Why I Don’t Wear a Smartwatch.

The Obsession

Edition - 016

Welcome to The Obsession, glad you’re here.

Around 30% of adults in the U.S. wear a smartwatch. Here’s why I don’t.

It started one day at church. I caught myself flipping through my Apple Watch; checking something, swiping something, doing what I guess I had trained myself to do whenever I had 10 seconds of “nothing.”

And I had an aha moment.

“Tyler… you can’t even sit still and listen to something for 30 minutes. You suck.”

Not my proudest inner monologue, but it was honest.

That afternoon I took the watch off, and I haven’t put it on since.

So here are three quick points (I have more) on why I don’t wear a smartwatch, and why I think you should at least question if you need one.

1) You already have too many screens

Phone. Work computer. TV. Kindle. iPad. Car screen. The list never ends.

We don’t need another screen strapped to our body.

And if I’m being honest, for a long time I brushed off the whole “we’re addicted to our phones” thing. I’d hear it and think, that’s not me, and then I’d justify it.

Is that you?

If you just came up with an excuse in your head… it probably is.

The watch doesn’t solve the problem. It makes the problem more efficient.

2) It kills the quiet

Notifications nonstop. Always connected. Always reachable. Always “on.”

And the sneaky part is it takes the only small breaks you used to have; waiting in line, walking to your car, sitting for a minute before a meeting, and turns them into more inputs.

I’ve started to value the time between things.

The moments between tasks or events where you’re not staring at a screen, not reacting, not consuming. Just being.

Those little gaps are where you think. Where you reflect. Where your brain catches up.

A smartwatch tries to steal those moments back from you.

3) It’s not cool (and I’ll stand on that)

This is the fun one, but I also mean it.

James Bond. Bruce Wayne. John Wick. Maverick. Dutch Schaefer. We could keep going.

Your favorite movie characters wear watches. Not smartwatches, watches.

Because a real watch is timeless. It’s part of who you are. It’s not just a piece of engineering, it’s a story.

The watch you wear becomes a collection of experiences. Trips. Dinners. Work. Wins. Losses. Ordinary days. Big days. It goes with you.

A smartwatch feels disposable. A real watch feels personal.

And for what it’s worth, there are a lot of great brands out there besides Rolex. Some of the most iconic watches are also very affordable.

The point isn’t flexing.
The point is choosing something you actually like, and letting it mean something over time.

The Weekly 3

1) One Question I Asked Myself

Where have I stopped being able to sit still without reaching for a screen?

2) One Idea That Shifted Me

The most valuable moments of your day are often the ones with no input.

3) One Challenge to Take Into Your Week

Pick one “in-between” moment each day (waiting in line, walking, driving without a podcast) and protect it. No phone. No watch. Just quiet.