Why I'm breaking up WITH MY APPS

We’re a nation obsessed with smartphones and smartwatches. Writer Kim Willis tracks every move she makes on various apps.Feeling beholden to their grip, she tries to break free…

- KIM WILLIS

While we all worry that Facebook knows too much about us, I give a plethora of apps details about every inch of my life. If there was an app for tracking my breath, I’d input every inhale and exhale, excited to see my oxygen pie chart take form. My problem started in December 2019 when my husband, Gaz, 40, gave me a Garmin smartwatch for Christmas. My life changed. I was no longer exercising for pure pleasure. I started exercising to impress the gadget on my wrist. Other apps soon followed and now, there’s not a moment my phone doesn’t know about. I think it might know me more intimately than my own husband does. It’s time to break up with some apps…

Garmin

Thanks to my smartwatch, I track my steps, yoga, swimming, treadmill and cardio sessions. Recently I forgot to press start before a workout and lamented the fact to Gaz. ‘Don’t worry Kim, the body keeps the score,’ he quipped. Of course he’s right, but without telling my app how good I’ve been it won’t include the session on my weekly report and it might make a difference to my VO2 Max results. (Note, I don’t know what VO2 Max actually is, but I want mine to be superior.)

I’m about to hit two years walking at least 10,000 steps a day and have nightmares about my watch resetting to zero. Intent on proving I’ve not lost the joy of being in nature, I go for a naked walk. I love listening to the birds singing but I’d still notice nature’s delights if I had my watch on; I’d just also be adding to my step count. When I get home, I put my watch back on and go for another walk. My fitness tracker motivates me. I may be trapped in a loop and cannot miss a day, but I love it.