I'd ignored it for as long as I could.
I'm suspicious of opening apps[1] that someone else has shoved onto my phone. Especially if they tell me how I'm living my life and suggest ways I could be living it better.
They were, after all, created by people who may merely be sanctimonious tech types with a tawdry life of their own. And I'm not specifically referring to anyone who works for Apple[2].
Recently, though, I succumbed. I opened the Apple Health[3] app on my iPhone[4], just to see what was there.
I'm lying, slightly. I have too many friends who boast about how many steps they take every day.
I'd never considered such data. I try and walk. I try and bike. I try and move. I hope to survive a little longer.
But here was one friend telling me that, on a recent trip to New York, he'd taken 40,000 steps a day. Well, he's a troubled soul.
Here's To Your Health, But Not Your Sanity.
Still, I began to look at my Health app data, simultaneously fearing that this was a beginning that could only lead to a horrible end.
My iPhone Health app offered a few simple delights of information. The number of steps, the walking and riding distance, and the number of flights climbed.
It began to praise me. It said I was taking more steps and walking further than I did last year.
This seemed strange and I soon realized why. Last year, I used to go to a gym. I'd prop my phone up on the bike console, so it would never be in my pocket. This meant my phone didn't count