The Human Side of the Digital Health Revolution
Technology Needs People: The Human Side of the Digital Health Revolution
Your smartwatch knows how many steps you've taken, how long you've slept and how your heart rate changes throughout the day. Your phone can bring together health information, suggest activities and help you follow your progress. With artificial intelligence becoming increasingly integrated into everyday technology, these experiences are becoming more sophisticated and personalised.
It's no surprise that some of the world's largest technology companies are investing in this space. Apple, Google, Samsung and other major players are developing products and services that aim to make personal health information more accessible, useful and relevant.
But as the digital health industry evolves, an important question emerges: If technology is getting better at understanding our health, what will help us turn that understanding into healthier lives?
The answer isn't necessarily another device or more data. It's about how technology connects with human behaviour, motivation and everyday experiences.
Table of Contents
- Why Tech Giants Are Investing in Personalised Wellbeing
- How AI Is Changing the Digital Health Experience
- Technology Can Guide Us, but People Drive Change
- What Makes Personalisation Meaningful?
- The Opportunity for More Holistic Wellbeing
- Where VIWELL Fits Into the Future of Digital Health
- References and Further Reading
Why Tech Giants Are Investing in Personalised Wellbeing
Health and wellbeing have become important areas of innovation across the technology industry. What began with basic fitness trackers has developed into a broader ecosystem of smartwatches, connected applications, health monitoring features and increasingly sophisticated digital coaching tools.
Apple has steadily expanded the health capabilities of its devices, introducing features related to cardiovascular health, sleep, activity and other health indicators. Google's Fitbit ecosystem has also evolved, with the company exploring how artificial intelligence can support more personalised health and fitness guidance. Samsung continues to develop its connected health offering, including features designed to help users better understand sleep, activity and overall wellbeing.
These developments reflect a shift in how technology companies approach personal health. Rather than treating fitness tracking as a standalone feature, they are building connected experiences that encourage users to engage with their health information more regularly.
There is also a wider market opportunity. The World Health Organization has identified digital health as an important area for strengthening health systems and improving access to health information and services. At the consumer level, growing interest in preventive health, personalisation and connected devices is creating demand for technologies that help people understand their wellbeing.
For major technology companies, personalised health represents an opportunity to create more useful everyday experiences while strengthening their broader digital ecosystems.
But the industry's growing investment also raises an important question: what happens after someone receives a health insight?
How AI Is Changing the Digital Health Experience
Artificial intelligence is helping digital health platforms move beyond simply displaying information.
Traditionally, a fitness tracker might show how many hours someone slept or how many steps they completed. Newer technologies can increasingly identify patterns, interpret trends and offer recommendations based on information collected over time.
Google, for example, has been developing an AI-powered personal health coach within Fitbit, designed to combine health and fitness data with personalised guidance. Apple and Samsung have also continued introducing features that help users interpret health-related information and make more informed decisions.
These developments can make digital health experiences more relevant. Instead of presenting isolated numbers, technology can provide context and help users recognise patterns they might otherwise overlook.
However, AI-generated health guidance also has limitations. The quality of recommendations depends on the available data, the design of the system and the scientific evidence supporting its features. Consumer health technology should not be treated as a replacement for professional medical assessment, particularly when symptoms or health concerns require clinical attention.
The real opportunity is to use intelligent technology to make reliable information easier to understand and apply.
Technology Can Guide Us, but People Drive Change
Imagine someone who receives a notification that their activity levels have declined over the past week. The information may be accurate, and the application may even suggest increasing daily movement.
But the person still needs to decide how that recommendation fits into their day. They may have work commitments, family responsibilities or limited opportunities for physical activity.
This is where the human side of digital health becomes important.
Research into digital behaviour change interventions has consistently highlighted the role of engagement, motivation and personal relevance. A 2017 systematic review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research explored how people engage with digital behaviour change interventions and identified engagement as a complex process involving both users' experiences and their interactions with technology.
In other words, providing information is only part of the challenge. Digital health experiences also need to be useful, engaging and appropriate for the people using them.
For some individuals, a personalised goal may provide motivation. Others may respond better to encouragement, shared activities or a sense of achievement. Some may prefer tracking their progress independently, while others enjoy participating in challenges with friends or colleagues.
Technology can create opportunities for these experiences, but meaningful engagement depends on understanding the people behind the data.
What Makes Personalisation Meaningful?
Personalisation has become one of the most frequently discussed concepts in digital health. Yet a personalised experience should involve more than presenting different recommendations based on a few measurements.
People have different priorities, circumstances and definitions of progress. Someone preparing for a running event may be focused on physical performance, while another person may want to improve their daily energy, manage stress or develop greater confidence in their financial decisions.
Even people with similar health data may have very different needs.
Meaningful personalisation considers individual goals, preferences and circumstances, helping users identify actions that are realistic and relevant to their lives.
It also recognises that progress is not always linear. People experience changes in motivation, routines and responsibilities, and wellbeing experiences need enough flexibility to accommodate those changes.
This is particularly important when digital platforms aim to support long-term engagement rather than short periods of activity.
A useful wellbeing experience should help people understand where they are, identify what matters to them and find practical ways to move forward.
The Opportunity for More Holistic Wellbeing
Much of the consumer health technology market has historically focused on measurable physical indicators such as movement, heart rate and sleep. These remain valuable areas of innovation, but wellbeing extends beyond what a wearable device can measure.
Mental health, nutrition, relationships, financial confidence and professional life can all influence how people feel and function.
Someone may maintain an active lifestyle while experiencing significant work-related stress. Another person may sleep well but struggle with financial uncertainty or social isolation. Understanding wellbeing requires recognising these different dimensions rather than relying on a single score or measurement.
This creates an opportunity for digital wellbeing platforms to bring together different types of support, education and engagement.
The objective is not to measure every aspect of someone's life. It is to help people develop a broader understanding of their wellbeing and access experiences that are relevant to their needs.
As the industry continues to evolve, the most useful solutions may be those that combine intelligent technology with a more comprehensive understanding of everyday life.
Where VIWELL Fits into the Future of Digital Health
VIWELL approaches wellbeing through six interconnected pillars: Physical, Mental, Nutritional, Social, Financial and Professional. By recognising that wellbeing goes beyond physical health, the platform brings together personalised insights, practical guidance, educational resources, activities, challenges, community experiences and rewards to support healthier everyday choices.
An important part of this experience is VI (pronounced VEE), VIWELL's AI-powered wellbeing companion, designed to help users better understand their wellbeing and receive personalised guidance based on their individual needs and goals. Rather than simply presenting health information, VI helps make wellbeing knowledge more accessible, relevant and actionable.
Wearable data can contribute valuable insights into daily activity, sleep and other health indicators, while VIWELL connects these insights with a broader wellbeing experience. Users can set personalised goals, participate in challenges, discover events, explore educational content and track their progress, making it easier to stay engaged with their wellbeing journey.
By combining intelligent technology with motivation, community and rewarding experiences, VIWELL aims to make wellbeing more accessible and meaningful in everyday life. The focus is not simply on providing more information, but on helping people understand what they can do with it.
As major technology companies continue investing in personalised health, VIWELL represents a more holistic approach that connects technology with the human side of wellbeing.
The future of digital health will undoubtedly involve more advanced AI, increasingly capable wearables and greater personalisation. But technology's value should ultimately be measured by how well it serves the people using it.
Because technology can help us understand our wellbeing. People are the ones who turn that understanding into progress.
References and Further Reading
- World Health Organization (2021). Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025. A framework for using digital technologies to support health and wellbeing.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240020924
- Google. Health and Fitbit Developments. Updates on AI-powered health coaching and connected health technology.
https://blog.google/technology/health/
- Apple. Apple Health. Information about Apple's health technology ecosystem and connected health features.
https://www.apple.com/healthcare/
- Samsung. Samsung Health. Information about Samsung's connected health and wellbeing technologies.
https://www.samsung.com/apps/samsung-health/
- Perski O, Blandford A, West R, Michie S. (2017). Conceptualising Engagement With Digital Behaviour Change Interventions: A Systematic Review Using Principles From Critical Interpretive Synthesis. Journal of Medical Internet Research.
https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.7729
- World Health Organization. Digital Health. Research, strategy and developments in digital health systems and technology.
https://www.who.int/health-topics/digital-health
