The Optimization Trap: Wearables vs. the Pharmacology of the Body

The article analyzes the mechanisms of self-monitoring technologies (Quantified Self), pointing out that wearable devices are not merely passive observers of biology, but become external behavioral regulation systems. The author describes a feedback loop: measurement – interpretation – action, which, while effective in increasing physical activity, can lead to the so-called optimization trap. This phenomenon consists of the gradual subordination of the body's real needs to rigid metrics and algorithmic goals. Utilizing cybernetics theory and Goodhart's Law, the text explains how the pursuit of a perfect result (e.g., step count or sleep score) can dominate the authentic experience of health and lead to feedback pathologies, where the indicator becomes an autonomous goal.