From a spring-driven clock to a smartwatch, it’s pretty cool how that little time-telling device on your wrist has evolved. The evolution of the watch has been influenced by gender, social status, the war World War I, and recently, technological needs. As much as the watch has been there for almost 8 centuries, it’s funny how it has and probably always will be on-demand.

Before the mobile phone, it made more sense to need a watch, because how else would people tell time, when they weren’t near a clock of course. Now that smartphones are popular, people probably wear watches less than they did before because checking your phone for the time is probably as quick as just flipping your wrist to see the time. To top it up, a smart-phone has more functionalities than a normal wrist-watch, like setting alarms, reminders, and timers. Yet, watches have still managed to remain popular among all age-groups. How and why? Is owning a watch now, in the 21st century, a necessity or a fashion statement? Could it be both or just one of the longest-lasting trend in human history?

the longest-lasting trend in human history

Not having a watch on my wrist doesn’t mean I will not be able to tell the time because I always have my smartphone with me or in close proximity, as does everyone else. It begs the question, does having it make a difference?

A real difference, not just an accessory. I’d say yes. I’ve owned and worn a watch throughout my childhood, teen life, and the few years of my twenties. And all throughout these years, I have always relied on that pretty little device on my wrist to tell the time – more than I have my phone even when I had it with me. I like watches for two reasons; They make really good accessories, something I’ve learned to perfect over the years as my personal style is evolving and I just have a thing for sticking to traditional ways of doing things. Like sticking to telling the time the old-fashioned way.

However, for three weeks now, I’ve done things differently. I put my normal watch back in my drawer and replaced its spot on my left wrist with a Samsung smartwatch. To be honest, I had never really been excited about the idea of using a smartwatch because I already have a smartphone. I didn’t see the point. Don’t knock it till you try it right?

Notifications

I put on notifications on all my communication apps, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, and phone calls. Any group chats that were muted on my phone, I wouldn’t receive notifications about them on my watch. I can’t say I need to be notified on my phone and my watch when someone texts or calls. Here’s why:

Whenever the watch vibrated to notify me of a message, I’d ignore it because checking my watch to see who’s texted is the same as checking my phone to see who’s texted. It kinda beats the whole point of practicing mindfulness especially when I’m working, reading, or even working out. Putting my phone on silent mode and having my watch on vibrate made no sense. I have times in the day to respond to personal messages and that’s when I’d go through the notifications on my watch. However, because I could only reply to them on my phone, I’d then pick up my phone and see those exact notifications as I replied to them. See what I’m getting at…

It took me a while to get used to something vibrating on my wrist. I’m still not used to it, but it doesn’t feel new anymore. Yet, I can’t switch it off because then I won’t get notified and I wanted to get the entire experience of using a smartwatch. There is a setting to reduce the intensity, but it always feels odd and foreign.

Charging

I truly did not enjoy having to charge it. Many times I’d forget that it didn’t run on batteries like the watches I’m used to, meaning I’d find it dead. At the most inconvenient times. Pun intended. 

Having a “phone” on my wrist and a phone in my pocket is overwhelming.

Replying

The watch comes in handy when I need to make a quick reply and keep going about other things without having to pull out my phone. Especially in conversations that need fast responses. That particular functionality of the watch I liked.

The screen of the watch isn’t big enough to type on, making it a hassle to type an entire response. Which is okay anyway because it’s better to respond on my phone.

Watchfaces

Going through the available faces on the galaxy store was fun, but I didn’t switch between too many. I only settled on one and I’ve had it since then. I’ll probably not even switch it to anything else. Funny thing is, I pick what matched the closest to my other watch. The one I put back in my drawer. Not many options are to my liking and I don’t like looking at it and seeing a different style every time.

Conclusion

After 3 weeks, I still prefer using a non-smartwatch. I’d rather just look at my watch to tell the time and use my phone for everything else. Having a phone on my wrist and in my pocket is overwhelming. There were moments I liked quickly looking at notifications, but not enough to want a smartwatch.

Was the smartwatch created to fulfil the purpose of telling the time, or is the time on the watch just an extra feature in a pool of many other features…

Why is it in huge demand? And what goal does a smartwatch really satisfy? Why achieve the same goal on two devices simultaneously?