4 ms·

I have a smartwatch and it really helped me break my "phone addiction". I used to get a notification and check my phone in case someone needed me urgently. Then

by doix 2y ago

I have a smartwatch and it really helped me break my "phone addiction". I used to get a notification and check my phone in case someone needed me urgently. Then I'd just mindlessly open reddit or HN and start browsing. Now I just glance at my wrist and ignore it most of the time. I also leave my phone lying around all over the place. I used to religiously carry it with me which made it much easier to get distracted.

modeless 2y ago
Yes, people who haven't tried smartwatches don't understand this benefit. They always say "I get too many notifications, I don't want them on my wrist". But what you do is filter them so only important apps come to the watch, then you turn off notification sounds on your phone. Then you simply glance at your wrist once in a while, ignore everything unimportant, and get your phone out much less.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  Or you could just filter the ones that come to your phone in the first place. I suppose android could make some improvements on the phone side to make that easier, but it's not a problem that requires involving an additional piece of technology.
  - modeless 2y ago
    No, see, it's not just the programmatic filtering, but also the filtering you do yourself. There's no filter you could make to perfectly distinguish important and unimportant texts or calls, so the final filter is you, looking at your wrist and deciding whether it's important enough to take out your phone. Like the other guy said, when your phone buzzes and you open it up to see what it is, now you're on your phone and you can easily get distracted and spend minutes scrolling. With a watch, half the time or more you can decide it's not important enough to even touch your phone. Much easier to let it go.
dboreham 2y ago
I have this use case too. I use my watch's WAN capability to go out on dates with spouse sans phone. If the world ends (server goes down...) I'll know about it and meanwhile I'm fully attentive and present. Plus you can wear clothing that doesn't accommodate a phone without needing to put it on the table.

by doix 2y ago

modeless 2y ago

Yes, people who haven't tried smartwatches don't understand this benefit. They always say "I get too many notifications, I don't want them on my wrist". But what you do is filter them so only important apps come to the watch, then you turn off notification sounds on your phone. Then you simply glance at your wrist once in a while, ignore everything unimportant, and get your phone out much less.

Suppafly 2y ago
Or you could just filter the ones that come to your phone in the first place. I suppose android could make some improvements on the phone side to make that easier, but it's not a problem that requires involving an additional piece of technology.
- modeless 2y ago
  No, see, it's not just the programmatic filtering, but also the filtering you do yourself. There's no filter you could make to perfectly distinguish important and unimportant texts or calls, so the final filter is you, looking at your wrist and deciding whether it's important enough to take out your phone. Like the other guy said, when your phone buzzes and you open it up to see what it is, now you're on your phone and you can easily get distracted and spend minutes scrolling. With a watch, half the time or more you can decide it's not important enough to even touch your phone. Much easier to let it go.

dboreham 2y ago

I have this use case too. I use my watch's WAN capability to go out on dates with spouse sans phone. If the world ends (server goes down...) I'll know about it and meanwhile I'm fully attentive and present. Plus you can wear clothing that doesn't accommodate a phone without needing to put it on the table.