When Does Wearing a Fitness Tracker Do More Harm Than Good?

If you keep an eye on your wearable fitness tracker’s daily stats, you might be more inclined to scale the subway stairs instead of riding the escalator. Or you might feel like you’re wearing a shackle, and find yourself glowering at people who are clocking more exercise.

Last year, one survey found that a third of consumers who bought a mobile fitness tracker ditched it within six months. Maybe they got tired of wearing them. Maybe they got a lot healthier (although a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that there’s not necessarily much overlap between data collection and behavioral changes). Or maybe folks got mopey whenever they looked at how their stats measured up to those of other users.