How Wearable Tech Is Enhancing Our Lives (And Careers)
While Google Glass has captured the world's attention as the latest wearable technology, people say that other wearable tech, such as bracelets that keep track of your activities or apps that track your calorie intake, are already having an effect on their lives.
The research revealed that even though just 18 percent of survey respondents actually use wearable tech, 82 percent of the users in America say they have had their lives enhanced in one way or another by wearable technology.
Sixty percent of respondents say that wearable tech has helped them to take control in their lives. However, that was not the only area where wearable tech helped users. Respondents also say they noticed improvements in self-confidence and health when using such technologies. The benefits do not stop there, however: Respondents also reported wearable tech helped to improve their career development as well.
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Lastly, 36 percent of wearable tech users in the United States say devices have helped to enhance their love lives, while 53 percent say the devices have made them more intelligent.
"We are at the beginning of massive mainstream uptake of wearable devices, with the launch of Google Glass set to further boost adoption," said Robert Scoble, startup liaison officer at Rackspace, the open cloud company that conducted the research.
"However, it is important to note that wearable technology and the cloud go hand in hand — together they provide the rich data insights that help users better manage many aspects of their lives," he said. "Cloud computing is powering the wearable technology revolution. It allows the data generated by wearable devices to be captured, analyzed and made readily accessible whenever users need it."
Despite those benefits, a majority of respondents believe that wearable tech should be regulated in some way. Fifty-one percent of respondents say that privacy concerns have made them think twice about using wearable tech, while 20 percent are taking it even further, saying these devices should be banned outright.
To that end, just 22 percent of Americans say they would be willing to wear a device that monitors their location and activity for the government. Slightly more (33 percent) of respondents say would use a wearable health and fitness monitor that provided information to a health service or health care provider.
"The rich data created by wearable tech will drive the rise of the 'human cloud' of personal data," said Chris Brauer, co-director of the Centre for Creative and Social Technology at Goldsmiths, University of London, which conducted the research with Rackspace. "With this comes countless opportunities to tap into this data; whether it’s connecting with third parties to provide more tailored and personalized services or working closer with health care institutions to get a better understanding of their patients."
The research was based on the responses of 26 participants who chronicled their use of wearable technology devices for several days.
This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow David Mielach on Twitter @D_M89 . Follow us @bndarticles, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on BusinessNewsDaily.
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