From Refinery29:
Many praise wearables for giving people more control over their health outcomes (last year, the UK government proposed plans to give wearables to millions of NHS patients in England), yet some health researchers warn that a dependence on wearable technology can cause anxiety. In research published last year, The Journal of American Heart Association found that people who used wearable technology to monitor heart condition atrial fibrillation (AF), began showing signs of anxious behavior such as “obsessive symptom monitoring.” Doctors speaking to the BBC also warned that wearable tech can encourage “over-monitoring” your body and even “hypochondria.” “I’m concerned that we will be encouraging people to monitor everything all the time, and see their doctor every time the machine thinks they’re ill, rather than when they think they’re ill,” Dr Salisbury told BBC News, clarifying that wearables also encourage healthy habits such as walking every day.