An application of goal content theory to examine how desired exercise outcomes impact fitness technology feature set selection

Abstract

Fitness technologies are a prominent example of the societal trend towards personal informatics. These technologies pair devices that have various embedded sensors with one or more apps to allow for the collection, analysis, socialization, and management of individuals health and wellness data. We have limited insight into what drives the use of fitness technologies or how they may contribute to wellness outcomes. To address this gap, our study examines how exercise goals are related to fitness technology feature set use and how the use is associated with a measure of the exercisers psychological well‐being (ie, subjective vitality). We find that intrinsic exercise goals (eg, enjoyment or competence) are associated with the use of features that allow users to collect, analyse, and inform their exercise progress. Body‐focused extrinsic exercise goals (eg, appearance) are also associated with the use of such features but are negatively associated with features that socialize exercise. The social extrinsic exercise goal is associated with the use of more controlling features that can provide external pressure from the technology or other people. The social features of fitness technologies are associated with higher levels of subjective vitality. Our findings indicate that exercisers who have goals where measuring progress may be desired (eg, losing weight and training for a marathon) are more likely to be drawn to the data management aspects of fitness technologies, whereas using fitness technologies to socialize exercise may add an element of enjoyment that is attractive to some users and may lead to increased well‐being.