The smartwatch saved me from addictive reaching for the phone. I appreciated it when I lost him

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Research also confirms that as much as 70 percent. cases we unlock the phone ... for nothing. Sessions after unlocking the screen in 70 percent. cases take less than 2 minutes.

We look into the smartphone for some crap; either we reply to the notification, or we do a quick Facebook->Twitter->Instagram round and put the phone in our pocket. And then again. And once more. And once more.

This is where the smartwatch turns out to be an unexpected godsend. Fighting one device with another is almost like fighting fire with fire, but I know from personal experience that it really works.

As long as I was wearing a smartwatch on my wrist, my smartphone usage was at least half as low. And I certainly reached for the phone many times less often, because I did it only when it was actually necessary.

Over these 5 years, I've already forgotten what it's like not to have a smart watch on my wrist. Earlier this year, I tried replacing my smartwatch with a regular one for a week, and it was a successful experiment… as long as it only lasted a week. Now that, as a result of Google's sluggishness (or maybe Apple's ill will, who knows), my Wear OS smartwatch has become a very expensive paperweight, I have been forced to abstinence from smartwatches for nearly 4 weeks.

A month without a smartwatch was enough for me to observe disturbing changes in my own behavior.

Worst of all, for the first time in many years I feel the so-called. "phantom vibration" in the thigh, which is the feeling that the smartphone is vibrating even when it is not vibrating. I haven't used ringtones in years (because I just think it's rude), so I rely entirely on my phone vibrating. The problem is that with the phone in my pants pocket, I don't always feel this vibration, especially when, for example, I'm walking the dog.

This, in turn, raises the problem of pulling the phone out of my pocket excessively to check that I haven't missed anything. Anticipating the remark that will probably fall in the comment - yes, I have most of the notifications turned off. I am not interested in information about a like on Facebook or spam in an e-mail. Only important things reach me: phone calls, messages from Messenger and Slack. I can't miss these things. Unfortunately - because I don't have a watch on my wrist, I sometimes miss the notification. So I check my phone prophylactically, pulling it out of my pocket with alarming frequency.

As Rescue Time research shows, taking your phone out of your pocket is a catalyst for smartphone addiction. It gives rise to a chain reaction - we pull the phone out of our pocket once, briefly, but a moment later we pull it out a second time, this time for longer. 2 minutes of checking social media can turn into 40 minutes of mindlessly scrolling the board and engaging in unproductive political discussions. Been there, done that.

I haven't had any of these problems with the smartwatch.

A smart watch has completely changed the way I use my phone.

The examples can be multiplied and multiplied, and these are only apparent trifles. In fact, these are very significant changes in the behavior and use of the phone.

Paradoxically, it turns out that the smartwatch is the best remedy for smartphone addiction that exists. It performs much better than all the apps that restrict other apps. It is more effective than all Digital Wellbeing and Screen Time combined.

The last month made me very aware of this, after which I know one thing: it's hard for me to live without a smartwatch and I need to restore the right order of things as soon as possible. Which leads to one question:

Which smartwatch should I choose?

I have already decided that since not having a smartwatch on my wrist is having such a negative effect on me, I must buy a new one. The thing is... I don't know what kind.

Apple Watch seems to be the natural choice. A few weeks ago, I wrote that at the current price of the Series 3, such a purchase is an obvious step. Colleagues from the editorial office with longer experience in the reserve convinced me that it was completely pointless - the technological gap between the AW3 and AW5 is huge, and the Apple Watch Series 4 is slowly disappearing from sale, and where it is still available, it costs so much that it is better to buy a Series 5.

The other thing is that ... Apple Watch is too filigree. Versions with sapphire glass are far too expensive, and versions without it are too delicate for me to use the watch without messing with it. I lead a fairly active lifestyle, with frequent visits to the forest and the beach, and although the Apple Watch meets IP standards, I feel that diving in the sand or a mud bath would not serve him.

Unfortunately, in the iPhone world, there's the Apple Watch, and then nothing. Emptiness. Only when we look at fitness watches we find Garmin, Suunto and other Polars, which in turn are more fit than smart. And since I'm not used to running 20 km or doing triathlons on weekends, I don't particularly fit into the target group of even Garmin. After all, it is Garmin that may turn out to be the best choice, strictly because of durability. Fenix ​​5 Plus is said to stun a bear (so I heard), so I suspect that no forest will be scary for him.

In addition, Apple Watch = closure in the Apple ecosystem. I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that I regularly test Android smartphones, and it is not said that I will stay with the iPhone for more than a year. Unfortunately, since Wear OS doesn't work with iOS 13, the selection of multi-platform watches has narrowed significantly - basically only the mentioned fitness watches and the Galaxy Watch, which is a great watch, but its capabilities on iOS are even more limited than with Google watches 'and.

However, I do know for sure that I must have a smartwatch.

However it sounds, I became addicted to the feeling of not being addicted. The smartwatch gave me freedom from the smartphone. The lack of a smartwatch, in turn, resulted in side effects that I would not have suspected a few years ago.

I can say without batting an eyelid that smartwatches have changed my life, or rather the way I manage my digital life.

So if anyone is looking for an effective way to fight smartphone addiction, here it is: buy a smartwatch. Just don't take it off afterwards.

Tags: AppleApple WatchScreen Timegarminsmart watchesiOS 13what smartwatch to choosesmartwatchsmartphone addiction