Striiv Offers Motivation to Stay Healthy

We can’t help but give the Consumer Electronics Show  more hype, especially with the pertinent healthcare-related gadgets and software that we have still yet to cover.

One such is Striiv, a wearable touchscreen interactive pedometer that sets itself apart from the rest by cleverly combining aspects of gaming, social media, philanthropy, and exercise into one pocket-sized device.

When you wear Striiv, it not only tells you the number of steps you’ve taken and calories you’ve burned, but also integrates that data into some fun and charitable motivational programs.

Striiv lets you select from three different charities—like a walkathon in your pocket, the more steps you take, the more Stiiv and their corporate partners donate at no additional cost to you. 60,000 steps earns a polio vaccine for one child and 18,000 steps either saves one parking spot-sized plot in the rainforest for one year or earns a day’s worth of water for one child.

If giving isn’t enough motivation for you, there’s also a Farmville-style game called Myland. The game gives you a virtual island and it’s your job to make it prosperous by planting trees and building huts. The more you exercise, the more points you earn to build up your island (more points are given for stairs and running).

You can also participate in personal challenges to earn badges or trophies based on how far you’ve walked or how many calories you’ve burned. For example, you can earn certain badges when you’ve walked the distance of the Golden Gate Bridge, exercised the equivalent of hiking up the Eiffel Tower, or burned off the equivalent of one cupcake.

If you have a friend who also owns the device, you can both participate in challenges and bet virtual currency or even household chores against each other.

As the 2010s move along, we’ll start to see more and more wearable technology like Striiv, offering fun and creative ways to get people motivated to live healthier lifestyles.