Most of us know the feeling. We wake up and, before we even get out of bed, we check our phone, the weather, our sleep score, overnight news, our schedule for the day.
An endless stream of real-time, on-demand information may seem like a benefit of modern life. But the studies are clear — it isn’t making us happier. According to a recent survey, Americans spend an average of over five hours a day on their phones. Over half of the survey’s participants said they’d like to cut down their phone usage, with 64 percent saying it would improve their mental and physical health. In recent years, we’ve seen countries like Australia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom move to shut down social media for people under the age of 16. And we know increased smartphone use is linked to rising rates of depression, stress, anxiety, and poor sleep.
Unintentionally, the health tech industry has contributed to this data overload with an ever-growing list of products meant to help people live healthier lives. Wearable health trackers like smartwatches have been popular for more than a decade, getting smaller and more sophisticated. Now, the next generation of health tech is becoming ubiquitous: from AI-powered tools, such as Claude for Healthcare, to health-tracking earrings, lamps, and mattresses.
These advancements have sparked major changes in our relationship with health, setting off what many have called the “measure me” movement. Where we once looked to primary care doctors and annual physicals to improve our well-being, millions around the world are taking health into their own hands, tracking their metrics, interpreting their data, and adapting their behaviors.
As the drive to optimize our well-being grows, people are increasingly turning to health tools originally designed for specific medical needs. For example, continuous glucose monitors — devices proven and approved to help those living with diabetes manage their blood sugar — have started to be embraced by those without diabetes who want to better understand their metabolism and energy levels.
Being tuned in to what’s happening within our bodies creates a tremendous opportunity to take control of our well-being, but it also creates new expectations and new pressures.
Many wearable health device users say the notifications they receive from their devices make them feel stressed or anxious, often leading to negative impacts on their physical or mental health. These effects are compounded for those managing chronic conditions who already must make hundreds of small decisions each day related to their health. Technology should reduce this mental burden. So, how can health tech actually help people live better lives?
The next frontier is liveable technology that fits into daily life instead of making life adapt to it. The issue isn’t that health tech innovation is lagging behind. It’s that we’ve been optimizing for the wrong thing.
Liveable technology is about leading innovation from the human experience and designing technology that does more for us, without asking more of us.
The health tech industry is still learning what this looks like in practice. But the principle is clear. Our priority should be finding better ways to scale back decisions for consumers by automating what can be automated, minimizing interruptions, surfacing only what truly requires action, and handling the rest in the background.
As we look to the future, the question is not whether the health tech industry will continue to advance (it will) or whether the self-care and “measure me” trends will slow down (they won’t).
The question is whether the sector will adopt an approach to innovation that finally fulfills its promise: a world where managing health conditions demands less from the people living with them.
I believe such a future is possible, but it will require a united effort. Our sector must come together and set the standard that truly meaningful innovation — in health care and beyond — isn’t creating the most features or the most data, but removing the most friction. It’s a vision the whole health industry can work toward.
Photo: ipopba, Getty Images
Manoj Raghunandanan is Chief Growth Officer at Insulet, maker of Omnipod, the industry-leading automated insulin delivery platform for people with diabetes. Prior to Insulet, Manoj was a leader at Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, where he spent two decades across consumer and med tech categories while living in Asia, Europe, and the US. He served on the inaugural Executive Committee at Kenvue, overseeing its $6B Global OTC portfolio and most recently was the GM across Northern Europe.
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