ABSTRACT
This chapter tackles the cultural and technological phenomenon of self-tracking, popularized by the ‘quantified self’ movement in the 2000s. The main scope of this contribution is to question the empowerment processes and health outcomes of self-tracking technologies and practices and the relationships of these practices to modes of power, particularly regarding the surveillance of individuals and populations. The datafication, dataveillance, and algorithmic governmentality supported by self-tracking enable novel modes of governing that involve predicting and directing individuals’ behaviours. Private companies play a significant role in these novel modes of governing; they collect, mine, and analyse big data, which they then sell to other corporations, mainly for marketing purposes.
