Swamped? You have yourself - and big tech - to blame

Apps can tell us everything about our health, but switching them off can make us feel better

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A Roz Chast cartoon, first published in The New Yorker in 2024, circulated on social media recently. It is of a man walking jauntily down a city street, hands in his pockets, whistling a happy tune with nary a care in the world.

Above, the caption reads: "The guy who didn't know his cholesterol, BMI, his net worth, his IQ, his credit score, his astrological sign or his ancestry."

To this we could add: who didn't wear a wrist watch which recorded his heart rate, paid his bills, monitored his sleep and eating patterns, checked how far he has walked and how infrequently, and judged how often he has jerked off.

It is perfectly clear that knowing your cholesterol count can prevent major illnesses further down the line, including heart disease, stroke, Alzeimer's. This is a good thing; this is progress.

However, beware too much intrusive data gathering. Imagine a world where your medical insurance turns down what appears to be a valid claim. You can argue, but the data from your wrist or your cellphone could be their artificial intelligence receipts.

Those emails you failed to respond to, those "membership" health initiative apps you just didn't download and those gym membership offers ignored will all be there to justify the rejection.