8 April 2021
Facebook has joined the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft and thrown its proverbial hat into the Healthcare ring.
There are reports that they are developing an Android-based smartwatch for launch in the summer of 2022 that will join other hardware like its Oculus VR headsets and the smart glasses it’s developing with Ray-Ban.
Facebook’s interest in building a smartwatch dates back some years. It looked at acquiring Fitbit in 2019 before ultimately losing out to Google. Since then, Zuckerberg’s company has, it is rumoured, spent almost a billion dollars to develop their own version and has hundreds of people working on the effort.
While it would seem the watch will focus primarily on messaging, it’s tracking capabilities will enable the device to monitor some aspects of the wearer’s health and potentially boost engagement by messaging alerts or reminders.
Facebook’s reputational problems may make this foray into healthcare a difficult pill to swallow however. Not only does the company collect an incredible amount of information on its users, but it has also consistently mishandled that data. There are reasons to believe that people would not necessarily want Facebook to have yet another way to acquire information, especially something as sensitive as health data.
In 2016 Facebook put their marker down by employing Stanford University professor and cardiologist, Freddy Abnousi who, having a longtime interest in public health, saw an opportunity to work with the social media giant to help shape the social aspects of a person’s life that might lead to better health outcomes, for example a 2017 study showed that higher social interaction lead to a lower risk of a fatal heart attack (in women)
In 2019 Abnousi announced a new tool in the U.S. that will suggest tests and immunisations—such as a mammogram, cholesterol test, or flu shot—based on a person’s age and sex. The company says it wants to influence its billions of users to make healthier life choices, but given Facebook’s history of mishandling user data and an at times indifferent attitude toward misinformation on its site, people may not trust it.
Facebook users already convene in disease-specific groups on Facebook to share information and support one another. Early on during COVID-19 when testing was in short supply, many people who suspected they had the symptoms got together on Facebook to compare their symptoms with others who actually tested positive. Women are particularly active on Facebook and have created large well moderated communities in some cases which offer a genuine service.
But these groups can have a dark side too. For a long time, anti-vaccine groups have used Facebook to transmit false information and recruit new followers. The company has tried to crack down on those groups, but in general it has had a difficult time combating health misinformation on its platform. The existence of these groups serves as a reminder that
Facebook Groups can be used to impact health behaviours in negative as well as positive ways.
What’s interesting about a Facebook health tracker is that it has the potential to encourage people to focus on their health together—even if they don’t live near one another. For users in groups with a health focus, a tracker with a social bent may serve as another way for members to connect and together engage in healthier behaviour. Such a device may actually help Abnousi and Facebook influence health outcomes over time.
“I don’t think healthcare can do this alone,” Abnousi has said. “I don’t think tech can do this alone. I don’t think Facebook can do this alone. I think in order for this to work, everyone . . . has to come together.”