Table 3.

Overview of key responses to multiple-choice and open-ended questions about perceptions on wearables (of participants and social circle).

	Answers	n	n%	Quotes
Participant's perceptions	What did you like about the wearables?
	Good weight	89	60%
	Easy/comfortable wearing	83	56%	“I like the wear of the wearable”
	Looks nice	76	51%	“That is a nice watch”
	Good seize	73	49%	“I like the shape”
	Practical/handy to wear	52	35%	“It's just like a watch you can wear everyday”
	Just liking the wearable	30	19%	“I enjoy the wearable,” “It's amusing,” “I like the wearable”
	Informative	2	1%	“The wearable enables me to see and follow my daily activity and energy expenditure,” “It helps me control my health”
	What did you not like?
	Difficult to wear	7	5%	“The Tucky is difficult to wear [and keeping adhered]”
	Too big	1	1%
	Other	1	1%	“My friends disturbed me a lot as they also wanted to wear and see the it [Withings]”
Peer perceptions	Did people ask you about the wearable?
	Yes	41	25%
	No	107	73%
	About what wearable did the people ask?
	Withings	38	25%
	Tucky	10	6%
	What questions did they ask?
	Aim of wear, functionality	25	17%	“Why do you wear that,” “That is a nice watch, […] what is it for?,” “What is the aim of wearing this watch?,” “What is it doing?,” “Is it a toy?,” “Its purpose [?]”
	Medical/health beliefs	19	13%	“Is it because of HIV that they gave you this,” “People asked if that is how they control COVID with,” “If it's a medicament,” “Is it for [your] health?”
	What is it?/curiosity and desire to touch	14	9%	“What is it, … let me try,” “They were curious and wanted to touch,” “What kind of watch is it?,” “They asked what I am wearing”
	Where from?/acquiring	11	7%	“Do you sell it? Do you have it in stock?,” “How can someone acquire such a watch?,” “Did you buy it?,” “You have a nice watch, who gave it to you?,” “Is it from the market?”
	Side effects on health	5	3%	“If it's a magical watch?,” “Is it dangerous to wear?,” “They asked if it makes me ill,” “If it has side effects”
	People recognizing the study participation through the wearable	3	2%	“You also got ‘their’ watch?,” “Children also wear that [study] watch? Who gave it to you?,” “So you also have one of these watches, no?”
	Details on wearing	3	2%	“They asked if it's disturbing,” “[Some asked] if I constantly wear it even while taking a shower?,” “If I feel at ease when wearing the wearable”

Analyzed were n = 841 valid questionnaires.