Digital health is both a concept of health management and a daily practice for citizens of the digital society. It is a tool of self-analysis for consumers, a medical framework for health insights, advocated by governments, and public and private healthcare services, as well as, for technology, health, and wellness industries to be capitalised upon. Digital health is now a way of life under the economics of surveillance and platform capitalism, as we all increasingly become autonomous managers of our healthcare via technology, which has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital health is also all the intricate, blurred and hybrid spheres it both silently and overtly occupies within these revolutionary, ethically challenging and problematic intersections. The digital health self, I argue, is the embodiment of evolving with and navigating our everyday lives, traversing between personal lifestyle choice, shifting neoliberal international healthcare and governmental policies, technological advancements and digital capitalism.

The interdisciplinary theoretical framework of this book draws from a wealth of disciplines. The book's analysis of digital health sits at the intersection of several fields: communication studies, media studies, science and technology studies, internet studies, behavioural economics, psychology, sociology and cultural studies, as well as areas of the medical humanities. It provides insights for scholars and students of these fields, and beyond. Its relevance to and application in our current everyday lives also illustrate its significance to those outside of academe – those working in the technology industry, healthcare, both public and private sectors, and the general public for whom managing digital health practices, social media and wellness warrants an increasingly serious consideration in daily life.

This book draws on extensive empirical interview data from two research projects (A: LRS-15/16– 2156 and B: MRA-19/20– 18193) undertaken before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which explored individuals’ health management via social media and self-tracking apps through a historical analysis of healthcare transformations. It draws upon users’ experiences of using digital health technologies and self-tracking tools along with social media to manage their health and wellness in everyday life