 Hello, this is Chris Dancy. Thanks for watching the videos, the TED Talk that someone did about me and I guess the other videos about me. Your first question is, got it here on paper. Got a lot of paper. Lots of students wanna know when I first started collecting. You know, I started collecting data actually way back in the late 1970s, believe it or not. I was a young kid then and my parents got a PC and I started putting in all the records and tapes I bought into a spreadsheet, it was an old DOS program. Slowly through my teen years in the 80s and then my 20s and the 90s, I collected more and more different types of information but I never really cohesively put it together like this is your life. I didn't start doing that probably until the late 2000s. So at that point I started seeing the different pieces of my life as actually being connected. So like if you bought a tape, it was linked to some money that you made and if you made some money, that money came from someone and if you listened to that tape or piece of music you bought, where did you listen to it? It just became really interesting to kind of see my patterns of behavior that way. Probably it's peak I had thousands of apps and systems watching me, you know, apps like we use every day, you know, just taking social media apps, email apps, Netflix, Spotify, anything like that. I tried to create a way so that those applications could share with me the data they knew about what I was doing. And all of that information just wrote back to my Google calendar in real time and allowed me to start to have a really interesting view of how I spent my time and what was important to me. It's so weird just looking at your search history or looking at your text history with a person will tell you a lot about that relationship. So it's been a really, really, really long time but officially it's been maybe 14, 15 years of doing as much as I do, but it goes back much longer. Next question is, do I have any concerns about the way the data is being used? No, I have none. And I think people who have concerns about it are silly. There's no need. The problem is the data is gonna be used whether we are concerned about it or not. And I think the challenge is people today need to actually ask for that information in a way that they can use it. The privacy issue is a non-issue because if you've got a lot of money, you don't think about privacy. And if you have no money, you don't have any privacy. So I've never really concerned myself with the data. I think it's interesting the way that companies collect it but I find it more fascinating that people have this belief that somehow they're special and their data's being used and they're being watched. No one really cares about you that much. And when it comes to your data, they care about selling you things. And I think you should care about learning about what they think you are instead of worrying about what they could think you are. So the next question is what's been the most positive and negative thing about collecting data on myself? I'd say probably the most obvious thing that's positive is I'm known for it. So I get unfortunate enough to be asked to speak all over the world and consult with big companies. That's pretty positive. But I think in a more personal note, it's hard to explain, but once you start to learn about yourself, it becomes a feedback loop where you learn more and more and more about yourself. So one of the intrinsically positive things that you can never really explain to someone until they've been through it is the sense of enlightenment. Like you start to understand what's important to you and as those values change, you see them and you're kind of scared, you're like, oh my gosh, suddenly I'm behaving this way or suddenly I'm behaving that way. And you know that's not your pattern. So that's pretty positive, but you have to experience it. Negative, I'd say in the beginning, one of the biggest negative things was how much my friends needed me to stay the way my data was. And what I mean to buy that is if you behave a certain way online and all of a sudden you change, some people will ignore it because they don't wanna recognize your healthy behaviors. Maybe they're beginning healthier or maybe they don't wanna recognize your less healthy behaviors. But some people will be really upset. So they'll make sure that they mentioned to you that, hey, I liked you better when you did this. So if you're a clown online and you stop being a clown, people get upset. You know, I talk about on my book, Don't Unplug, one of the things I did really early in 2010 was I would only like or comment when my friends wore certain color clothing. So to see if I could force them into that color more often when they wanted my attention. So I'd say the hardest part about, you know, what I did was just finding out who my real friends were because unfortunately people need you to be your data. All right, so the next question is from Lilian. And that's, have you seen a change in your mental, emotional, physical health since you started tracking your health? Well, this is a big one, mental and emotional and physical. I love the fact you separated them because it's so true. Yeah, I mean, I went through a period of time and between 2014 and 2016 where I call it data PTSD. I felt mental because two things became obvious to me when you collect information and track yourself. One, you repeat these outrageous habits and you try to change them, but they just come back. Sometimes it can be as much as a year and something will show back up on that day, which has a lot of questions with free will. But then like the really simple emotional things like as you start to change and you know this because you're collecting data whether it's weight loss or eating different or even how loud you speak and the places you visit, you start to have to lose the sense of self. You start to wonder, well, who am I and who was I? And it's almost like a data dysmorphia if that makes any sense. So just like some people can't sense their body and how big they are. And some people can't sense time and how long. There's like an identity dysmorphia and physical. Oh gosh, I mean, that's really easy. I mean, you know, 12 years ago I weighed 100 pounds more than I do now. I smoked all the time. So I mean, physically that was the first thing I noticed but the emotional and the mental were pretty big. And I would add, although you didn't ask Lillian spiritual it's really cool like starting to have this sense of your mental, emotional and body being one combined thing outside of itself. So next question is from Marco and Jennifer. This is funny and this is true. How do people react when they discover that you collect so much data? Does anyone ever criticize you for taking technology so seriously? They used to, if you watch old videos of me like from 2012, 13, 14, it was always this and even, you know, I kind of made a bigger deal than it was this kind of this poking fun at me as if there's like something broken about me because I'm interested in myself. So yeah, I mean, people have been less than kind about what I do and how I think about it. But as we're moving into a new decade, I think a lot more people are starting to wonder like, hey, wait a minute, isn't this something I could do for myself? So I've been criticized excessively and there's a lot of articles that are very critical of what I do but I think the way the story is told can be seen in less than positive light. I mean, the idea of the quantified self you know, someone who's, you know collecting measurements about themselves that can be pretty, that can be seen to a really narcissistic lens. And I think bio hackers and quantified selfers don't do themselves any favors because they make it all about themselves. They make it all about like what they've learned and they didn't really don't extend it. A lot of my work in the last three years has been about, you know, quantified selflessness to try to start to change people's perceptions about data collection and the power of group identity through that. So for example, if you could see everyone in your class today and you could know how they slept and how social they were and how active they were anonymously, you wouldn't know individually. You just know how the whole class was doing. You'd start to care for the class as a whole in a way that you don't think about it now. So I think in time that'll change, I hope so. Next question's from Gracie. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to become more productive and motivated? Ah, so first off, like don't even try. Productivity is like love. It comes and you don't know when it's gonna come and then it goes and you don't know why it left. So be patient with productivity. There's no right conditions. I mean, you can make things easier to want to be productive but having it show up or creating it for yourself is not really possible. What I always tell people when I talk about this in my book is if you ever notice you are productive, like all of a sudden you have like this wow productive street, you know, I always notice when I start picking up things or I sit down, I pay attention to that. And I try to notice like what is it now in me that feels productive? And I just lean into it just like when you lean in when you're in love, like, ah, this feels so good. But just remember productivity is like a butterfly. You know, it's kinda come and it's kinda go and you gotta capture it when you have. And don't be too hard on yourself. It's totally okay to not be productive. And I think too many people today online make a big deal about showing their computer setups or there's a program called Notion a lot of people use now to manage their life. And, you know, you don't need an Instagram version of your life to show that you're productive. Productivity is really the kindness you show yourself when you're not being productive. Next question is from Carissa. And that's what's your favorite app and why? I wanna say the one I just released, but I won't say that because I hate people who sell, makes me cringe. I'd say probably my favorite app, it's gonna, I'm gonna cheat again, is the telephone app. I love talking on the telephone, although some people don't like it. But if I had to pick something after telephone, probably my calendar. I love seeing like the day and the weather. I love looking at old days and seeing what I did. I just think calendars are such universally powerful tools. And no matter how you use it, it can be really cool. But I like all the fun ones too. I like all the social media. I don't understand TikTok, although my 10 year old is on TikTok. So thanks for asking, I hope I didn't let you down Carissa. Next question's from Elisa. God, I hope it's about the Ursa, the right. E-L-I-S-S-A, Elisa. Does recording your data ever take away from the actual experience? Like writing in your lunch with your friends. Ah, so yeah, I think that's a natural thing to wonder. And it can, I think if you get too involved in it. So what I've tried to do with all of my data collection is combine two fundamental aspects of data. One is low friction data collection, meaning data is just being collected. I don't have to break gaze or I don't have to stop paying attention. So for example, if you have your phone with you, there's an app on the phone called Shazam and it can just listen to music without you really launching it. And this allows it to record all the songs you listen to. A lot of food apps will have barcode scanners and you can create meals. So in your specific example, you just log the meal after you're done with your friends or you just jot it down. Another low friction way to log meals is just take a picture of them and review them later when no one's around. But I think something I noticed in your question that I think is really important is a lot of, there's a lot of conversations in the world today about if you're using your device while you're with people. And I think we need to be real careful with that because if your friends are using their devices and they're not quote unquote paying attention to you, it doesn't mean they're bad people. I mean, you never know what's going on with someone else. They might be in an argument with someone they care about. They might have just gotten bad news. There's so many reasons that someone could be using their device and not paying attention to you. And I think the really amazing thing that we all can do for each other right now is stop worrying about who's paying attention to us and just live like everyone isn't. Another one from Elisa. Are there days where you just wanna stop data collecting? If you were to stop for a day, how would that affect your data? So I think there are days that I wish I didn't think about it. I mean, it's just like this theory called the observer effect, like things change when they know they're being watched. But it doesn't, I mean, I've been doing it so long I don't even give it a thought much anymore. I have actually been quote unquote offline twice. So once in 2015, I went on a 10 day mindful silent retreat. So I wasn't allowed to talk. I wasn't allowed to write. I wasn't allowed to have a phone. I wasn't even allowed to have books. So there's a lot of missing data in that, right? And then when I got married in 2018, I went for a vacation around Europe with my partner and I actually gave my devices to my partner and he did everything we needed to do. I'll be honest, I think it's more odd to not have your devices than to take time away from them. And I think kind of sets a precedent that somehow you're a better person because you don't have your phone because I think you're a better person because you don't judge other people. That's nothing to do with how you're using your phone. Next question is from Mave, M-A-E-V-E. Hope I said that right. Sorry, I'm so bad with my husband as a school teacher. So I should be better at this, but I'm not. What are your tips for staying healthy? How can the average person become healthier? You know, I think you gotta look at health as like a whole health perspective. If you're someone who's really uncomfortable in your body, whether you're too thin or too big or just don't feel comfortable, maybe don't start there. Maybe start with your mind. And if you're totally anxious and worried all the time, maybe don't start with your mind, start with your body. I always tell people, you know, your body and health is really a moving target and you gotta get on the train where the train is slowest. So I always tell people, break your health apart. You know, your mental, your emotional, your biological or physical and then your spiritual. And you know, I don't mean religious, I just mean how you serve others. Cause like helping out a friend is a way of staying healthy. So definitely do that. And then how can the average person become healthier? It really depends on what area you're talking about, but I would definitely say talk to your friends about how they stay healthy. Cause I think if we all shared more data and more opinions with each other, we'd find out that no one's got a monopoly on feeling good. And it's a lot easier to feel good when you realize everybody's just like you. Next question's from Khloé or Khloé. And it's, what's the most important thing you should track using technology? This is so hard because a lot of people today are starting to track text messages between friends to see who's a better friend or boyfriends or girlfriends are doing this. It's a sticky one. I think because you say what's the most important thing to track with technology. You know, my favorite thing I think to watch is screenshots. I've taken screenshots of my phone once a month every year since 2008. It's almost like pictures of you growing older. Cause I think your phone and what icons are on your home screen say a lot about you. It also says a lot about what you value. I do this thing all over the world called phone palmistry where people wait in line, they hand me their phone and I just look at their home screen and like I'm reading a palm and I tell them about it. So I'd say the most important thing is something really simple like that. Like just pay attention to how you use your phone. Even like your battery, like which apps use battery tell you a lot. A lot of phones today do this thing called screen times they'll tell you what apps. But to me that feels cringy and judgy cause it's like this week you use Snapchat 10% more than last week. And it's like, just tell me how much I'll figure out whether it's bad or good. But again, it's really important what you want. I'll tell you this, it doesn't matter what in your life you want to change. There is a way to track it. I can guarantee you that there's some pretty inventive stuff I've seen. So thank you for that question. Next question is from Oliver. And do you see a future where more and more people will become connected to technology? Absolutely. I mean, if you just look at 10 years ago, 2010 only 20% of the world or at least here in the United States had a smartphone today. That number is like 75%. I can tell you this in 10 years. So 2030 you will not recognize the world when it comes to technology. More people will be wearing it. They'll be inserting it with things like specialized earphones and by them we'll have a lot of people who've kind of gone to this new level where they're inserting it inside their body. We already have that, people who have heart problems have pacemakers, people who are diabetic sometimes kind of insulin pumps. But the idea of kind of full-time monitoring yourself with chips and implants will be much more mainstream in 10 years, it seems kind of wild now. In Sweden, I've spent a lot of time in Sweden, a lot of people have chips in their hands so they can ride the train and use them for keys and things. So the future of our relationship with technology is probably much more expensive than you can think about. But don't get too caught up in it because you can get like really wild like, oh my gosh, what does this mean? Just like a cup of tea, we're soaking in it. And it takes a little bit of time to get that flavor. So we've got time, we're doing okay. Next question's from Christina. Love the name, Christina. Chris here, sorry. How do you keep all your devices charged? Oh my goodness, my house is full of cables. I got a lot. Every room has a plug for something. Some rooms have multiple plugs. Although I have to be honest, I love wireless charging. I love just sitting things down. I also have multiples of many devices. So I've got four different Apple watches depending on the function, four AirPods, multiple phones, multiple laptops and screens and things. Not because I need that money, just because they're charging. You don't wanna take a break. So yeah, charging is expensive. If you think about investing, find battery, battery technology, that's the future. Next question is from Megan. Megan says, how does music impact your mood? That's a biggie. When I'm sad, I listen to less music. When I'm happy, I listen to more. When I wanna focus, I listen to music that I don't normally listen to. I talk about this in my book too. Like one of the fastest ways to really get something done is put on your headphones and listen to something you don't listen to. Like a style of music you don't listen to because it's short circuit your brain. Oftentimes when we're listening to music that we really enjoy, it's so much easier just like drift away in it and not really get things done in the way we want to. But music is a big mood impactor for me. More so at dictating when I might be in a not good space. So I really pay close attention to when my music listening goes down because that usually means I need to reach out to people. But it's like anything else. Just being gentle with that is probably the most important thing. And last question is from Kingston. How might a student use data to find time to relax and meditate during a super busy day? I think there are a couple of ways you could answer this question, Kingston. The first one is you could use data by collecting data about your day just to share it with the people who are keeping you busy, teachers, parents, coaches, friends. So that they know how busy your day is already. A lot of times we've become conditioned to treat each other almost like we're on demand, like we're a Netflix show that someone could just jump in and start engaging with. And we need to be super clear about what our expectations are as far as our days. And one way you can do that is just sharing your calendar. You don't have to put what you're doing. You just share it when you're busy. Another way you can do that and something I do is I have very specific ways people can engage with me. They can DM me on Twitter. They can call me, et cetera. But I think telling people how you wanna be engaged with can help almost segment like a lock where a boat would go through a channel. Segment your time. There are other ways. I mean, there are some methods now called time blocking where you can actually block out large periods of time. But I'll be honest with you, Kingston. Every time I've done that, I just use the time for something else. I think meditation is so critically important. But remember, there's a lot of ways to meditate. You can meditate by just really moving slow. Sometimes if I'm having one of those days where I'm super busy, I'll just make sure I really exaggerate my movements. And I do this when I'm alone because it would look awkward if I did this on the high street. So, but when I'm alone, I'll just like really exaggerate my movies. So, that's it. Oh, well. Okay, that's it. Well, hope Mr. Milne, I hope not another name. I'm probably not pronouncing right. And everyone who submitted questions enjoyed this. Thank you for watching the videos. The one about wearable technology that I was featured in or talked about. And I guess the ones on me, I don't know. Take care of yourselves. It can be really overwhelming some days with all the technology, but more overwhelming with all the opinions about it. So, just remember at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about how you're living with your technology or not living with it. It's your job to be good to you. It's your job to be good to your friends and family. And it's your job to always think about your health because your health is both out here and in here. So, take care of yourselves and thank you so much for your interest.