I'm being asked about fitness trackers. I know basically nothing about them (which I guess tells you something) beyond the general tech aspects; certainly nothing about which ones are considered the most accurate for different sorts of metrics. Primary purpose is likely sleep monitoring, but other metrics, advanced functions, and connectivity options are also of interest. There seem to be an awful lot out there across a very wide price range so I really don't know where to start with a recommendation. Apple is probably off the table. Informed advice would be welcome, especially from actual users. Thanks.
I do see some discussion of the lack of Airplane modes on most of these devices. Even using BLE, some people really don't like having them active while they sleep when trying to track their sleep activity, given hands near heads and such. Would be such a simple thing that would make some people more comfortable with the tech.
@lauren do you mean in terms of health effects of the little radios?
In that case it seems like the simpler way, or at least the healthier way, to make some people more comfortable is through education about how little health risk there is from those devices.
That's rather than indulging their fears.
@volkris "Rather than indulging their fears" is EXACTLY the attitude why so many nontechnical people HATE techies.
@lauren or doctors, engineers, teachers, basically anybody who might not play into the confirmation bias.
We need a better informed population and we need to work on building up, helping to improve people's lives.
However we go about it.
@volkris Most people perceive this as "talking down to them". It's the wrong way to convince anyone of anything. I deal with this when explaining technical issues all the time, especially when speaking to large nontechnical radio audiences. I make a point NEVER to talk down to an audience. And you know what, they appreciate that. A lot. And to a significant extent, your recommendation is to change human nature, which hasn't actually changed since the caves, or maybe earlier.
@lauren Well then great!
Read the room and try to educate people based on what seems to be the attitude of those you are speaking to.
Here I kind of assumed you were smart enough that I could be frank and not have to mince words diplomatically.
Depending on who I was speaking to yeah I might choose different words. But at the end of the day, indulge their fears is probably the most concise if undiplomatic way I could describe it.
@volkris If you're going to make general assertions I'm going to reply to those assertions, not make assumptions about any unwritten meanings in a public forum.
Oh let me clarify.
It's better for everybody if they know enough to not be afraid of things that don't threaten them. I think that should be a pretty uncontroversial stance.
So we should work educate everybody so that they don't end up fearing things they don't understand when those things are not worth fearing.
I am happy to make that general assertion. Do you disagree? I suspect you don't.
That is all that I would capture in my attitude.
If people hate that stance, if people hate the idea that maybe they should be given a reprieve from being afraid of things they shouldn't be afraid of, well ok.
But in general i suspect most people don't like being afraid of things for no reason.
@volkris The problem is that often the way techies try to "educate" nontechies is by asserting the nontechies are just stupid, or not worth trying to explain things to in ways that a nontechnical person will understand. Or that people basically being coerced into using tech for daily situations where they'd really prefer not to, need to "educate" themselves. Where do you think the term "lusers" came from in the tech industry? That clearly shows the attitude. This has also been the case here on #Mastodon, where a common refrain to concerns that onboarding was too complicated was that this served as a "test" to keep "the wrong kind of people" out.
@lauren Well I'm happy to clarify that I meant no such thing.
I really enjoy teaching in my real life. I never look down on students; I see teaching as a way to help them enhance their lives and find better futures.
I don't actually consider myself a techie anyway, but in my classrooms I've found it really important to point out when somebody is going in the wrong direction with their assignment, not because they're stupid or anything, but because with a boost they'll find themselves on the right track, and that'll be good for everybody.
Build up, don't tear down, is always my philosophy.
