# Not wearing a watch because it is supposedly replaced by phone/other device - I do not get it. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 20, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824 "2010-10-20T21:40:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/101 "2010-10-21T18:29:10Z")
I’m saying that those circumstances are so rare and so easily dealt with with other methods that it’s not worth it to wear a superfluous single-purpose device. What are you arguing here? The OP is asking non-watch wearers why we don’t wear watches. My answers detail why. It’s superfluous, it’s inconvenient, it’s unattractive, and it’s uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/102 "2010-10-21T18:58:15Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > What are you arguing here? You said “there is no conceivable reason to want to know the time in a movie theatre”. I gave examples. That was it. I personally don’t care if you use a watch or not. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/103 "2010-10-21T19:07:55Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m saying that those circumstances are so rare and so easily dealt with with other methods that it’s not worth it to wear a superfluous single-purpose device. > > What are you arguing here? The OP is asking non-watch wearers why we don’t wear watches. My answers detail why. It’s superfluous, it’s inconvenient, it’s unattractive, and it’s uncomfortable. See, the thing is, to me it’s the phone that’s superfluous, the afterthought. I might take it with me, but I might not, if I don’t want to be disturbed. Also, rather than being uncomfortable, when I’m not wearing a watch I’m constantly shaking my left arm because it feels like there’s something missing on it, which there is. It’s really just a matter of what you’re used to. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/104 "2010-10-21T19:11:34Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Personally, I find it more rude to check a wristwatch than to look at a text. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Really? Cause, you know, sometimes I’m on a freakin schedule! And I genuinely need to check my watch because I need to move on to the next thing. > > I hate the text-checking thing and it drives me batty when people answer the phone when I am with them and get into long conversations and sometimes don’t even mention I am out with them. Unfortunately one of the people who does this to me the most is my cousin whom I love to death otherwise. Sigh. > [@jayjay](#): > > I’m with **Anaamika** on this one. Checking your watch means that you do have places you have to be and you’re trying to guage how much more time you can interact. Looking at a text implies that there are other people who are so much more interesting than the person you’re talking to that you are going to talk to them WHILE you’re talking to that person. … see there are distinct differences here that are pertinent, in order of intrusiveness: [ul] [li] _glancing at an incoming text without replying._ perfectly acceptable. the way i use a phone, important messages are usually text’d to me as I won’t answer a call if i’m busy, but i’d usually spare a text a glance.[/li][li] _glancing at your watch once._ perfectly acceptable. [/li][li] _reading and replying messages._[/li][li] _answering a short call._ [/li][li]\* glancing at your watch several times. \* why is this at the top of the list? because everything else could be read as a quirk, while this is an overt signal saying, “i really should be somewhere else right now.” [/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/105 "2010-10-21T19:47:00Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > You said “there is no conceivable reason to want to know the time in a movie theatre”. I gave examples. That was it. I personally don’t care if you use a watch or not. No, I most certainly did not. I asked, “Why are you checking the time when you’re watching a movie in a theater?” and then given the answers I showed why none of them demanded a wristwatch. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/106 "2010-10-21T19:56:41Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > What I mean is that I have a general idea of what time it is. On those occasions I need to know the time more specifically, the inconvenience of having to reach for my phone does not outweigh the negatives of having to wear a wristwatch. Ah, I see - thanks. We have differing views on the drawbacks of a wristwatch (you see many, I see very few), which seems to be the main driver behind our respective choices. And that’s fine - nobody’s right or wrong here. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/107 "2010-10-21T20:49:18Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I asked, “Why are you checking the time when you’re watching a movie in a theater?” and then given the answers I showed why none of them demanded a wristwatch. Mostly by invoking your “internal clock.” :rolleyes: Look, I don’t care if you wear a watch or not. I really don’t. I don’t think less of anybody who doesn’t wear one. But you talk as if people who wear watches do it because they just can’t conceive of any other way to measure time. That’s not the point. Of course a wristwatch isn’t “demanded.” Not a lot is, in this world, but I don’t say to you, “Gee, I can’t understand why you wear leather lace-up shoes to work when my velcro shoes provide the same amount of arch support, and I don’t understand why you need Microsoft Excel because I can just remember the numbers in my head and you don’t even need a job anyway because I run my own business from home…” and use that to justify how right I am that anybody who does things unlike me is crazy. WE ARE NOT ALL YOU ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/108 "2010-10-21T20:50:16Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > WE ARE NOT ALL YOU I am. And so’s my wife. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/109 "2010-10-21T20:55:50Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I am. And so’s my wife. You and your wife are both 40 year old men? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/110 "2010-10-21T20:57:09Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > P.S. The part about only idiots not giving themselves enough time to get somewhere in advance tells me you probably live by yourself, and definitely don’t have kids. 😛 This is funny because it’s true. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/111 "2010-10-21T21:05:03Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > No, I most certainly did not. > > I asked, “Why are you checking the time when you’re watching a movie in a theater?” and then given the answers I showed why none of them demanded a wristwatch. You’re right, you asked why, and didn’t say “there is no reason to know the time”. Yes, knowing time never _demands_ the use of a wristwatch, but I don’t think anyone said _that_ either. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/112 "2010-10-21T21:07:44Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I wear a wrist watch, partly because I don’t always bother to take my phone everywhere. It’s interesting that it’s just a given now that everyone always has a mobile / cell with them at all times. Me too. A watch is also more useful on airplanes and on vacation (esp. foreign countries) where my phone is not in use. For a long stretch I did not wear a wristwatch because the battery had died. Now I have a watch that does not need batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/113 "2010-10-21T21:38:55Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Mostly by invoking your “internal clock.” :rolleyes: > > Look, I don’t care if you wear a watch or not. I really don’t. I don’t think less of anybody who doesn’t wear one. But you talk as if people who wear watches do it because they just can’t conceive of any other way to measure time. That’s not the point. > > Of course a wristwatch isn’t “demanded.” Not a lot is, in this world, but I don’t say to you, “Gee, I can’t understand why you wear leather lace-up shoes to work when my velcro shoes provide the same amount of arch support, and I don’t understand why you need Microsoft Excel because I can just remember the numbers in my head and you don’t even need a job anyway because I run my own business from home…” and use that to justify how right I am that anybody who does things unlike me is crazy. > > WE ARE NOT ALL YOU This thread is about a wristwatch-wearing guy wondering why non-wristwatch-wearing guys don’t wear wristwatches. You’re the one demanding that I explain myself and then you go on some bizarre tirade about you having to justify yourself. WE ARE NOT ALL YOU. Jesus fucking Christ. Go stick your head in a bucket of cold water. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/114 "2010-10-21T22:38:51Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > What an odd thing to imply about people based solely on their choice to wear a watch or not. > > I wear a hat that has zero functional value. I just like it and I like how it looks. On occasion I like to wear a (manly) necklace, too. It doesn’t necessarily follow that because I have something else that works just as well for telling time and thus don’t need or want a watch that I am a soulless efficiency-based automaton. I just happen to not want a watch. Does that really require judgment? It’s not an odd comment when the main argument seems to be “I can get the time from my Blackberry, iPhone, PC or other sources”. We’ve established that one can get the time from other sources. So it’s not just about being able to tell time. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/115 "2010-10-21T22:49:35Z")
I’ve been going crazy since my watch died last week. I use my phone to synchronize timepieces once during the workday. Other than that, it is a pain to have to get it out all the time. It’s also confusing when I am working in a different time zone, because the phone changes, but I still need to work by my time. Oh, and my phone doesn’t have a 24-hr (military time) option. I really need a new watch. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/116 "2010-10-21T23:00:27Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > This thread is about a wristwatch-wearing guy wondering why non-wristwatch-wearing guys don’t wear wristwatches. You’re the one demanding that I explain myself and then you go on some bizarre tirade about you having to justify yourself. > > WE ARE NOT ALL YOU. Jesus fucking Christ. Go stick your head in a bucket of cold water. That’s what you do, and yeah, it is bizarre. But what did I expect from someone who spouts something as patently stupid as characterizing all watch-wearing as “dick swinging?” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/117 "2010-10-21T23:56:49Z")
**MODERATOR STEPS IN**. TWEET!! Dial it back a few notches everyone, especially **ascenray** and **ReticulatingSplines**. This is IMHO and things are getting a bit too serious here. Disagree, but keep down the invectives. No warnings issued. **samclem** Moderator ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/118 "2010-10-22T00:44:02Z")
I used to wear a watch. At some point, the battery died, and I never got around to replacing it. I think the watch is still in my dresser drawer or something. So I started using my phone instead. If I had a working watch I’d wear it, but as of yet I haven’t found a pressing need for one. I’m told that at some point my dad will be giving me my great-uncle’s nice gold watch, which I think is pretty neat, but until then, unless somebody a) buys me a new watch or b) replaces the battery in my existing watch for me, I’ll just stick with my cell phone. I don’t think this is a “trend” in the sense of “all the cool kids are doing it” but more like “what I have is plenty good, and I don’t have a reason to go out of my way to do something else”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/119 "2010-10-22T04:02:29Z")
My wristwatch, itself, died only a couple of months after I’d replaced the battery. I’ve been without it for a couple of months and it’s driving me batty, so I’ll be replacing the watch soon. Given a choice between pulling my handheld out of its holster (or pocket), fingering the scrolling menu to get the “home” screen that has the time on it, not to mention finding a shady spot in which to do this outdoors–versus lifting up my left wrist and glancing down, I’ll take the latter every time. I’ve always liked pocket watches, but that’s a habit I can no longer indulge since I’ve had mobile phones. I decided a mobile and a pocket watch was just too much stuff to carry. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824/120 "2010-10-22T04:31:16Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > why? Other than “everyone should do what I do,” of course. I mean, should we also go back to being required to wear shirt and tie to work, no matter our jobs? What about hats? should we have to wear hats too? I love my watch, a thing of beauty and hats i would ove to be able to wear a nice trilby to work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-wearing-a-watch-because-it-is-supposedly-replaced-by-phone-other-device-i-do-not-get-it/557824.md?page=7)