I can’t exactly put my finger on when I stopped wearing my smart watch and switched back to my tried-and-true Timex Weekender Chronograph. I do remember why however: for all the bells and whistles, the one function I needed it to do consistency was simply too much of a hassle to get going. Specifically, the stopwatch. You know does that well? A an inexpensive chronograph.

It may seem ridiculous that I would shelve an expensive piece of technology because one feature is poorly conceived. I would argue it’s not when it’s the one feature I need the watch to do. All the other features that get promoted aren’t much better. Track and share your fitness progress! Or I could just go for a walk without expecting a celebration. Control your home with a flick of the wrist! Who has the time, I’ll just shout and see which home device picks up the words and mutes the TV. Text on this tiny keyboard! I can at least kinda type on my phone.

This personal conclusion was not out of not trying: I tried hard over the course of many years. I so very much wanted a future where things that were relevant in the present or near present would just sort of float into my wearables sphere. My house is littered with the remains of wearable tech of the past and present. Google Glass? At last count I had five, three of which got dumped on me after the hullaballoo faded. Android Wear (Wear OS…whatever they call it now)? At least half a dozen if not more. Apple Watch? A few dead copies, one of which got so hot it would burn your wrist. FitBits? I can’t even count how many have died or half failed.

I wrote stacks of software, built some of my own hardware, I pushed the limits to make the wearable world work for me. I wasn’t even trying to be market relevant and it just never clicked to the point where I was happy with the end result.

I of course am one person rejecting the growing see of wearables; the general consumer sees them differently. The wearables market is ever-expanding these days, projected by IDC to hit 396 million units by the end of 2020, a 14.5% jump from the previous year. Current estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the five year period is projected at 12.4% through 2024, and who could deny that more wearables aren’t coming? Google completed their FitBit acquisition just last month, Amazon I’m sure will start putting Halo bands in every box as part of some loss-leader consumer data exploit, and then there’s the stylish Apple Watch SE that will attempt to make you feel less cool by not having one. This of course short shifts all the market players of which there are many that will no doubt make inroads as the market grows.

I’m sure some of them will be interesting. I’m sure the features will do their best to make people’s life better or heathier. You have to have hope that there is good in the technology that gets developed and adopted, but I do worry that many of the devices these days appear to be a security and personal information nightmare. Selling me on that though will be an uphill battle. If you’ve sent me an email lately about this topic and are unhappy with my passing on evaluating your latest, don’t take it personally.

While I reject the current trappings of the wearable space, I’ll keep an eye out to see what might entice me to try again. Monica wears one of the latest FitBits and she loves it. Less so her Michael Kors Wear OS watch, but it’s a stunning look. Alli wears a last generation Apple Watch and seems to enjoy it. Both agreed I would hate their respective devices. The twins both tried one of the younger-kid wearables (I think it was a FitBit, but the memory escapes me), and they couldn’t get into it.

“Why do I need this thing to tell me to go outside? Isn’t that your job Dad?”, asked Isabella.

“Yeah, and why do I need it tell me to ride my bike? I’m going to run down that hill, don’t tell me what to do watch,” stated Evelyn.

They aren’t wrong on either front.