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To this end, we interviewed 12 users of these ecologies using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Our results show that users experience these ecologies through four aspects: effort minimising, sustainable tracking, performance explainability, and disconnection. We conceptualised these aspects as an automation experience\u2014where technologies work collectively to minimise user effort while maximising insight. This conceptualisation provides a novel lens for analysis that can inform the design of more integrated and user-centered personal informatics ecologies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3743733","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T14:28:48Z","timestamp":1757428128000},"page":"1-25","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Balancing Act: Navigating Effort, Sustainability, Explainability, and Disconnection in Personal Informatics Ecologies for Physical Activity MHCI002"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2671-6800","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahed","family":"Aladwan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computing and Information Systems","place":["Melbourne, Australia"]},{"name":"The University of Melbourne","place":["Melbourne, Australia"]}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Genevieve Bell and Paul Dourish. 2007. 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