SHOPPING at the weekend, a man in front of me spent a good ten minutes at the till messing about with his smartwatch.
It wasn’t to check the time. He was scrolling down to find a discount code, but couldn’t see the tiny screen clearly, and then he was trying to pay but couldn’t quickly locate the account he wanted to use, then he was cursing under his breath as he tried to re-set it – presumably to tell the time. It was painful to witness.
I never cease to be fascinated by people paying for goods and services using their watch. I am even more intrigued to see people replying on their watches to see how many calories they have burned after exercise, or to monitor their blood pressure.
Who had the mad idea of putting your life on your wrist? Like many 21st century things, I won’t be partaking.
I am all for keeping solvent and for staying healthy, but I don’t want to carry my finances, nor my health records, around with me.
As well as keeping track of your finances, watches can now provide a wide range of body health data, such as blood pressure, heart rate and sleep monitoring readings.
I can’t imagine a wrist-based heart rate sensor being particularly accurate, but simply seeing a notification that things weren’t ‘normal’ would send my pulse racing. I don’t want to lift my wrist to check whether it’s lunchtime, only to discover my heart has slowed and I’m about to keel over.
Taking your blood pressure with an actual blood pressure monitor is fiddly enough, and readings can fluctuate widely. I can’t see a watch being any more reliable.
Smartwatches can count how many steps you have taken. Picture: Pixabay
I also wouldn’t want to wear such a thing in bed. I wouldn’t want to go to sleep knowing that every little toss and turn, every visit to the loo, and every time I wake up to wrestle the duvet from my husband, was being recorded. When I get up in the morning I know whether I have had a decent night’s sleep, I don’t need a device to tell me. And what if you get up all bright and breezy, thinking you’ve had a good night’s sleep, only to find your watch tells you otherwise? It would leave you in a bit of a quandary all day.
Interestingly, more than half of people interviewed for a new study said their smartwatch made them feel more stressed about their health. Market research company Mintel issued a report warning that a decrease in quality of life may be present in those who keep constant track of their health via the device.
It’s obviously good to monitor your health and to be aware of any changes, but to be tracking it day and night surely can’t be good for any of us. It would quickly turn people into hypochondriacs.
Smartwatches also track the number of steps you have taken during the day – something else I can’t see the point of. If I want to go for a walk, I do so to enjoy myself, not to tick a box.
The most ridiculous thing is, these watches can let you know when you’re stressed. For most people who wear them, it’s probably the watch that’s causing it. One of my friends had one for a short time but ditched it – she couldn’t have a glass of wine – as a means of relaxing – without it recording her as stressed.
As for calories burned, it would be far more useful to have a device which told you how many you put on with every bite of a Gregg’s steak bake. You’d soon be running to the salad bar.