SIG Health - Healthcare Informatics and Health Info Technology
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Paper Type
Complete
Paper Number
1324
Description
Affordance theory posits that users' engagement with technology can form affordances that facilitate goal-oriented actions. Studies investigating affordances of fitness apps employed diverse definitions of affordances. Relying on the affordance theory, we developed principles to help identify fitness apps' affordances: (1) affordances require users' perception of their usefulness, (2) app features exist regardless of users' perception, and (3) a single affordance can be enabled by multiple features. Using these principles, we examined fitness apps' affordances reported in the literature. Our results show that 12 affordances out of the 17 followed the principles, and the remainder are features of the apps. We then mapped the 12 affordances against Fitbit app's features. Our mapping identified several instances where multiple features can enable a single affordance and a single Fitbit feature could enable multiple affordances. Our findings enhance research studying the roles the features and affordances play in users’ engagement with fitness apps.
Recommended Citation
Alshawmar, Moayad; Tulu, Bengisu; Wilson, Vance; and Hall-Phillips, Adrienne, "Clarifying the Relationship Between Fitness Apps’ Affordances and Features" (2022). AMCIS 2022 Proceedings. 16.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2022/sig_health/sig_health/16
Clarifying the Relationship Between Fitness Apps’ Affordances and Features
Affordance theory posits that users' engagement with technology can form affordances that facilitate goal-oriented actions. Studies investigating affordances of fitness apps employed diverse definitions of affordances. Relying on the affordance theory, we developed principles to help identify fitness apps' affordances: (1) affordances require users' perception of their usefulness, (2) app features exist regardless of users' perception, and (3) a single affordance can be enabled by multiple features. Using these principles, we examined fitness apps' affordances reported in the literature. Our results show that 12 affordances out of the 17 followed the principles, and the remainder are features of the apps. We then mapped the 12 affordances against Fitbit app's features. Our mapping identified several instances where multiple features can enable a single affordance and a single Fitbit feature could enable multiple affordances. Our findings enhance research studying the roles the features and affordances play in users’ engagement with fitness apps.
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