I'm currently on Day 3 of owning an Apple Watch and while the novelty is starting to wear off, I'm already wondering if it's controlling me. The alerts and updates are all about the same (no more confusing or manipulative than a traditional iPhone) but the Activity circles are starting to make me obsessive. As you can see in the picture below, the watch tracks your calories burned (for me it's a goal of 750 per day), your exercise (30 minutes a day), and how often you stand (it wants you to stand one minute per hour). At the beginning of each day, the circles reset and you try to see how many you can fill before the day ends. On days where I run, it's very easy to hit the goals, but on non-running days, even if I go to the gym, it's proving to be a bit more difficult.
For example, I went to the gym today, used a few machines, and did about a half mile of swimming. Granted, it wasn't a crazy workout or anything, but sadly, almost none of that work is collected by the watch. As a result, I've been asking myself all day if I can work in more walks with the dog, or if I should park further away from the baseball game tonight to move those circles a little more. Even though I've already done something healthy tonight, I'm still bothered by the lack of recognition from the device. I'm sure I'll either get over it...or get stuck in a streak where I can't go a single day without disappointing my watch. Granted, it's making me more active, but its manipulative in its real life gamification.
I'm off to the Pirates game now and we'll see if I can close the circles three days in the row. It may come down to me doing some jumping jacks in my living room before going to sleep. Maybe that's why the cereal is called "Apple Jacks"...
For example, I went to the gym today, used a few machines, and did about a half mile of swimming. Granted, it wasn't a crazy workout or anything, but sadly, almost none of that work is collected by the watch. As a result, I've been asking myself all day if I can work in more walks with the dog, or if I should park further away from the baseball game tonight to move those circles a little more. Even though I've already done something healthy tonight, I'm still bothered by the lack of recognition from the device. I'm sure I'll either get over it...or get stuck in a streak where I can't go a single day without disappointing my watch. Granted, it's making me more active, but its manipulative in its real life gamification.
I'm off to the Pirates game now and we'll see if I can close the circles three days in the row. It may come down to me doing some jumping jacks in my living room before going to sleep. Maybe that's why the cereal is called "Apple Jacks"...
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