http://mashable.com/2016/02/05/fitness-trackers-college-students/#Aq8er0damGqC
Saw this the other day. Sounds pretty “big brother” to me.
Someone on another site said “It’s bad enough having God watch you 24/7 now it’s a fitness tracker.”
Others commented about “how about heart rates that go up around midnight? LOL”
Another comment–“Statistically 70 percent of people quit using them after 3 months. Wait til it looks like most of the students are sitting on their butts!”
It’s problematic to me that a company is going to use the data collected for a study. Think they’ll get clearance from the participants for that study?
It’s also a far cry from the old requirement that you run a mile and a half at the end of the semester to pass a physical fitness requirement.
But ingenuity will win out–“Give you 5 bucks to wear my fitbit on your jog around campus”. Lots of money to be made.
We do it at work to get discounted medical insurance and data uploads when you sync to Fitbit to a 3rd party administrator…never though about cheating gouf78…naughty naughty 
Breaking news: creepy, over controlling university continues to intrude on the lives of its students.
It’s a private school so I personally don’t much care. Students who go there hopefully know what they’re getting into.
Roman–what do you think about it being used to get insurance discounts from your employer? Is that creepy?
And mom–you could make a few extra bucks too if you like to jog!
Re #4
It is not surprising that payors of medical insurance are concerned about health habits that affect costs. That is why employer wellness programs, stop smoking programs, etc. exist.
Unless you switch to purely self pay medical care (no employer or government insurance like Medicare), there will always be a third party payor concerned about your health habits.
I find it incredibly problematic as someone who is battling her body attacking her joints.
I can’t walk more than a few thousand steps a day. If I hit 5k it is a good day.
Battling Lupus is awful and the last thing I want to worry about is my employer upping my insurance rates because my body is broken.
So yes, I find it creepy and intrusive and I want all insurance detached from employers for some of these very reasons. It shouldn’t be my employer’s business as long as it’s not affecting my ability to work.
When people go to any school, they are agreeing to follow the rules and complete the requirements. I’m sure there are many more restrictive rules at ORU than reporting how many steps you take in a day. If you aren’t willing to follow them, don’t go to that school. If you go to BYU or Liberty or Ave Maria, there are all kinds of restrictions and requirements.
I actually don’t have a problem with a private college emphasizing healthy minds healthy bodies. If the only thing it does is building awareness of how sedentary our society has become that is a good thing. And moving ones body regardless of size and shape is not a tough pill to swallow and if you just can’t swallow it you chose a different college.
Well, guess I’m just a “keep your nose out of my business” type of person. Encouraging health as in offering stop smoking programs, incentives to keep active (which is why people buy fitness trackers for themselves), fitness classes are great.
But mandates by outside sources take away personal control–and that isn’t great.
I feel the same way about GPS trackers in cars and the “spot check” on driving habits for discounts offered by some insurance companies. If I haven’t had any accidents and a clean driving record then I should get a good rate on my insurance without having a third party spy on me.
@gouf78 Much like the GPS trackers in cars, I can see insurance companies offering discounts to employers who deploy them. Companies are looking for ways to cut down cost, and this could be the future. Of course, it would be “optional”. Wear the Fitbit and we’ll give you a $25 a month discount (and the company gets $50…).
Far worse than trackers, is the possibility(threat) of genetic testing…
If it were me, I would not be happy with the mandatory, but I feel it is a private institution’s right to institute dumb things if they wish. Students can vote with their feet (no pun intended).
I am a fan of the voluntary (hey, we will give you a perq, or some cash to stay healthy) rather than mandatory.
My employer already has a number of ‘cash-back’ programs to encourage people to get checkups and other supposedly healthy choices. Unless they make it mandatory, I am fine with it.
Gator–It’s a slippery slope that won’t become apparent for years.
Today it’s fitness trackers, then heart rate monitors, mandatory health assessments then it’s genetic testing.
And it’ll be done at birth without even parents knowledge because that of course is the easiest–the hospital collects the data.first for some government study (that nobody enrolled in but “for the common good”).
And way too many people will think it’s GREAT! Free testing! Knowledge of the future!
Until it impacts them personally in a negative manner through health coverage or some form of racism/morality judging not even thought up yet in our current society. But by then they’ll be the minority with no rights. And if not genetic testing at least your DNA is collected.
We put GPS trackers on our pets (good), to figure out how far we jog (good), how to get to place A-B ( really good). But it is a short leap to people GPSing their kids (which they do already–some even want to implant those pet trackers) and the KIDS as adults thinking that is normal and a good thing (which I maintain is NOT a good thing.). It is an invasion of privacy.
The “if you don’t like it, don’t go there” argument works for now–it’s a private institution. But what if the “study” shows fab results–and why wouldn’t it)? Short step to requiring for state schools. There will be no choice but to conform for most. And yes, it’s physical fitness! That’s a good thing! will be the majority vote–but not in my book. Good for physical fitness, lack of personal control–not good.
(To be fair the fitness trackers they’ll use do not include GPS but it’s early). Now I gotta go get my 10K steps in–I’m in a weekend competition with DD. But it’s MY choice–nobody else’s.
"mandatory health assessments " are required at my H’s public agency employer. You’re free to not do them, but you pay higher co-pays and have higher deductibles. The employee AND spouse are required to do them, as well as an “action plan” of your choice, no matter how healthy you are. So far, children on the plan are not required to do them. These assessments are many pages long and very intrusive. I HATE THEM. Some of the questions are optional, and I do only the minimum required. I do it only because of the money we’re saved, but it they ever go to requiring Fitbits or the like, I will opt out an pay the difference, even if I have to get a new job that covers me individually.
I have a few friends who work for companies that require a week or two of wearing some kind of health tracking device. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before employees of those places start requiring them for longer and longer periods. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but I wish to be untethered for as long as possible.
As for Oral Roberts -kids going there are probably used to being told what to do, where to go and what to think. They signed on willingly. But I wouldn’t send my kid there.
sseamom–Why doesn’t anybody cry inequality when it comes to invasion of privacy? And it is a major invasion.
You hate assessments with very good reason. Everybody should.
BUT–“You are free not to do them, but you pay higher co-pays…”
Are you really? You are only free not to do them IF you have the resources to avoid the snare they create (or may create in the future.). If you need the money (and when did that ever hurt especially in our economy)–you are no longer free to take control of who has access to very personal information. The more people who buy into the thinking that it’s “okay” make it harder to fight against on principle.
It’s the “new norm”…
I run the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist but I’ve been around for a few years. I’ve seen drug testing (especially in its early stages–it’s better now TG) kill careers and reputations from false results. And it was the testing–not actions on the part of individuals that did the career killing. I prefer innocent until proven guilty.
There are news reports of women doing double mastectomies based on their genes and family health history of breast cancer. . That scares me. While an indicator, genes do NOT at this stage dictate with surity your future. I cringe every time the media applauds their “heroic” decision. It’s not heroic or brave–it’s uninformed. Can’t wait for the insurance line where it says "still got boobs?–no? you get a discount.)
It’ll morph into genes for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, mental problems, low IQ, too smart for their own good.
“Are you really? You are only free not to do them IF you have the resources to avoid the snare they create (or may create in the future.).”
Yes, true. For the first several years there was a monumental screw up and I ended up having to call the companies that did the assessments (it’s changed several times) and yell at them to fix the issue. One year it never did get resolved and I ended up on the 3rd tier, with H being “golden”, but the way it’s designed is that only if BOTH parties meet all the requirements do you get the price break. If one adult who is covered is not on the top level, EVERYONE gets charged the higher fee. So for a year I prayed that no one got very ill…
It’s great coverage, but there is indeed a high price to get it that has nothing to do with dollars.
I used to be very much against tiered company healthcare pricing and big brother monitoring like gouf but I’m mellowing somewhat. I do think it’s up to employees to keep companies in check and keeping the line in the sand fair. It is not fair to hold a 22 year old and a 62 year old to the same health standard with regard to some tests but simple ones that companies typically use like are you moving 30 minutes a day or is your B/P and glucose managed (with drugs if needed) or are you obese in the absence of medical reason are relatively low thresholds and “fixable” measures that if you don’t fix them will cost alot in future healthcare expenditures. If we ever get away from our strange healthcare payment system perhaps I’ll feel differently. Most companies aren’t going past those relatively low benchmarks of “health” and families can opt out. I think the life insurance companies are the ones who need to be kept in check.
I was very happy to get the discount on my auto policy for having the computer track me for 3 months. It was my choice to be tracked, they said they would not raise my rates if the computer showed I was a crappy driver, and I now save $47/yr.
The big choice is of course to go to ORU in the first place. Those who are choosing to go there are probably happy to wear the tracker. Same with those at the service academies, Liberty, BYU. It’s an entire lifestyle they are buying into when choosing that school. What’s the penalty to not doing it? Getting 20% off in one class for one year. How is this all that different from picking a Catholic school and then refusing to take the required religion class because you don’t want them telling you what to do? You agreed to take the course when you picked the school. You agreed to no alcohol at BYU when you picked the school. You agreed to all kinds of things for Liberty. Don’t go if you don’t want to follow the requirements. The health class at ORU is required, and this is a requirement of the course.
I have a fitbit and it is not perfect. It often says I walked 10 steps at 4 am when I know I didn’t. The app on my phone doesn’t always sync right. It doesn’t work for water sports (although you can add the time you were swimming). There are ways to game the requirement if you really don’t want to do it.
My employer has Virgin Health Miles. If you wear your tracker and meet goals they give you cash–up to 500 a year, Very few people in my office do it, despite the fact that it’s free.
What’s the consequence if they don’t wear it or don’t achieve the 10k mi or other weekly goal? My tracker needs to be recharged every few days. And often I forget. This idea is, IMO, inappropriate. Encourage, sure. Reward a healthy lifestyle, fine. Make it mandatory, no.