Blurring boundaries: Researching self-tracking and body size through auto-netnography

Abstract

In this paper, I use auto-netnography data to explore my experiences of self-tracking with my Apple watch to uncover some of the ways in which the materiality of self-tracking led me to experience an intensified form of surveillance around my body. The paper contributes to literature within digital geographies which considers the blurring of online and offline boundaries. I consider this in relation to auto-netnography and auto-ethnography to question the distinction between the two. I contribute to debates in fat studies around the blurring of the personal and researcher identity when supporting the Health at Every Size Approach, furthering these debates by exemplifying how the materiality of self-tracking can intensify feelings of guilt and shame when researching the body. The paper concludes with some ethical recommendations for self-care in the research process, arguing that future research should consider how the researcher should hold space to deal with the unintended emotional consequences that may come from research.