Down With the Tyranny of the Fitbit Original Article
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I saw this article posted, and believe it's important to address the assertions made here.
While I agree with this article in principle, I disagree with the fatalistic view of the fitness tracker space. It’s true that companies like Fitbit focus on intrinsic rewards that, by nature, decrease extrinsic motivations. However, this problem is not in the product itself, but rather the implementation of the product. I have spoken about this at length here.

Research has demonstrated that fitness trackers, such as Fitbit, can have positive effects on short-term exercise behavior. The article agrees with that point—for most people, increasing awareness of physical activity patterns can help to increase exercise behavior. However, once the initial novelty wears off, these products do little to encourage long-term exercise adherence. That doesn’t mean we should give up on them wholesale.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” --Sun Tzu

Do you own an activity tracker? Do you still use it? Did you take it off to charge it one day, and forgot to put it back on? Is it just sitting in your drawer, gathering dust? The truth is, you’re not alone. While roughly one in every 10 people have an activity tracker, but one third of people stop using them within 6 months of purchase(Ledger, 2014). That might be why Fitbit’s stock recently dropped lower than their initial IPO for the first time since going public in June, according to Time. People are realizing that fitness trackers aren’t what they’re purported to be.