FORESEING USAGES AND CONSEQUENCES OF E-MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES. A “FICTIONAL” CASE STUDY

Abstract

The field of (mental) e-health is particularly active,
and generates new devices at an extremely fast pace.
If the empirical analysis of the current uses of these
devices is essential, it is equally necessary to anticipate
the disruptions that will occur in the near future by
reflecting on possible, but not yet proven, uses of
these devices for people with psychological problems/
mental disorders, and the problems that will arise
from the data generated by these new devices. The
fictional case analysis offers such possibilities of thinking in advance about emerging technologies whose
“disruptive” potential to use the term popularized by
various digital players – imposes not to be limited to
known uses. This is what we are proposing here with
a case whose occurrence we are considering in five
years. We will discuss the possible uses of connected
devices throughout a “typical” day of a person with
severe problems of emotional dysregulation and suicidal behaviour. They will help us in thinking about
five modes of regulation that can be envisaged for the
ownership and uses of the data generated by these
ubiquitous devices, which will ultimately be integrated
into the smallest interstices of our daily lives.