Listen, I never claimed to be the most fashionable person ever. Sure, I have my moments where I put together a nice outfit and people compliment me. But on a daily basis, I just like being comfortable. Yet one thing I can’t imagine being comfortable or stylish, is a giant screen wrapped around my wrist for 24 hours a day.

Yes, I am talking about the Apple Watch. You’ve probably seen your mom, workout class leader or maybe even your neighbor tapping away at the block on their wrist, answering calls and responding to text messages. 

Every year, the technology giant Apple sells about 40 million Apple Watches to people around the globe. Now, no matter where I look, I see the awful giant screens wrapped around my friends’ and family members’ wrists.

I’m here to say that this epidemic of the Apple Watch needs to stop. There is nothing more horrific than seeing people’s wedding photos nowadays with an Apple Watch featured in one, or wearing it to a funeral. My jaw drops everytime I see them there. Fashion is such an easy thing to grasp, and it’s supposed to show how unique and cool everyone is. 

The Apple Watch immediately makes me think you don’t know how to read a regular watch and need an elementary school level clock.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to think they had a really cool function. Somewhat of an elevated FitBit, which I used to rock back in the day. But now, people are getting too comfortable with wearing their watch all the time. 

From five-year-olds to 90-year-olds, the Apple Watch has dominated the technology scene, with a cost of anywhere between $200-400. I will say, the Apple Watch is reasonably priced for what it does, but the Apple Watch, in my opinion, is such a fashion travesty that people need to start hanging it up for a real watch. 

In case my opinion isn’t enough, which it should be, I’ll give you a few reasons why the Apple Watch is a no-no.

First off, there’ve been reports of Apple Watches literally exploding on people’s wrists. I cannot fathom how people would be willing to strap a mini-bomb to their wrist just so they could access their texts. I personally own something called an iPhone that is always in my hand and am able to check my texts that way. 

Secondly, it gives you the worst tan lines ever in the summer. I see too many people suntanning in their Apple Watch and they get a big rectangle tan line splayed across their wrist. Typically, the Apple Watch community loves to show off their tan lines, to show how dedicated they are to wearing their watch all day and night. Next time, consider taking off the watch so it doesn’t overheat and potentially blow up on your wrist. 

Yet my biggest gripe with Apple Watches is how people have been styling it. People wear their watches to formal events, like weddings and even funerals. I can’t get over the time I saw a groom on his wedding day wearing an Apple Watch. It makes the whole outfit look tacky and nothing could be worse than getting a text message lighting up your watch during the service. There’s certain situations in which you can wear an Apple Watch and it may look fine, but otherwise, the watch is completely out of place with the rest of the outfit. 

Lastly, there is nothing more disrespectful to me than being mid-conversation with someone and they start messing around with the little buttons on their watch. People make such a production out of messing with their watches, with exaggerated tapping, scrolling the side button and calling people on their watches only to hold their arms up ridiculously because they can’t tell if the person on the other side of the phone can hear them.

Watches are supposed to be timeless, elegant and classic, something that is the antithesis of the Apple Watch. While modernization and the development of technology is always great, sometimes it stretches too far with where people want to wear their watch and how they tend to use it in certain situations. 

I hope that in a few years (maybe even sooner) the Apple Watch will fall out of style just like every other horrible fashion trend.

Maddie Bimonte, FCRH ’24, is a journalism major and political science minor from Raleigh, N.C.