**2. Digital technologies and mHealth**

Most individuals cannot imagine leaving home without their mobile phones. Nearly all adults in the US now have cellphones [6] and half of those are smartphones. In countries such as Australia, Italy, China, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, smartphone penetration reaches almost 70% of the adult population [7], while the adoption rate of smartphones is less than 30% in places such as Mexico (20%), Egypt (26%), Argentina (24%), and Brazil (14%) [8].

As smartphones and tables provide consumers with more access to content and multimedia features, consumers' habits are being transformed around the world. Such devices are being used to play games, shop, connect with social networks, and even for taking care of health issues. In fact, Smartphones and other ubiquitous technologies can be the solution in providing consolidated information in an understandable and meaningful form that will actually help people to make better choices [9].

Nowadays, individuals are demonstrating an active interest in health issues and moving from being patients to being consumers of a vast variety of health products and health services. Of those, a good number (67%) are interested in using online technologies and new media to improve their health and wellbeing [10]. Interest is also high in using a device to monitor fitness and wellness goals as well as for managing specific health conditions, like diabetes. As many as 41% of consumers are interested in using an app to set goals and monitor their progress as well as get gentle reminders that they need to get up and begin their exercise routine, and 38% of smartphone users consider their device as an essential tool for finding health and medical information [11, 12].

With the widespread use of mobile technologies to support the achievement of health goals objectives, the World Health Organization has come with a new term: mHealth; to refer to the health practice supported by mobile devices and its applications. mHealth apps can be divided into two categories: health and fitness apps (e.g., MyFitnessPal, MyNetDiary, LoseIt) that help consumers monitor their healthy activities; and apps that pair with wearable devices and transmit data to a dashboard (e.g., Nike Fuel Band, FitBit, Apple iWatch, BellaBeat). The data can be used both by health care providers and patients to view trends, patient events (e.g., an asthma attack), and adherence to specific programs (e.g., use of medication). Usually, the apps provide users with weekly reports summarizing their experience and programs and providing educational content and interventions to help them achieve their health-related goals [12, 13]. For those consumers seeking to improve their health, digital technologies and the Internet provide three major benefits: immediate access to information, health-tracking tools, and virtual communities for support [14].

Even though the dashboard by itself is useful for providing specific data for the user (e.g., number of miles walked or amount of calories consumed), the feedback provided can help individuals to adhere to new health-related habits if it is designed using concepts of behavioral economics, which implies the use of challenges, rewards, social norms, and visual elements, among other features to motivate individuals to adhere to a new routine or lifestyle [15]. At the same time, previous research suggests that digital technology will provide better results if it is combined with social encouragement and collaboration from peers facing a similar situation [16], therefore, the importance on learning about social support.
