Wearable technology has been all the rage in the last few years. However, this innovation has been around and has been popular since the 1980's when calculator watches were introduced. More recently however, fitness trackers like Fitbit has gained a sizable following. Interestingly, one man has started a trend of using fitness trackers for more than just daily number of steps and calories burned.
Last week, Buzzfeed broke the story of Koby Soto, co-founder of Guesty from Tel Aviv, who found out that his Fitbit captures life events as well.
In January, Soto got a call from his boyfriend on the day they were planning to meet-up and take a break from studying for law exams. Soto's boyfriend proceeded to break-up with him over the phone. Soto, wrecked with sadness, vented about not being able to sleep to a friend. Soto proceeded to share the information gathered by the Fitbit Charge HR he has been wearing for the past 5 months. To his surprise the device recorded a steep increase in his heart rate following being dumped.
According to Soto, he was not doing anything particularly strenuous when his heart rate jumped from a normal 77 beats per minute to a whopping 118. He has since spoken about the experience and according to him the data from his Fitbit has helped him to cope with his feelings.
"I feel like it's nice to have a log of your confirmation of what you felt. You can tell people you have heartbreak and you feel bad. People become less cynical once you show them the numbers or once you show the data or graphs. Everyone understands heartbreak, right? Everyone's felt it. When you have this, it's interesting - you have something to show" detailed Soto.
People from social media have since been inspired by Koby Soto's Fitbit adventure. Many have paid greater attention to their vital statistics following significant life events.
