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Ethan Patton's avatar

I'm in my mid/late 20's. I own a few analog watches, because I like the idea of them and the look. However, it didn't take long for me to stop wearing them altogether, because putting one on feels like too large a fashion statement. It is rare to see many analogs here, especially on a younger person. Wearing one made me feel (possibly paranoidly) like I was acting pretentious or calling attention to myself.

Now I wear a Fitbit smart watch. It was a gift, and I wear it nearly 24 hours a day/night. I'm very active, and it keeps track of all my fitness, sleep, and health activity in a simple tidy way that I appreciate. I don't utilize its messaging functions, so it stops short of being a phone on my wrist. Someday, once it dies for good (hopefully years from now), I could see myself drifting back towards the analog again. I'm less self-conscious and more secure than I was a few years ago when I stopped wearing the watches. A Casio may be back on the table then.

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John Halbrooks's avatar

Casio now makes a watch that counts steps, though I don’t think that it tracks sleep.

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Brent's avatar

I prefer analog watches! In an effort to stop checking my phone so much, I developed a bit of an ebay habit and have a few vintage automatics that I have really grown to enjoy. In keeping with passive data collection however I replaced my fitbit with an Oura ring. If you don’t mind wearing a bit of jewlery I think it’s a great combo.

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John Halbrooks's avatar

Yes, I would think that would be a better solution than double-wristing, with a watch on one and the Fitbit on the other.

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Kathleen Rogers's avatar

I keep trying to give up my Apple watch and, so far, I keep failing. Of course my number one use for it is to find out the time. But, embarrassingly, the second most common and valuable use for the thing is to find where in the house I've left my phone.

The thing is ugly and it irritates my wrist. I'd love to quit it. If only there weren't so many places to hide my phone around here.

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John Halbrooks's avatar

I have the same tendency to misplace my phone, but luckily, my MacBook helps me to find it.

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Connie Brake's avatar

On a bus tour last year we discovered how relying on this "smart" technology can fail us. We were all used to our devices changing for us as we changed time zones. We stopped for the night in Arizona but on Indian land. AZ does not do daylight savings time, Indian lands in AZ do, so it was a different time across the street. Half the people's phones did not "grab" the right time. Not many had a watch that wasn't attached to their phone. It was very confusing to get the group organized. And at 58, I was by far the youngest on the trip, average age is 70. Lesson learned.

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