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The Nagging Worm in the Apple Watch

Kathy Werner
Posted 9/17/21

This past pandemic year, I used all my credit card points (which I couldn’t use on travel) to get myself an Apple watch. Many friends and relations had gotten one and I finally succumbed.

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The Nagging Worm in the Apple Watch

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This past pandemic year, I used all my credit card points (which I couldn’t use on travel) to get myself an Apple watch. Many friends and relations had gotten one and I finally succumbed.

Never really saw the need for one, honestly, but now it’s become part of my routine. There’s a lot to love about this watch. I can check my messages, read email, and play podcasts and audio books on it. I can even answer phone calls on it, though I do look a bit like Dick Tracy on his two-way wrist radio when I’m talking into it.

I do love my Apple watch’s ability to set a timer. I use it every time I put in a load of wash, cause I don’t know about you, but I have been known to forget the laundry. That buzzer reminds me to finish up.

And one of my most-used apps is Weather. I check it first thing to figure out how to dress for the day. No need to watch Al Roker. Just open that app and you’re good to go.

These are all quite handy functions.

However, I must admit that this watch can be a bit of a nag.

One of its more irritating apps is the circle app, which lets you know how much exercise you’re getting every day. I think when I set it up, I told it I was 86 years old, so it set relatively reachable exercise goals for me. Associated with this workout app are all sorts of messages that pop up, telling me to “Breathe” and “Stand Up” and then it pops up to encourage me to “Keep it going!” and other annoying inspirational nudges. Look, I’d love to jump through all these little hoops for my watch, but then how would I have enough time to play Sudoku on my iPhone obsessively? I know people who have gone on long walks or hikes and then bemoan the fact that they didn’t wear their Apple watch, so it didn’t really count. Really? If you did it, it counted, whether your wrist nanny measured it or not.

Another app that recently appeared on my timepiece is the Hand Washing app. Have you seen this one? When the watch senses that you are washing your hands, a 20-second timer begins. Of course, you can get your watch to do this while you are just pretending to wash your hands, which I just did to see the messages you get along the way.

As you are sudsing up, the little bubbly numbers begin to count down. When you get to about 10 seconds, you see an encouraging “Almost there!” When the clock hits zero, you get a buzz and a “Well done!” If you stop washing too early, however, you are shamed by this message: “Washing your hands for 20 seconds can remove germs that can make you sick.”

Thanks, Mom.

My Apple watch has become an integral, albeit pestering part of my life. I know it only wants the best for me. But it’s smothering me with all its good intentions.

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