Unpacking the Tensions of Empowerment in Digital-Self Tracking: A Digital Humanism Perspective

Data-driven tools, such as digital self-tracking technologies, are increasingly embedded in everyday life. However, their impact is ambivalent, as previous research has shown that they can simultaneously empower and disempower individuals. In this paper, we adopt a perspective from digital humanism to unpack key empowerment tensions at the intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral levels that shape the effects of digital self-tracking: self-connectedness vs. self-alienation, social embeddedness vs. normative pressure, and agency vs. technological control. We argue that realizing the empowering potential of digital self-tracking requires careful design, implementation, and use. To support this, we offer guiding questions for each level of empowerment to help shape digital self-tracking towards empowerment rather than disempowerment.