:
Meaningful and abstract
General self-knowledge of life
Visual-Spatial Traces: Objects, people and places
Visual-Temporal Traces: Events and actions
Verbal, Sensory, Affective Traces: With vividness, intensity attributes
Spatial Traces: First-person “field” view / Third-person “observer” view
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

23. 2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Working Self
Functions of Autobiographical Memories Self Function
Control unit of the self-memory system, an adaptive mechanism
Directive Function: Guidelines from past experiences
Social Function: Maintaining social bonds by sharing events
Self Function: Creating a coherent sense of self
Correspondence & Coherence
True to the event / self or not
True Memories
Vivid, accurate, validating
False Memories
Interpreted, distancing
Self-Narratives
Story telling for present goals
Cue Avoidance
Forgetting the unwanted self
Principles of the Working Self
Memory Consolidation: Selectively emphasized memories
Variables for Encoding: Uniqueness, consequentiality,
unexpectedness, emotion provoking aspects
Associative Cues: Interconnected patterns of activation:
Location, time, activity, behaviours, perceptual cues, evaluations
Generative Retrieval: Activities / goals & refined content-frame

24. 2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Design Directions for Lifelogging Devices
Autobiographical Knowledge Base Working Self
Hardware Components: Hard disk, Sensors
Storage and perceptual mechanisms supported:
“Interference” can be fixed by reliable storage
Verbal cues need to support with visual cues
Indexing memories by memory attribute cues
“Trace decay” can be fixed by association
Accessive links through a hyperlinked system
Software Components: Interface
Selectivity recording instead of passive logging
Hierarchically dividing episodic data and linking events
Guiding tagging and filter creation
Prioritizing activity contents and goals, not time stamps
Making meaning by affective, semantic, evaluative cues
Adding notations and annotations for narrative quality
Digital forgetting & creative treatment of memories
Main Principles:
1) Selectively encoding of records
2) Organization of episodic information
3) Selective retrieval of records
Directive functions: Causality & consequences
Self functions: Digital forgetting = locking, filtering tags
creativity / accuracy balance
Social functions: Stories shaped for the audience

25. Operational Design Principles for Self-Tracking Devices
Content Structure
Grasping “Self-as-Known”
1) Self-Relevance Principle
Personal significance of collected information
“To be” goals meaningful on a personal level
“Memory consolidation:” Selectively emphasizing
2) Revealing Principle
Showing new perspectives
Being a mirror for the unknown
Discovering the hidden sides of the self
Ex: Unconscious dynamics (Sleep data)
3) Developmental Models Principal
Differences from childhood to adulthood
Interactions of “Self-as-Knower”
4) Hierarchy Principle
Hierarchical goals (PCT), parallel processing
Grouping episodic memories within a hierarchy
5) Association Principle
Including perceptual, sensory and attribute cues,
Hyperlinked system with connected cues
6) Selectivity Principle
Triggering records according to personal choices
Strategic reasoning for retrieval
7) Main Functions Principle
Directive, social, self functions: Coherent self
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

26. Strategic Design Principles for Self-Tracking Devices
Modeling the self as a linear entity after modernist vision
Self-seeking for becoming
Meaning through associations
Morphing values, changing selves
Consistency in the multiplicity of the self
Expansion with developmental shifts
Creative dimensions
Modeling the self with dynamics
Life stories with a timeline
Consistency in unity
Progression
Perfection
Steady enhancements
2.1 SELF-CONCEPT
2.2 OBSERVATION
2.3 MEMORY
2.4 DESIGN
CHAPTER2
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

27. 3.1 Historical Perspectives on the Self and
the Techniques for Self-Tracking
3.2 The Impact of Technology on the Changing
Forms of Identity
CHAPTER3
Towards a Mediated Sense of Self
11.05.2015
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DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

28. 3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
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DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Historical Perspectives on the Self and the Self-Tracking Methods
Consciousness
“Conceptual Self”
Cognitive abilities to define “I”
Ownership
Language
Numerals, ideograms, writingCommodities, social status
Cultural Context Methods
Egyptians
Evidential value HieroglyphicsReligion, for afterlife
Ancient Greece
Understanding wisdom of the soul
Knowing one’s true self
Duplicity Theory: Self-/ Awareness
Oral tradition, power of memory
Cognitive effort with no written tools
Seeing one’s self / tools as reflection
Philosophical stance
“Know thyself”
“Myth of Narcissus”
Hellenistic Period
Active concern for taking good care
“Vigilance:” Keeping careful watch
Actions towards physical health
Written tradition: Diaries, depictions
Self-interest for body’s well-being

29. Historical Perspectives on the Self and the Self-Knowledge Methods
Consciousness
The Middle Ages
Self-examination
Self-abandonment and affirmation
Christianity’s religious obligations
God as the spectator
First autobiography: “Confessions”
Self-control by a stage-based model
Cultural Context Methods
Renaissance
Back to: “Know thyself”
Self-interest
Unique personality of the self
Skepticism of being
Thinking as the source of actuality
Humanism
Man as the measure of life
Individualization
“Cogito ergo sum:”
I think therefore I am
Genres of auto -portrait / -biography
Printed ego-documents, memoirs
Subjective expressions
Intrinsic self-knowledge
Mind over matter
Age of Enlightenment
Facts about the self
Personal experiences
“Reason”s suppression over religion
“Self-made man”
Observations of the self and the other
Self-knowledge through interactions
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

30. Historical Perspectives on the Self and the Self-Knowledge Methods
Consciousness Cultural Context Methods
Post-Industrial Period
Information Revolution
Increased computing & automation
Necessity for meaning
Not to have, but to be through goods
Accurate, concrete, no interpretation
Difficulty in meaning making
Product-Service System (PSS)
Digital input: Sensors
Digital output: Data
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Industrial Period
Dehumanization
Self towards efficiency
Lowered self-expression
Mechanic limits for thinking
Identity crisis
Increased representations of self
Self-fulfillment and expression
Life choices of the self-made man
Industrial Revolution
Taylorism
Man / Machine Dichotomy
Nature / Man Dichotomy
Alienation to work, producing, self
Changes in technologies & lifestyles
Romanticism
Existentialism and individualization
Mechanic techniques
Control, progress, speed
Automated techniques
Typewriter
Stereotypical living with less insight
Commercialization of photography
Art
Intrinsic self-examination for choices

31. Summary for the Historical Perspectives on Self/-Tracking
Consciousness Cultural Context Methods
Increased social affirmation
Changing religions
Changing philosophies
Changing lifestyles
Increased popularity
Technology as a part of culture
Constant intellectual effort
No steady improvements
Technology for self-awareness
Decreased cognitive effort *
Less creative treatments *
Fragmented self *
Lowered self-awareness *
Self-interest for technology *
(* Chapter 3.2 )
Improved (?) techniques
Towards mechanic, automated
Augmented cognition *
Analogue to digital *
Accurate outcomes *
Mechanized outputs of self-data
Today
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
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DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
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32. Relating Self-Tracking to Posthumanism and Transhumanism
Cyborg
Man’s ability to make tools
Tools Makers of tools
Augmentation of “humanity”
ex: Clothes, wheels (Body)
ex: Counting, writing (Mind)
Man-machine system
Cyborg: Cybernetic organism
Mechanical elements built-in
Regulating adaptation
Set man free to explore, think
Transhumanism
Transition stages to posthuman
Evolution
Darwinism
Progress for bettering
Eugenic thought
Superior human model
Help of technology
Ideal self
Perfectionism of species
Rationally controlling nature
Posthumanism
Transcendence of “humanity”
1) Homo “Sapiens” = “to be wise”
Augmented cognitive capacities
Altered intelligent act:
Handling information of the life
Partial amplifications
2) Singularity: Man = Machine
Living, non-living blended
Human, inhuman morphed
Unity of physical and virtual
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

33. Relating Self-Tracking to Posthumanism and Transhumanism
Transhumanism
Transition stages to posthuman
Evolution
Darwinism
Progress for bettering
Eugenic thought
Superior human model
Help of technology
Ideal self
Perfectionism of species
Rationally controlling nature
Principles Behind Self-Tracking
Self as a political construct
1) The Will to Overcome the Current Self
The will to improve current self: Progress, growth, speed
Reaching a culturally mediated, ideal self
2) Control Over the Body and Mind
“Being in control” of one’s nature within rational boundaries
Constant self-watching and surveillance
3) “Survival of the Fittest” Theory
Competition through gamification
Self-awareness is more about awareness of the rivals
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
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DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

34. Categorical Distinctions and Unities for Posthumanism
Distinctions
Dualisms & Dilemmas for Technology
Man - Machine
Nature - Artifacts
Superiority of Mankind
Privileged status for man for indistinct definitions
Fear of Technology
Machines’ control over human
Transformative powers
Existential Risk:
Threats for extinction
End of human intellect
Unities
Blurred Boundaries
Man as machine, machine as man
New Possibilities for Humanity
Redefining the limits of daily life
Expanding the boundaries of human body
Freeing from historical constructs
The Second Self
Multiple identities
Cutting across real life distinctions: Race, class
Reconstructing the self
Decentralized identities, no self/other distinction
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
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SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

35. Towards a Mediated Sense of Self
Mediations of the Self
Sources of Self-Understanding
Semantics of Codified Knowledge
In”form”ation vs. Information
Metadata
Fragmented self
Data Overload
Exponential increase in self-representations
Readability
Redundancy factor
Perceptions of Reproductions
Blindness and de-realization
New Essences for Selfhood
Existence within Virtuality
Self in Representations
Absence-as-presence
Ontology of the Virtual Self
Simulacrum
Cyborg’s Dilemma
Natural embodiment, detachment from nature
“Enframing”
Agency of the Self
Routines of self-control
Transcoding: Language and actions of computing
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
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DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

36. Mediations of the Self: Sources of Self-Understanding
Semantics of Codified Knowledge
In”form”ation
“In-formare” (Form within): To give form, shape, or character
Empirical evidence with referential qualities of the factual reality
Information
Independent entity of signaling with no referential quality
Mathematical processes of sending and receiving message
Data > Information > “Codified Knowledge”
Not linked to “Tacit Knowledge” or the knowledge of life experiences
Metadata
Data about data. Referential, but lack narrative qualities for meaning
Fragmented self
Data fragments, obstructs, destabilizes the unity of self-knowledge
There is no direct
transformation from
self-data to
self-knowledge
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

37. Mediations of the Self: Sources of Self-Understanding
Data Overload
Exponential increase
Moore’s Law: Every 18 months computing capabilities are multiplied
Data pollution causes noise
Readability
For infinite information different meaning generation processes
Handling information is not possible
Paralyzes the ability to respond knowledgeably
Redundancy factor
Redundancy exists in human communication; Makes it noise
resistant and enables focusing attention to the important
Context & significance level tags are needed to prevent irrelevance
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

38. Mediations of the Self: Sources of Self-Understanding
Perceptions of Reproductions
Blindness
Overexposure to the visible causes a perceptual disorder
Vision is clouded by signs
Blinded to the realities of the actual self
De-realization
Data pools are references of self-interest, but not self-knowledge
Infinite replications reduce the self to an optical illusion
Disappearance of actuality
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

39. Essence of the Mediated Self
Self in Representations
The world has become a “world picture”
The existence is conceived as a picture to measure and execute
Absence-as-presence: The self buried under its representations
Ontology of the Virtual Self
Technological information as a reality
Increased progressive embodiment
Actual presence is dominated by data
Simulacrum: Self-data becomes truer than the self
The gap between
referrer & referent is;
increasing for meaning,
decreasing for realities
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

40. Essence of the Mediated Self
Cyborg’s Dilemma
Natural Embodiment
Natural integration of man & machine may cause unnatural results
The self disconnects from its inner realms during self-actualization
The search for inner self transforms into the search for scientific truth
“Enframing”
“Standing reserve” is a situation where nature transforms into the
resource of technology
“Enframing” is a situation where the nature of man transforms into the
resource of his own technologies, the object of its own science
Mankind is the raw material for existing technologies
The self is becoming downgraded to the source of self-data
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
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BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

41. Essence of the Mediated Self
11.05.2015
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BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective
Agency of the Self
Routines of self-control
The power of agency is becoming a territory for the digital technologies
Cultural products: Presence of built-in mindset and action patterns
Self-tracking is bound to the attachment to certain technologies
Man is “free” to live a controlled life, a life imposed by power relations
The position of authorship is handed to automated sensors
“Auto”biographies and “auto”portraits: Passive condition of the self
Transcoding
Personal experiences are encoded in computer language & meaning
Artifacts behave more lifelike and life is becoming more engineered
Accurate processing of routine activities is computation
Walk = Counting steps, Knowledge = Data, Processing = Understanding
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3

42. Reconstructing the Mediated Sense of Self
Balancing codified knowledge and tacit knowledge
Balancing the agency of the self and the self-tracking devices
Disturbing the routines for mindfulness
Design practices need to
respond to the
inevitable advancements in
technologies and humanity
Designing meaningful interactions between computerized and the human
Building upon the context of the self & self-understanding
Assessing usage experiences & values brought by such products
3.1 HISTORY
3.2 POSTHUMAN
CHAPTER 3
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective

43. Conclusion
The design guidelines
regarding the self-tracking
products can reconstruct the
self through blending the
codified knowledge and the
tacit knowledge of one's life by
positioning the biological
mechanisms of self-making
and self-awareness as the
primary starting points
11.05.2015
M.A. Thesis
Jury Defense
BURCU AVCI
SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
DIGITAL SELF-TRACKING DEVICES:
Design Guidelines for Usability and
A Socio-Technical Examination from
Posthumanity Perspective