say . . . thank for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next. ♪ >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in "the stream." hi i'm lisa fletcher and you are in "the stream." fitness gadgets are taking the world my storm. but is it giving our fitness a boost or just another tool to fill our instant gratification via social media? ♪ our digital producer wajahat

ali is here as always, bringing in all of your life social media. the growth of these gadgets in the marketplace is huge. >> yeah, my wife loves today's topic, because as you know, i go home, i'm supposed to work out, but i sit on the couch and play call of duty. but speaking of instant gratification, chris says . . . chris i appreciate the snark. and then we have charles who has one of these gadgets . . . that's loyalty. and then on google plus david says . . . and that's a little sentiment here lisa. are people cheating? is this making them better? or are they just doing it for the points. >> why cheat, right? that has been bothering me all day. there is a new kid in techie

town, wearable fitness gadgets. it didn't take us long to find folks sporting them right here in d.c. >> i use the old school nike. i think it's just a fitness band now. whenever i do running because it tracks my calories, my distance, my pace. >> even though it is nice to give you -- they give you pushes to get up in the morning. once you have a routine down, they don't really keep you -- they don't keep you there. >> i have friends who use them, and they compete with their friends to kind of like one-up each other, and reach certain fitness goals. they might be an unnecessary level of competition. >> i love trainers but they can get really expensivexpensive, s app can do the same thing.

i'm all for it. >> these wearables can help you track your workout progress and complete with others online. sales are expected to top more than a billion dollars this year, but not everyone is buying into all of the excitement. critics say some users are more interested in feedback from their friends than their scales. the data can easily be manipulated. so are they making us healthier or just feeding our social media obsession. joining us is a fitness blogger and long-time marathon runner, a leading tech expert on the intersection of gaming and technology, and psychologist, researching the behavior of consumers who buy health products. welcome to all of you. ivan fitness devices have been around for a long time. what is it about this wearable technology that has people so

gung ho? >> pretty much it's the fact that you are using these devices to move around, and it gives you a data calculation of what you are actually doing. it's sort of making our humdrum activity of walking into something that is more game like. so people really seem to want to enjoy that. >> jamie you hang out with athletes and you are an athlete yourself, give us some reasons people are attracted to these devices. >> i think one of the things is the hype. you see your favorite athlete wear it and you get really excited. but i think what it does -- people expect it to do everything for you, and you still have to go out to the track and run and lift weights, and people forget that. i love the social aspect. if i post something on facebook and say, hey, i'm running five miles this is how fast.

you have might want to send a message saying maybe i can run with her tomorrow. >> it is also about the human aspect of it, do we need personal trainers anymore? mark says . . . and janet, going to go to you with this. you are a psychologist, it's all about the human psychology, human interaction, are we giving up some of that when we go to these apps? do we need that human interaction to help us be

healthier? >> i don't know that you necessarily need the human interaction to be healthier. what you need is a lifelong commit to exercise. that's where the benefits are, and out there our lives, certain things are helpful to us, for a while it may be a personal trainer. it may be music. an app or one of these fit bits. and it's trying to find the product that's right for you. i don't think that you necessarily need a physical personal trainer. it's elusive for most of us, right? so this is a low-cost alternative that helps people track their fitness and be he thinker, and being healthy, you know, something that is immediately gratifying through the gaming. >> jamie you mentioned that some of these people who buy them do it because it is cool and hip. what is the coolest one to be using right now and why? >> i got suckered into the

jawbone one because you can get it into different colors, and it is kind of piece of jewelry, and you can input what you are eating and track with it other people. >> ivan, jamie touched on something here that it's cool to be wearing them, it's hip to be wearing them. these aren't cheap. the devices range from 6 or $7 to maybe a couple of hundred. and we were talking prior to the show setting this up, and you said it's just a matter of time before apple gets in on the action, and not one hour later did we see a breaking news brief saying that apple just filed for a patent on such an device. how much money is to be made on this industry? >> a significant amount.

especially if apple gets into something, you know a thousand people are going to copy it. and these devices as they get better, smaller, and cheaper, they will be applied to so many different sports. i know a couple going out for skate boarding, surfing, and all of these action sports, and it is just going to keep growing. >> janet part of the allure of this is the positive feedback, right? how much of a motivator is that constant feedback? >> i think it's really important. in some ways it's better than just getting the points -- people -- in many, many other video games, just -- these games themselves are so rewarding. you get points, recognition, just getting the feedback in in and of itself can be incredibly rewarding to people, more rewarding than money in some cases. so it's nice that you can have

these products give you this type of feedback in a way you have never been able to get it before. and now you can share it in whatever way with your social network if you decide that's what you want to do. >> jill tweeted in just that . . . check out the top image. woe, you are earned the 2,000 lifetime miles match. the bottom image. you are number 2. [ laughter ] >> and taylor says. f. ivan going to you with that, how much does our sharing lead to better fitness and health? and how much of it is part of our instant gratification full culture? >> it goes both ways. it helps some people and some people are motivated by competition but for others it also deferred them. people like seeing others, you

know, succeed along with them, and having community access i think is the really bigger image when you use these devices. >> just how easy is it to fake the results on these fitness gadgets? and why cheat yourself in the first place. next we'll break down if working out for a global audience is feeding your motivation or just your ego. interaction, with this job, waj has the word. >> get exclusive app content, receive apps, quizzes and guest information. interact in real time. you can be our third co--host. vote, tweet, video content, we'll use them on air. this literally puts you in the in the courtroom.

>> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america

♪ we had a zombie attack last night, and we're low on -- everything. we need whatever you can find.

get going. ♪ >> you are watching zombies run, a popular fitness app that turns your jogging routine into a race for your life. that is part of a new trend of wearable fitness gadgets. the question is how they are impacting our mind and body health. waj sometimes the pressure to impress online followers can lead to shady business practices. >> human beings never cheat lisa. that is crazy zombie talk there. check out this video. ♪ >> that is so shameless. okay. you can drive with it. use water -- >> what if the balloon breaks?

>> but nothing is as shameless as this. people are using their pets. they are putting their fit bit on the dog. that is so shameless, but thank you for acknowledging it. and check this out, this is nike fuel-zine. catchup bottle, or frying pan, bottle or head phones. >> head phones. >> spending 10 minutes dancing to your favorite album -- >> they are actually moving on that one, though. >> i do that anyway. >> jamie, you don't have to reveal major secrets, but you hang out with a lot of athletes, you have got to know some that cheat? >> they work out so hard anyways that i don't know if they are as point conscious as we are.

but i did it one time. >> how did you cheat? >> i train with friends in different areas and we travel for half marathons, and we try to get on the same training program. and there was one time i was running around a park with a friend, and we happened to pass a bar, and i paused it and had a drink or two, on the way home, we printed, got back in the car, and drove and it looked like we ran really fast. and i think i ran like 2 miles in 4:00s, so i didn't do it right. i'm not good at cheating. [ laughter ] >> what is the psychology behind lying to ourselves? >> particularly in a situation where you are sharing this information with other people there is a motivation to look

good. also you feel bad about yourself when you set a goal like dieting or exercising and you don't meet that goal, so it's essentially a form of ego protection in some cases, and there can be some incentive for you to not let down people or have them make fun of you, or maybe you have signed up for one of these apps where you put a little bit of money on the line, and if you don't go to the gym that way you can lose a little bit of money, but in general, i think the temptation to cheat on these things is -- is low, right? people do this to feel good about themselves and if you are cheating like you said earlier, you are really just cheating yourself. >> ivan we are collecting all of this data, we have all of these numbers. what do we do with it? this >> that's the thing. that's my contention with some of these devices that while this data is fantastic, it is just

information in the end. how this informs you, and what it means to you in the context of running, it's hard to figure out sometimes. >> that's part of the problem too, if you can't put it in context. i'm assuming they are thinking about that though as they are developing new forms of these devices? >> certainly. certainly. and as things get better, i'm not too worried about the cheaters on the system. i think a, the community will figure it out, and b, i think as technology gets better, for example with this skateboarding, quantified self app it can identify a kick flip just by the raw data. so as the raw data gets better, the software companies will be able to determine who is actually cheating. >> but there is a huge ethical consequence of storing data, lisa.

and our community is chiming in on it . . . and we got a great video comment. give this a listen. >> i am however a little bit concerned that a few small, you know, apps can actually be an opportunity for larger companies and multinationals to comodify our workout for us. >> so janet these gadgets store the following information, weight, steps taken per day, sexual activity, and even gms location. how can the users protect their

privacy from being exploited ? >> so i think that's a real -- i think consumers should be concerned about it, right? so for the most part this information is protected in the united states anyway under the health information protection, act, called hipaa, and hipaa protects, say, your 'em employer from knowing information about your weight, and sexual activity and all sorts of other juicy details that they might like to know about you, so i think you have to be careful with any product that you see, because once you choose to share that information, you may be giving up your access or protection under these hipaa laws. because now employers and insurers have access to this information. >> i know there are some psychologists and psychiatries

who treat an -- anorexics and this could enable that disease. >> i think if you look at the population in general, we know that for the most part americans are overweight and don't exercise enough. so the whole idea that you can change instant gratification in health, now you are making health instantly gratifying by having these products, you do capture maybe a larger segment of the population who would benefit, but again, most americans are overweight, most americans don't exercise enough, and so it has the potential to help more people than it would to harm. >> jamie success stories of people using these? >> yeah, i think like janet said earlier, it really depends on the individual.

i know some people who this was their motivation to work out. and it has been their number one motivation still to this day. it's a good way to connect with people. it's a signal for people. i'm conscious about my fitness level. i want to workout and take a healthy step, and somebody else sees it, and all of a sudden you have a running partner and a human being to encourage you beyond that device. i need a trainer, i can't use -- >> brian just tweeted in a success story. i won't be such a downer. brine says . . . >> wow. congratulations. >> yay. >> well done, brian. >> so if you are wondering who should be using these gadgets the most, the answer is probably going to surprise you. if you belong to aarp, you are going to want to pay attention.

plus where the future of fitness devices are headed? keep tweeting us. >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism

al jazeera america. ♪ ♪ welcome back to "the stream," and we are talking about tracking our health on fitness devices. a recent study found that the people who might benefit the most are the elderly and chronically ill. i know some over 65s at my gym that can totally kick my rear, but generally these devices f for -- the elderly and ill seems

a little counter intuitive. >> they need more exercise like anything. i don't think it's that big of a deal. >> jamie i was reading some research, and they said on average they see people use these things for maybe three weeks up to two months, and that's it. >> i think the initial fun wears off, and you have to calibrate these, and sometimes they are not charged. and it is just an added thing to take with you to the gym. in the beginning you make sure it is charged, and then it starts to lose his luster. >> have yours sat on your dresser drawer. >> i have a couple. >> yeah. >> speaking about how this is helping seniors . . .

and speaking on the negative side, stephen says . . . very sad story. and . . . janet i want to go to you with this. we have discussed though fact these are expensive. should regular couch potatoes like myself wait for the next generation of fit tech? or it is more accessible for people like us right now? >> i think there's multiple options for you. you can use an app that is a couple of dollars to download and it can help you a lot. pair it with a heart rate monitor and a pedometer, and

it's a low-cost option. so to me i think they really, really benefit -- they make exercise more fun right now, which is the huge problem with exercise, for most people it is not fun right now, and this is a great way to make it more immediately rewarding. >> ivan, you knew apple was going to drop its new patten an hour before it was announceded, what is the future of these things? especially given the low retention rate we were just talking about. >> i think we'll see more accurate and cheaper devices, and more interconnectivity between things. we give our data to these platforms. nike just invested ten start ups into a campus intubate for to create new platforms that will talk to each other.

so everything will become [ inaudible ] with each other, and perhaps when you are running in a park maybe you see somebody else with a band and you can start a race with one another. i think we'll see things getting more game like and more fun. >> i read today by 2017, 30% of all americans will wear a device that can track their sleep, food, exercise, and blood sugar. some of the stuff was really unbelievable. >> we're really halfway there already. think of all of the information your smartphone knows. and with google glass coming out soon, i know of an app called race yourself, and

>> jamie in the beginning i was a little bit of a downer when it came to the trainers versus the fit tech, how is this merging? >> again, i'm never going to get rid of my trainer. these apps will make it more fun to work out with my friends and continue to drive that competition. when i'm with my trainer, that trainer is pushing me to my limits. so for me it is never going to replace a trainer. i guess never say never, but i agree with ivan, i want to see them get more talk savvy and not have to plug them in and charge them and calibrate them and do all of this. gu i think they are going to stay. >> on that note, thanks to all of our guests. don't forget the conversation continues right now on twitter.

until next time waj and i will see you online. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from doha and london, this is the news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes. a new truce ukraine's opposition signs a deal with the government paving the way for early elections. but will it hold? we're in one city completely controlled by the opposition. hello there, i'm in london with the latest from europe, including western european's