There was a day when, to learn the time, people would take a fob watch from a pocket and read it. Then came the wristwatch. Just a small turn of the wrist and a flick of the eye to learn the time. Many of us today take out our phones, as we once did a fob watch, to learn the time and the information pushed to us by digital services. The promise of the smartwatch is that with a small turn of the wrist we would once again learn the time and also gain that extra information with a flick of the eye. Taking out our phones, or leaving them on the table in front of us to scan, during conversations, is considered rude. The promise of the smartwatch is that we claim ambient awareness of the digital space while remaining fully engaged in the physical space. We maintain the social contract of the conversation.

But I am 46 years old, and I am here to tell you that there was a time when looking at your wristwatch during a conversation was considered bloody rude. Hell, it arguably cost George HW Bush an election. Am I the only one who remembers “oh, is there somewhere else you have to be?” or “oh, am I keeping you?” or “did you know it’s rude to look at your watch while having a bloody conversation with someone?”

Smartwatches may well prove to be useful. But never pretend that you have technologically solved the social world.

Also, I still want a fob chain for my iPhone, while I’m waiting for Oculus Monocle.

 

Reading: AMERICAN SMOKE, Iain Sinclair