Fitness tracker use is exploding in the US, especially among rich young women

A recent Pew survey shows 21% of US adults regularly wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker. Over half of them think it acceptable for the device makers to share user data with medical researchers.

According to the survey results shared by the Pew Research Center, an American think-tank, smartwatch and fitness tracker adoption may have crossed the chasm from earlier adopters to early majority. 21% of the surveyed panellists already are regularly using smartwatch or specialised tracker to monitor their fitness.

Such a trajectory is in line with the recent market feedback that the total wearables market volume has nearly doubled from a year ago (though what counts as wearables may be contested), and both wristbands and smartwatches have grown by nearly 50%.

When it comes to difference in adoption rates between social groups, the penetration went up to nearly a third (31%) among those with a household income of over $75,000. In comparison, among those with a household income of less than $30,000, only 12% regularly wear such a device. In addition to variance by income groups, women, Hispanic adults, and respondents with a college degree and above are also more likely to wear such devices than men, non-college graduates, and other major ethnic groups.

Another question on the survey asks the respondents if they think makers of a fitness tracking app can share “their users’ data with medical researchers seeking to better understand the link between exercise and heart disease”. The response is divided. 41% of all the respondents said yes, as opposed to 35% saying no, while 22% unsure. However, the percentage of those believing such sharing acceptable went up to 53% among the respondents that are already regularly using such devices, compared to 38% among the non-adopters.

Due to the lack of a GDPR equivalent in the US, it is not much of a surprise that there is neither a consensus among users nor a standard industry practice related to user data sharing. “Recently, some concerns have been raised over who can and should have access to this health data. Military analysts have also expressed concern about how third parties can use the data to find out where there is an American military presence,” Pew said in its press release.

Meanwhile, how useful the data tracked by the devices can be for medical research purposes may also be debatable. For example, even the best of the devices, the Apple Watch, does not qualify as a medical device, despite its being “FDA certified”.

The survey was conducted by Pew from 3 to 17 June 2019. 4,272 qualified panellists responded to the survey.