This infographic is titled “Modern Wellbeing” was created by Jeremiah Owyang and his business partner Jessica Groopman from Kaleido Insights. The infographic synthesizes an extensive research project to look at the intersection of health, wellbeing, and technology.
I first met Jeremiah in 2005 through the blogosphere and the early days of social media. We have followed parallel paths and interests of technology and wellbeing, but I’ve been focused on the nonprofit community and Jeremiah in the for-profit sector. (Also, his fitness journey is way more impressive than mine and having walked the Stanford Dish with him a number of times, I know from personal experience!)
I’m sharing this infographic because it is the best synthesis I’ve seen on the trends of technology wellness and malaise, intersection of machines and humans, and the duality of technology as an agent of fitness and calm, but also of distraction and distress.
Here’s Jeremiah’s back story about this the research and thinking that produced this awesome infographic:
“We’ve interviewed several dozen start-ups, large companies, and individuals to find out how they’re integrating. We track how multiple technologies are converging and influencing behaviors, such as personal devices using gamification and social media tactics to drive community support. Rising healthcare costs, increased screen time, the ‘consumerization of the enterprise’ have all been accompanied by a parallel explosion in corporate wellness programs.
Indeed integrating technology into all aspects of our wellbeing has concerning implications too. We’re using technology to combat issues that have, in part, been brought on by technology. From our smartphone “addictions” to the very metrics and business models designed to grab our attention every day, the consequences (health, ethical political, and otherwise) are just starting to become clear.
As the boundaries between human and machine only continue to blur, our wellbeing (whether eroded or enhanced by technology) becomes a central focus.”
Thank you Jeremiah and Jessica for this impressive piece of research.
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