Review of ‘The Quantified Self’ by Deborah Lupton
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)
Maastricht University
Bachelor GW
Course: GZW2225
Introduction
In the last decades, the increase of devices and technologies in our society makes it more and
more possible and easy to track and measure almost everything. From the quality of your food to the
sequence of your DNA, to the hours of (good) sleep you have had last night. Since this is a hot topic,
self-tracking and the quantified self, of course, attract the curiosity of media and scientists. Yet, the
results after surfing on the internet for these terms surprised me, since the vast majority of essays that
can be found are especially short, undetailed, limited and especially objective and thus uncritical.
Luckily, Deborah Lupton’s book ‘The Quantified Self’ is one of the few exceptions.
1
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)
Maastricht University
Bachelor GW
Course: GZW2225
Introduction
In the last decades, the increase of devices and technologies in our society makes it more and
more possible and easy to track and measure almost everything. From the quality of your food to the
sequence of your DNA, to the hours of (good) sleep you have had last night. Since this is a hot topic,
self-tracking and the quantified self, of course, attract the curiosity of media and scientists. Yet, the
results after surfing on the internet for these terms surprised me, since the vast majority of essays that
can be found are especially short, undetailed, limited and especially objective and thus uncritical.
Luckily, Deborah Lupton’s book ‘The Quantified Self’ is one of the few exceptions.
1
