Tech Wearables: Understanding their Significance in our Lives

Wearables are fast becoming a part of our lives with passing day. Nowadays you can hear about smartwatches, smart bands, fitness trackers, etc, which are impacting our lives in a significant way. 

What are Tech Wearables?

To put things simply, wearable technology is any kind of electronic device designed to be worn on the user's body. Such devices can take many different forms, including jewelry, accessories, medical devices, and clothing or elements of clothing. 

Modern wearable technology falls under a broad spectrum of usability, including smartwatches, fitness trackers, fitness trackers such as the Fitbit Charge, VR headsets, smart jewelry, web-enabled glasses and Bluetooth headsets. Wearables work differently, based on the category they belong to, such as health, fitness or entertainment. 

Wearables are embedded with built-in sensors that keep track of bodily movements, provide biometric identification or assist with location tracking. Smartwatches and fitness bands are the best examples in this category, which are increasingly becoming popular in a country like India, where the youth are fast embracing personalised tech. 

This is evident as reports have stated that last year, India’s wearable market shipped a record 48.1 million units in the period of July-September, a healthy 29.2 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth. With this, the market shipped 105.9 million units in the first three quarters of 2023, which is more than 100.1 million units shipped in 2022. And this year, the market size is poised to grow further. 

How to Use Tech Wearables?

In India, health monitoring has become a crucial aspect of wearables. People use wearable technology to track and receive notifications for their heart rate and blood pressure, watch their calorie intake or manage their training regimens. The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the use of wearable technology, as consumers gained a broader awareness of personal hygiene and taking precautions to prevent the spread of infections. 

Sports and fitness is also another arena where tech wearables are making their presence felt significantly. Sports use wearable athletic devices that are either built into the fabric of the sports apparel or are incorporated into sports equipment, such as bats and balls. Wearing smartwatches and fitness bands that track calorie count during workouts and through most parts of the day is a sign that wearables are finding a space among the health-conscious youth of the nation.

Noteworthy Wearables Outside of India 

Outside of India, smart clothing is making its appearance with a wide range of tech accessibility for the user. This type of clothing comes with built-in technology that can perform a variety of tasks including fitness or health monitoring, interacting with phones and other devices and changing fabric characteristics to suit the user's preference, activity or environment. 

Another wearable that are becoming popular in foreign shores, but is expected to do well in a country like India, is AI hearing aids. AI hearing aids can filter out unwanted noises and automatically adapt to provide the best performance in the user's current environment and for their individual hearing needs. Such devices, sometimes referred to as hearables, can also incorporate capabilities such as fitness tracking, audio streaming and translation. 

Impact of Wearables

So how can wearables impact our lives? Well there are some positives and negatives to this entire issue. Tech wearables, like smartwatches and fitness trackers, are making a significant impact on our lives in various ways, both positive and negative. 

Positive Impact

Wearables can track our steps, heart rate, sleep patterns, and other crucial health metrics. People can set and monitor fitness goals. By tracking progress, wearables can motivate people to stay active and improve their overall health.

People can identify potential health issues. Unusual sleep patterns or heart rate fluctuations might indicate underlying problems, prompting users to seek medical advice. People can also manage chronic conditions. Wearables can help individuals with diabetes or heart disease monitor their conditions and stay informed.

Many wearables offer features like contactless payments, notifications, music control, and access to virtual assistants. 

People can pay for purchases, check messages, or control music without taking out their phones, saving time and effort. People can also receive important notifications and access information quickly and easily. Wearables can enhance multitasking capabilities and manage time efficiently through features like reminders and quick access to tools.

Negative Impact 

Where there are some good points in the credit of wearables, there can be downsides as well. 

Wearing wearables can however lead to privacy breaching issues. Sensitive data like heart rate and location information could be vulnerable to hacking or leaks. The data which the companies collect through our wearables are also concerning as we need to understand how companies collect, use, and share user data is crucial before using any wearable device.

Another negative to using wearables is addiction and dependence. Constant use of wearables throughout most of your day can lead to addiction and dependence where you cannot bear to stay away from your wearables for long. 

You can feel quite overwhelmed by the constant flow of notifications and data displayed by wearables. Obsessively tracking and analyzing metrics can negatively affect mental well-being as it can cause excessive focus on data and self-quantification. 

Wearables can contribute to anxiety when users are unable to access their devices and data. In technical terms, it is called Nomophobia (fear of being without a mobile phone), and it is a very real thing nowadays. 

Overall, the impact of tech wearables is multifaceted. While they offer numerous benefits for health, convenience, and productivity, it's crucial to be aware of the potential downsides and use them responsibly, prioritizing privacy and healthy habits. 

They can really come in handy for our day-to-day use. But it is also important to exercise restraint and keep them away thereby giving space to our own minds to function on their own.