57% of Smartwatch Users Experience Health Stress
"Constant Flow of Information Can Overwhelm Users"
A survey has revealed that wearing a smartwatch, which is used to monitor health status, can actually cause stress.
Joe Birch, Mintel's Senior Technology Analyst, explained, "Monitoring health indicators in real time can unintentionally increase health anxiety rather than provide peace of mind."
On the 19th (local time), the British daily The Telegraph reported that market research firm Mintel conducted a survey of over 2,000 smartwatch users and found that 57% of users experienced 'health stress' from continuously checking health indicators through their smartwatches.
Based on these results, Mintel emphasized that smartwatch brands should encourage users to take a 'digital detox' by stepping away from wearable technology for certain periods. They also argued that features should be provided to check health status on a weekly rather than minute-by-minute basis or to track conditions only when potential health issues such as irregular heartbeats are detected.
Joe Birch, Mintel's senior technology analyst, explained, "Watching health indicators in real time can unintentionally increase health anxiety rather than provide peace of mind. Of course, wearable devices offer important health information, but receiving data every moment can overwhelm users, causing stress and anxiety."
In particular, research has shown that patients with heart-related diseases experience increased stress and anxiety when using wearable devices. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) in July last year, 172 patients with atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia disorder, were monitored for nine months. Among them, 83 patients who wore smartwatches or fitness bands checked their condition more frequently and worried more compared to those who did not wear such devices. Notably, 20% of wearable device users reported experiencing 'severe anxiety.'
Experts advise that to use wearable devices effectively, users must first break free from the obsession with the device itself. Joanna Hardis, a U.S. anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder specialist, argued that individuals should assess how they use their wearable devices and break the habit of constantly checking them. She explained, "If a wearable device fuels your fears, you need to reassess its value. To stop checking information constantly, you must retrain your brain. Otherwise, obsession and anxiety will grow stronger and persist."
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