OT, smart watches.... huh?

[DR]

The grand kids all have smart watches. They can't understand why I don't have one.

I got my first watch when I was in the sixth grade, nothing fancy, not even self winding, just a plain watch with an expansion band. So I tell the kids that's all I need, all they say is what's an expansion band? Trying to explain we go to Amazon looking for a watch with an expansion band. They're hard to find. Most watches seem to have this belt buckle type deal that takes two hands to put on.

I don't get it. What happened, why no watches that come with an expansion band?

[dalee100]

I personally prefer the Nato style bands on my trusty Vostok Scuba Dude self-winder but a quick search came up with some replacement expansion watch bands on Amazon. Timex, Speidel, and Gilden are there.

[MrWhoopee]

I haven't worn a watch in almost 50 years. My smart phone tells time and I have enough trouble seeing it.

[flathead4]

Always hated an expansion band. They catch the hair on my wrist. I wear a Citizen Eco-Drive that is at least 10 years old. Solar powered and keeps time to a few seconds a year. My smart phone i have to dig out of my pocket and push a button to get the time

[SLK001]

I haven't worn a watch in 30 years. I also don't have a cell phone. I don't usually care what time it is.

[Jonesy]

I haven't worn a watch in 30 years. I also don't have a cell phone. I don't usually care what time it is.

This.

But it's only 20 years without a watch for me.

Hate all phones. Spend all my working day glued to one.

And time is going too fast anyway. Last thing I want to do is be reminded of it.

[Tungsten dipper]

The grand kids all have smart watches. They can't understand why I don't have one.

I got my first watch when I was in the sixth grade, nothing fancy, not even self winding, just a plain watch with an expansion band. So I tell the kids that's all I need, all they say is what's an expansion band? Trying to explain we go to Amazon looking for a watch with an expansion band. They're hard to find. Most watches seem to have this belt buckle type deal that takes two hands to put on.

I don't get it. What happened, why no watches that come with an expansion band?

I thought the same thing, now that I have one wouldn't do without it. Assuming you have a smart phone to use it with.

[Mcgyver]

I thought the same thing, now that I have one wouldn't do without it. Assuming you have a smart phone to use it with.

What do you like about? I'd expect many here to not like them, many Luddites here get bent out of shape at the idea of small phone lol. i'm not one, but not having had one I don't really know what the benefit is and have thought the small screen would make it not that useful. Don't have the vision of an 18 year old anymore.

[Lew Hartswick]

I haven't worn a watch in 30 years. I also don't have a cell phone. I don't usually care what time it is.

It's only been 24 for me and I don't even care what day of the week it is let alone the time . Unless I have to hit the Pharmacy , they have hours. :-)
As to "cell phones" I havent any idea how to use one.
...lew...

[challenger]

Ask the kids to give you the time by looking at an analog watch. I'll bet you 75-80% of kids in high school can't do it.
There was a phrase that went, "you don't even know what time it is". This meant a person wasn't very aware. Nuff sed.

[Tungsten dipper]

What do you like about? I'd expect many here to not like them, many Luddites here get bent out of shape at the idea of small phone lol. i'm not one, but not having had one I don't really know what the benefit is and have thought the small screen would make it not that useful. Don't have the vision of an 18 year old anymore.

I like it at work. If I get a call, text, or email it shows on the watch without disturbing anyone. With a mother in a nursing home it's nice to have instant info all the time. Also, it displays current outside temperature, and it keeps track of my miles I've walked and how my flights of stairs I've climbed and etc. I also can check oxygen levels, heartbeat, and my own temperature. One more thing when playing songs off my cellphone thru my car radio it tells me what song and album it's from.

BTW... I went 30 years without a watch.

[SLK001]

It's only been 24 for me and I don't even care what day of the week it is let alone the time . Unless I have to hit the Pharmacy , they have hours. :-)

Find yourself a 24 hour pharmacy and all your problems go away!

[oxford]

Ask the kids to give you the time by looking at an analog watch. I'll bet you 75-80% of kids in high school can't do it.
There was a phrase that went, "you don't even know what time it is". This meant a person wasn't very aware. Nuff sed.

But is that really an issue in todays times?

As far as the people that don’t have a cell phone, you do know it does more than just make calls and tell you the time? It is a tool in today’s society.

Obviously, everyone posting here saying they don’t have a smart phone has access to a computer and internet. What made you decide that was a valuable tool to have but not having access to that same tool in your pocket wasn’t?

I would bet with 100% certainty that you have some other types of tools or conveniences that use modern technology in your life. People seem to take some sort of pride saying they don’t have a smart phone but in today’s age is not really any different than saying I still use the outhouse instead of indoor plumbing.

[chipmaker4130]

. . .What made you decide that was a valuable tool to have but not having access to that same tool in your pocket wasn’t?. . .

What made me decide? The bulk, weight and fragility of those damned 'smart' phones, not to mention the poor quality of actual phone calls. I have a small, mostly stupid flip-phone that sounds great on both ends.

[Dan Dubeau]

I used to wear watches all the time, but haven't worn one on the regular in over a decade. I DO want to pick up an older smart watch though like a Samsung gear 3 or such. Solely for golfing. I use a gps ap (golfpad) on my phones that keeps my scores and stats, and also give me gps yardages to holes, hazards, and whatever you want (its essentially google maps and an excell spread sheet ). It's incredibly handy, and I honestly probably couldn't play golf without it. Well, I still would, but I wouldn't be as good, or enjoy it as much. Especially on a new course with blind shots. The problem is, I'm a quick golfer. I like to get to my shot, get my yardage info, get my shot in my head and hit it (or try to ). Fiddling around with the phone takes time. You can pair the phone to a watch, and I can get all the info that I need, like front/middle/back or green, carry distances to hazards etc right from the watch. So it's just a simple glance down, get the info, figure out my shot and hit it. You can also store club data, so that you get a more accurate picture of your carry and rollout distances for each club. It's absolute magic I tell ya. All for only $20 us a year.

The problem is, that the watches are not cheap, and I am.... If I can find one for about $80-100 or so, I'd be all over it. But the going rate seems to be around $150-200. Couldn't see myself wearing it full time, but ya never know. It'd most likely live with my golf stuff. I wasn't big on smart phones at first but warmed up to them over time. Having the entire collection of the worlds knowledge in your pocket is an incredibly powerful thing. Too bad most don't realize it, and use them mostly for recording stupid tiktoc videos..... Oh, and always having a camera is great too. I actually take pictures of stuff I make and build now, instead of just sending it on. Last night I was programming some lathe parts, and robbing some code from another file. It was simple to just load the file and take a snapshot of the code I want, then flip over to the other file and finger jam it in from the picture.

As for keeping time, 80% of my 10-12hr day is usually spent staring at a screen programming or designing stuff. There is a clock in the lower right hand corner of both screens. I also spend an 1:10 in a truck driving. There is a clock in front of me. When I'm not in either of those 2 places, I don't want to keep track of time....

Another smart watch story. Years ago I bought a fitbit because I wanted to get back into the gym and track my stats (I'm a numbers geek for stat tracking). It had the side benefit of tracking my sleep habits. I found it fascinating and discovered that the problem with my energy levels and lack of quality of sleep was because I had sleep apnea. Went for a sleep study, confirmed it, and now sleep very comfortably with my c-pap machine. That smart watch fitness tracker probably prolonged my life. I got out of wearing it, because I didn't get into a gym routine (no time), and I get too messy and dirty at work that I don't like having a watch on anymore.