When wearables were introduced, I was impressed with their novel and futuristic concept. Wearable technology incorporates computers or electronics into an accessory or as an item of clothing.
Popular examples of wearables are the Apple Watch, Fitbit, Jawbone’s UP and — on Auburn’s campus — the Movband.
I did not think wearables would catch on. They struck me as extraneous, unattractive and expensive toys.
Fast-forward three years and the number of people I see with the tech accessories is surprising. Wrist after wrist is wrapped in tech.
Jawbone’s UP and the various Fitbit models aim to improve health through data on calories burned, heart rate and sleep tracking. Costing between $100 and $200, these bands don’t seem worth what you could achieve through a pedometer or movement tracking on your smartphone and some health research.
This year, the popular Active Auburn physical education course adopted the Movband, a basic fitness wearable. The band tracks students’ movement through an accelerometer and syncs to an app.
One student said wearing her Movband for class encourages her to go to the Auburn Recreation and Wellness Center more.
She purchased a group fitness pass to reach her goals. Every three weeks, the course increases the amount of movement expected.
I’m in favor of motivation to increase health, but I know some students wear and don’t care. Creative students “beat” the trackers by shaking them while sitting in RBD.
Wearables can improve our health, but for many people who weren’t self- motivated before, a fitness wearable is a waste of money.
A different group of wearables are smartwatches from Apple, Samsung, LG and others.
These touchscreen watch faces bring smartphone functions to users’ wrists. You can see calls and notifications without disruptively taking out your phone.
Convenient as they may be in some occupational settings, do we truly want to communicate from a tiny thing, with one hand, on our arm?
I see just about nothing I would rather do on my wrist than on my phone. Instagram pictures are already small — they needn’t be smaller.
If my phone could be replaced by the watch, that’d be fantastic, but that’s not how the Apple Watch works. The clunky mini-phone needs to tag along with its parent.
Samsung, Motorola and LG make watches that don’t need your phone to work, but most people haven’t dialed in to these.
Rachel can be reached at intrigue@ThePlainsman.com.
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