The Age of Fitness. Jürgen Martschukat

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Название The Age of Fitness
Автор произведения Jürgen Martschukat
Жанр Социология
Серия
Издательство Социология
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781509545650



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Der Bewegungsmangel hat weltweit erschreckende Ausmaße angenommen,” SZ, September 6, 2018, 14; on Germany, see Froböse et al., Der DKV-Report 2018; Guthold et al., “Worldwide Trends in Insufficient Physical Activity.”

      5 5. Editorial, Geschichte der Gegenwart.

      6 6. See esp. Netzwerk Körper (ed.), What Can a Body Do? See also many of the articles in Body Politics: Zeitschrift für Körpergeschichte, http://bodypolitics.de/de/uber-die-zeitschrift/; Lorenz, Leibhaftige Vergangenheit, was pioneering in its day.

      7 7. Brown, Undoing the Demos, 15–50; Rödder, 21.0, 54–5. In those parts of the book where I write about fitness, the economy, and the world of work, I also use the term “flexible capitalism” to refer to the last 50 years because it more accurately captures the specific historical shifts and challenges involved; Lessenich, Die Neuerfindung des Sozialen, 9–19.

      8 8. Foucault, “Confessions of the Flesh”; Ganahl, “Ist Foucaults dispositif ein Akteur-Netzwerk?”; van Dyk, “Was die Welt zusammenhält.”

      9 9. Alkemeyer, Zeichen, Körper und Bewegung, 212; Mayer, Wissenschaft vom Gehen.

      10 10. Krasmann, “Regieren über Freiheit”; Rose, Powers of Freedom.

      11 11. Honneth, Anerkennung, 182–234; Butler, Psychic Life of Power.

      12 12. Gumbrecht, “Modern, Modernität, Moderne”; Dipper, “Moderne, Version: 2.0”; Gruneau, Sport & Modernity, 1–14; Villa, “Einleitung – Wider die Rede vom Äußerlichen,” 8.

      13 13. Hall, “The West and the Rest.”

      Cycling and self-tracking

      Anyone who practices cycling – whether the average Joe on their Sunday morning bike ride or a pro ascending the Alpe d’Huez – almost certainly has a little computer on their handlebars. This measures speed, distance traveled and altitude attained, but also, depending on the device, one’s pulse rate, cadence, and power output in watts. The number of calories (supposedly) burned is also shown. The goal is obvious: the bike computer is an aid to self-observation. It is intended to provide information about the cyclist’s performance level and help optimize their activity, perfect their body, and enhance their potential. The symbiosis of body and technology, fundamental to cycling in any case, has reached a new level.1

      In Germany, about a third of the population is said to record data on movement, eating, sleeping, and bodily trends in one way or another. In the United States the figure is claimed to be almost 70 percent, though the numbers vary widely, depending on who one asks and what, exactly, one is talking about.2 In 2007, the Quantified Self (QS) movement was launched in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it has now spread throughout the Western world. Its adherents not only measure their bodily, behavioral, and environmental parameters. They also submit to psychological tests, genome sequencing and much more besides. The goal, as stated on the website of the German QS-Community, is to “reflect upon ourselves and understand what allows us to make better, more informed decisions.”3 Many self-trackers share their knowledge and data on the Internet with a community of like-minded people who are both their associates and competitors. Health insurance providers on both sides of the Atlantic are now offering discounts to those willing to practice self-tracking and fitness tracking or to submit the data generated. They have developed relevant apps or provide the necessary technology. According to the insurance companies, this makes it possible to identify the risk of illness earlier and more effectively.4