Digital health data and devices have become increas­ingly popular in contem­porary consumer cultures. This resonates with research on the expansion of health data eco­systems and the rise of consumerism in medicine. The proli­feration of popular health devices, such as activity trackers and smart­watches, however, does not simply reinforce existing dynamics of medical­ization or economization. The expansion of digital health data opens up a contested space in local settings, such as doctor-patient inter­actions, where data and devices are evaluated and nego­tiated, depending on and varying by condition, medical discipline, and type of patient. We focus on these nego­tiations by analyzing how popular apps and devices create instances of proble­matic popularity when popular devices and personal data conflict with professional authority. Our analysis draws on 35 qualitative interviews with patients and doctors from various disciplines. It highlights the diversity of professional and personal data practices as well as the commo­nalities that emerge as digital health data and devices become more popular.

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Lämmerhirt, Danny und Cornelius Schubert (2024): “Old data in new media? Proble­matic popu­larity of digital health data and consumer devices”. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2464098.