u/DutchieCrochet

I’m an avid walker and I like tracking my progress. Sadly, I lost my Garmin Vivosmart 5 last month. The simplicity of it, the minimalistic design and the fact that it was small were all great. All I want is to know how many steps I’ve taken and how many km I’ve walked. The app shows me data from a longer time period. Walking is my sport, so I don’t need tons of other apps and profiles. I don’t want notifications from my phone on my tracker.

In the past I’ve used Fitbits, but now they’re owned by Google and those guys already have too much information on me.

Now I’m trying to decide which tracker to get. The Vivoactive and other series seem way too expensive and fancy for me. There are rumors about a Vivosmart 6 coming out, but nobody knows when. Could be months, it’s not even clear _if_ it’s coming. And how much will it cost? On the other hand, how long will the 5 be supported once the successor is out?

I went to the market today and saw several stands that sold unopened packages for €5 each. They had piles specifically with Temu/Shein, the rest was all kinds. I get the psychological effects, the thrill. You don’t know what you’re buying and maybe it’s something really good or pretty. If this package isn’t, maybe the next one will be. Some boxes made clear where it came from.

I can’t blame the people running these stands, they need to pay their bills too, but I find it deeply disturbing. Have we gotten so decadent we just throw stuff away before even opening it? Or people order stuff but don’t even bother to pick them up?

Chances are, the people buying these ‘mystery packages’ will eventually throw away this stuff too. You’re buying something that’s probably not useful to you. It’s very unlikely the clothes you might find in a SHEIN package are actually your taste and the right size. Who knows what those other things are?