Tracking or lacking? Health app engagement among young adults in Portugal

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methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales. Vol. 13 Núm. 1 (2025)
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Published: Apr 28, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17502/mrcs.v13i1.863
Keywords:
applications, health apps, young adults, digital culture, Portugal Aplicações, Aplicações de Saúde, Jovens Adultos, Cultura Digital, Portugal aplicaciones, apps de salud, jóvenes adultos, cultura digital, Portugal
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Eduardo Antunes
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1372-8052
University of Coimbra image/svg+xml
Ana Marta M. Flores
Universidade Nova de Lisboa image/svg+xml

Abstract

While digital media have become integral parts of young adults' everyday lives, it remains unclear whether health-focused media, like health apps, hold the same importance. This study explores health app usage patterns among young adults in Portugal, analysing tracking data from 342 participants over 90 days. The main findings reveal that contrary to global trends, engagement with health apps remains relatively low. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased adoption of certain public health-related apps, this surge did not translate into sustained engagement. Gender and regional disparities were the most evident, with women and young adults in Lisbon showing higher usage levels. Additionally, the study highlights that a portion of the health app usage is connected with the COVID-19 context, where those apps function more as tools for navigating institutional requirements—such as COVID-19 certifications—rather than for sustained self-care practices. Our findings challenge assumptions about the widespread adoption of health-tracking technologies and emphasise the need for further research on sociocultural factors shaping digital health engagement in Portugal and beyond.

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How to Cite
Antunes, E., & Flores, A. M. M. (2025). Tracking or lacking? Health app engagement among young adults in Portugal. methaodos.Social Science Journal, 13(1), m251301a05. https://doi.org/10.17502/mrcs.v13i1.863
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Vol. 13 No. 1 (2025)
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Eduardo Antunes, University of Coimbra

Research fellow and PhD candidate in communication sciences at the University of Coimbra, where he completed his Master’s in Journalism and Communication and integrated the MyGender project team. He is a radio presenter and programme author at RUC, where he coordinated the Programmes Department. He has had experience as a translator and marketeer, including an internship in Cairo, Egypt. He seeks to develop studies on the dynamics of orientalism and gender in the media, with a particular focus on analysing processes of identity construction, having published work in Social Sciences, Social Media + Society, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Comunicação e Sociedade or Media & Jornalismo.

Ana Marta M. Flores, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Researcher at ICNOVA/iNOVA Media Lab and a visiting professor at NOVA University Lisbon and the University of Coimbra. Holding a PhD in Journalism, her research focuses on media innovation, digital methods, social platforms, and sociocultural trends, with an emphasis on digital culture and social justice. She is Vice-Chair for Communication of the Digital Culture and Communication section of ECREA and has published in high-impact journals such as Media and Communication, Social Media and Society, Porn Studies, and Societies. Author of Innovation in the Creative Industries (Alta Books, 2024), she also co-edited books on young adults and mobile applications (Emerald, 2024). She has coordinated and participated in international projects across Europe and Latin America on violence against journalists, wellness and apps, and media innovation.

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