Your FitBit Is Bullshit, Says Science

The next time one of your friends starts raving about their FitBit, especially if it’s the kind of friend who can’t shut the fuck up about their latest “find” and effectively ruins happy hour for everyone else who just wants to lose their inhibitions at the end of a tough week, feel free to stop them dead in their tracks and call them on their bullshit—because science said so.

Or, rather, because your smartphone said so. Mother Jones points to a new study showing that your iPhone or device of choice does just a good a job, if not a better one, at doing things like tracking calories and measuring activity. So why bother with a FitBit? Essentially, it boils down to convenience—jogging, cycling, and binge eating potato chips while binge watching House of Cards are all easier when you’ve got free hands not encumbered by a bulky-ass smartphone—and vanity, i.e. wearing a device shows how modern and down with the times you are, etc.

But, says Mitesh Patel, who led and authored the study, it doesn’t really matter what device you’re using to track activity if you’re not actually using it. Which is why spending more time on healthy habits reigns over obsessing about what, if any, exercise you’re actually getting.