Unpacking How Pole Dancers Come to Experience the Use of Fitness Trackers

Personal informatics literature has typically examined how fitness trackers can support understanding of cardio-based exercises, like running, which are closely associated with the step counts central to these devices. Although this focus has supported individuals in gleaning fruitful data discoveries, it confines the manner in which a body moves to these movement domains. In this paper, we contend with pole dance, a physical activity whose movement affordances (e.g., rotational, artistic, feminine) differ greatly from those centralized in the self-tracking technologies. We qualitatively interviewed 20 polers, and gathered their reflection on pole dance and how they view the use self-tracking devices for the activity. Using their insights on the inherent dynamicity of poling, independently, and upon interaction with fitness trackers, we offer suggestions to our discipline to challenge ourselves to re-imagine sensing as a pluralistic endeavor.