Sunday, April 6, 2014

Our quantified self - Or how our own data will make us happier

Today, digital privacy is on everyone's mind. We know that every time we search, use an App, make an online purchase, or even go to the doctor, more and more information is being collected about us.

The degree to which we can do anything about it, or even care in this digital age, is an open question. However, what if we ourselves could access and use this information? Not to make us better consumers, but to actually make us happier. If we understand our digital footprint, will it make us better able to understand ourselves, and would this have value? Can all of this aggregated, quantified information create a kind of digital psychoanalysis, that we can use to improve our lives? That's the premise of John Havens' book Hacking Happiness: Why Your Personal Data Counts and How Tracking it Can Change the World

My conversation with John Havens:


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