WEBVTT - The Story: Can Tech Make Me A Better Person? 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:17.760 Welcome to tech stuff. I'm Ma's Volocian. Happy New Year. 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:21.799 It's a new year, it's a new you, it's a 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:26.119 new me. Maybe it's definitely an opportunity to set some 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:30.520 new intentions. But as we all know, building habits can 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:31.320 be rather tricky. 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.720 We don't as a society talk about how to set 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.720 goals that makes sense, So you know, it's very common 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:39.560 to be like, this year, I'm going to eat super 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:43.199 healthy and I'm going to lose fifty pounds, and this 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.960 is my year, and you don't really set achievable goals 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:47.400 within that. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.080 This is Victorious Song, who's a senior tech reviewer for 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:51.800 The Verge. 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.400 Your new year's resolutions should come in different sizes, so 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.120 there should be something that's, like, my big goal is 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.160 to lose fifty pounds, but this year, I'll be happy 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.319 if I just lose ten because that's achievable. And then 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:08.520 once you hit that achievable thing, you can adjust and 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:12.000 ty trate. But you really gotta set the bar so 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:15.240 low so that you can build momentum. You really want 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:17.679 to make it so easy it feels like you're cheating. 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:21.679 Anything we can do to make meeting goals easier is 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.319 of interest to me, and obviously, as the host of 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.520 a tech podcast, I have a natural curiosity about how 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:31.160 tech can help us not just reset intentions, but actually 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.880 stick to new commitments at this time of year. And 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.520 that's why I wanted to talk to Victoria, because she 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.919 is a professional wearer of wearables, a full time tester 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:45.920 of products that promise to optimize everything about us, and 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.200 Karen and I both wanted to know what products actually 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:53.240 help you build habits, because, as we all know, it's 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:55.360 easy to make excuses. 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:59.160 It is so easy to just go, I'll just sit 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.400 on the couch. Oh it's cold out, Oh it's raining. 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.640 I don't have time to do that, And it's very 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.560 easy to fall into a perfectionistic this is the correct 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:09.320 way to do it, and if I don't do it 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:13.800 perfectly or correctly, I've messed up. Or oh I didn't 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:17.120 make much progress in January, that's it. Like there's eleven 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.360 other months of the year for you to make progress. 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:23.560 Like you have to kind of take a very holistic 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:25.440 approach to New Year's resolutions. 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.480 So, without further ado, let's make those New Year's resolutions 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:31.160 stick or at least try. 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.200 Thank you for joining us Victoria, thank you for having me. 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.240 Did I spot a wearable on you today? 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:41.160 I'm actually going quite light. I only have an order 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.520 ring in the Apple Watch. I get a lot of 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.640 data overwhelmed as part of my job, so sometimes it's 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:53.000 very important to just take them off and only use 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.000 the bare minimum. Occasionally I'll take them all off and 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:58.080 force myself to go on a run where I, quote 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:01.560 unquote get no credit. And you know, I have to 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:06.320 live with that and the comfortable without discomfort. Otherwise it's 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.400 way too easy to get sucked into. Oh it doesn't 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.960 count unless I recorded it somewhere, and that's just absolutely 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:13.560 not true. 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.720 I have a perennial goal of losing weight, and the 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:19.680 way I don't test it, the way I don't achieve 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:23.840 that is I never weigh myself. So I live in 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.760 blissful ignorance. But you mentioned, you know, losing fifty pounds. 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.280 I feel like this whole year in January, like that's 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.400 what's on a lot of people's minds. Have you tried 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:37.080 or experienced any tech that's actually helpful in terms of 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:38.600 beginning of fitness journey. 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:43.480 Yeah, there's a lot. It's a very crowded field. But 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:47.280 if you're a beginner, you're someone who doesn't have an 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.760 existing fitness regime right now. One app I like is 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:54.560 called Chandler Streaks. It kind of turns the idea of 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.360 streaks on its head because streaks can be a prison. 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:02.000 On the one hand, you're gamifying consistency, and consistency is 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.200 the most important thing with any fitness regime. But I 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.560 know so many people who have become beholden to their 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:12.240 streaks that it becomes like a psychological stranglehold. Gentler Streaks 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:16.160 is nice because it incorporates the idea of rest and recovery. 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.680 It kind of allows you to be like, Hey, I'm sick, 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:20.760 I need a break from my streak, and you don't 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:25.000 have that psychological pitfall of going, oh, I broke my streak. 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.159 Everything is messed up now I might as well just 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.920 give up completely. It's oh, you know, like you can 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.640 take two or three days off, just get back into it. 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.839 But I know friends who got super into the streaks 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.520 on their Apple watch and closing their rings, and then 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:42.480 they would get COVID or they would get a flu 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:43.920 and they'd be like, it's time for me to walk 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:46.599 outside so I can hit my step mark. That's insane, 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:50.880 that's crazy, like that's not taking care of your health. 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.800 Are there products that at first you thought like there's 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.640 absolutely no way this will motivate me, and then you 0:04:57.720 --> 0:04:59.000 were pleasantly surprised. 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.159 Fantasy Hike was one of them. So something like Generller 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:06.320 Streaks is Fantasy Hike. It's on both iOS and Android 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:09.440 now and it's kind of like a copyright friendly version 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.320 of Walking to Mordor. So if you're a Lord of 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.640 the Rings fan, it's kind of a fun thing to do, 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.480 and it's very low stakes because it's just counting how 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.120 many steps you take in a day, and you can 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:24.479 track your progress to mourdoor and there's fictional competitors that 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:26.960 you can go against, like Mister Underfoot, which is proto, 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:32.400 or Harry flit Potter and John Snowflake and all of 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:36.560 those things. It's very low key. You're always making progress 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.599 in that game. So it's something that you can be 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:41.760 like just going for a time minute walk every day. 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.320 That's a really good start to fitness, even if it 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.440 feels like it's not impressive, because that's really a pitfall. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.760 People genuinely think like I've got to work myself out 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.719 to the point of exhaustion. I've got to hit fifteen 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.720 thousand steps every single day and just do threey five 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.400 hundred and work your way it from there, like truly 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:03.360 go easy on yourself. 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:05.560 We talked a bit about fitness. What about sleep? This 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.159 is another thing. I used to have a sleep tracker, 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:11.800 but I also stop wearing that because I kind of 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.200 got it in this little bit stress cycle about like 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.200 saying knowing, well, that didn't go enough sleep, and then 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.040 I'm more stressed about it. And now if I wake 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:20.960 up in the night and have it insomnia, it doesn't matter, 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:22.599 like you'll just you know, you've got to sleep and 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.880 issue don't you don't, It's all fine. Like my mental 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.240 talk track is like don't worry about it, rather than like, ha, 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:29.479 it gave. 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:31.159 Me sleep hypochondria, that's what it gave me. 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.599 But are there good ways to track sleep that are 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:36.800 actually beneficial to getting better sleep? Do you think? Victoria? 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:41.680 So, most sleep trackers are like fitness trackers, but for sleep. 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:46.120 And I would say that aura is not a bad 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.400 one because it's sort of giving you a holistic look 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.960 at what you are tracking. So it's not just your sleep, 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:56.520 it's how your sleep impacts your stress levels and your 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.359 recovery levels, and the key to all of us is 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.320 to just take it with a grain of salt. You're 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:05.360 building a baseline. But there are some sleep buds that 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:07.640 I like. Anchor makes some I think they're called the 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:12.040 Sound or a something. Oslo is another one if you 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.200 are someone who has a hard time falling asleep. These 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.000 are buds that are designed to go in your ear. 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:22.080 Their flat profile, so it's not like an AirPod, and 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.720 you can connect it and listen to white noise, or 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.880 you can listen to your favorite podcast or audiobook as 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:28.760 you're falling asleep. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:30.720 I love white noise, by the way, but my wife's 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:33.000 not a white, white noise person, so having private white 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:34.440 noise could be a game changer for me. 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:38.520 Yeah, my spouse uses that. I've used it in the past. 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.720 It can really help if you have a really noisy neighbor, 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.600 and then if you really have money to burn. One 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.280 gadget that I tested and then bought with my own 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.000 money is eight Sleep. 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:54.000 It sleep You're an eight sleep I just did? Wow? 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:57.360 I did? I bought it? Maybe I tested it and 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.000 it improved my sleep and improved my spouse and sleep. 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:01.400 What is it? Oh? 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:04.280 Please tell him what an aid sleep is. The aid 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.080 sleep erati or a real group of people, and you 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:08.240 now are one of them. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.960 I'm not a crazy one. It just really did make 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:15.240 a demonstrable difference in our sleep quality. So the eight 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.920 sleep is a smart mattress cover. You use your own mattress, 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.480 you don't have to buy the mattress from them. It 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:25.320 has a water tank and it basically adjusts the temperature 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.960 of your bed. So if let's say your spouse they 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:30.920 run warm and they want their bed to be cooler, 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.400 their side of the bed can be cooler. And I 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:35.120 like to be warm when I fall asleep, and so 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.559 my bed can be nice and toasty. And it also 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.280 tracks your sleep quality. So if you want a sleep 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:45.240 tracker and something that adjusts temperature in one, you can 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.720 do that. There is a version that is a little 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.920 bit more premium, but it has a base and it 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:54.600 can elevate you when it detects snoring. My spouse used 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.640 to snore a lot, and this has kind of helped 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.360 because it works. It genuinely works. As I woke up 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.920 one time very briefly and I was like, why am 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:07.280 I being elevated? Oh, they're snoring? And now they're not snoring. Okay, 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.840 I can fall back asleep. So there's a silent alarm function, 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.800 so you know your bed will buzz you awake in 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.640 the morning, but your partner can sleep through it. It's 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:20.280 a game changer for me and my spouse. It's one 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:21.880 of the best things you can do for your health 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:25.280 is to figure out a really great sleep routine or 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.959 find things that help you stay a sleep longer. 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:31.120 It's kind of worth its weight in gold, then, it. 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.080 Really is, which is why we'll be paying for another year. 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:36.840 Victoria, Can I ask you to take us inside the 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:37.440 toilet bowl? 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:38.240 Oh? 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:42.319 Yeah, it feels like there's a deluge of toilet analysis 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.439 this year, and I'm curious for your take on it. 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.480 This is kind of a trend that's popping up while 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.200 Withings is a French tech company and I saw this 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:53.080 at CUS a couple of years ago and they were like, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.840 we've made an at home your analysis lab. So it's 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:59.199 like I call it a pea shell because it looks 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.480 like a shell shape and you stick it in your 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.640 toilet and your pee on it, and depending on the 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:08.760 cartridge that's in there, it'll measure like your vitamin C levels, 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:13.880 your hydration, your pH and for some reason, if you 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.240 would like to track those things you now can. There 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.280 are other devices that I'm seeing start to hit the 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:24.280 market because it's a wellness trend right now to quote 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:28.040 unquote balance your hormones. I think this is something I 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:31.680 will be looking into further and testing. Unfortunately, I can't 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:33.840 believe this is part of my job to pee on 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:38.040 gadgets now. But you know, for reproductive health, that is 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.760 a thing that a lot of companies are interested in. 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:45.960 There's a huge gap in foundational people with uterus's health 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:49.800 data because fun fact, it wasn't required to have women 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.160 or menstruating people as part of clinical trials until nineteen 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:57.080 ninety three. So the vast majority of what we know 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.679 about health today is based on men's bodies, and they 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.760 just women are smaller version of men, So let's apply 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.640 the same things. And what researchers and doctors have been 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.480 finding is that's absolutely not true. So if you have 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:11.640 issues with fertility, for example, or if you have one 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:16.120 of a number of conditions like perimenopause or PCOS, which 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.800 is polycystic overy syndrome, they're claiming that you can be 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:24.160 on these hormone test kits and track your health that way, 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:25.840 and so that when you go to the doctor and 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.959 you're like, I think I have these things. These are 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.800 my reproductive hormone levels from my PE that has been 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:35.559 collected over a period of time. What do you think 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.600 about that? Because going to the doctor getting your analysis 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:41.480 test that way, it's really just a spot check. It's 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.920 not something that's collected over time. And that is one 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:47.800 of the benefits. But you know, it's expensive. A lot 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:50.360 of them require you to buy refills. So we'll see 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.880 if it takes off. But I can't tell you the 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.640 number of pitches I get for p tech these days. 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.199 It's it's a good name for it, p tech. 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:02.000 Yeah, where does RFK Junius in all of this? 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:07.360 He's annoying, but he you know, just to be frank. 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.680 He came out in June and he was basically saying like, hey, 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.840 I want every American to be wearing a wearable within 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.760 the next four years. I mean, the man has an 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:21.960 interesting view of science. To put it, not even somewhat neutrally, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.600 but he basically was like, hey, you can take personal responsibility. 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:30.079 I have friends who reverse their diabetes through using continuous 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:33.360 glucose monitors, which there are now versions of continuous glucose 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:37.160 monitors that are over the counter. Companies are calling them 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:42.480 glucose biosensors. They are marketed towards people who do not 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.320 have diabetes, or who have type two diabetes but aren't 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:50.600 using insulin, or pre diabetic people so that they can 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:55.359 use these devices and just kind of have a continuous 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.800 stream for about a two week period of their glucose 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:02.360 and how food impact. So a lot of physicians are 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.800 hopeful about that technology. I've tested it. It comes with 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.560 pros and cons. If you are someone who maybe does 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:14.480 have pre diabetes, you can really see how your lifestyle 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.320 impacts your glucose. You can learn what foods are triggers 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.760 for your specific body. There's like a definite benefit there. 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:25.240 Jerry's out on whether people who are non diabetic and 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:30.560 perfectly good health need to add this to their tracking regime, 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.680 but there's a lot of people who are excited about 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.360 this technology. It's available if you want it. Blood and 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.760 Pea that's the new frontier for wearable tech. 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.000 I think that's the pulk quill. Blood and Pea is 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:45.880 the new frontier of wearable tech. You've written a lot 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.679 about the wellness surveillance state, and that we might just 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.160 be giving too much of our health data away. I 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.920 think a lot of people who are interested in tracking 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.600 biometric data are also interested in not giving information about 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:02.080 themselves away. Do you have any support or advice for 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:03.520 people with privacy concerns? 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:07.120 If you truly want your data to be private, none 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.320 of these tech solutions is a good idea. There is 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:14.000 a divide between what is considered medical tech, which is 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.840 protected by HIPPA in the United States. A lot of 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.440 the tech that you see right now, where it's just 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:25.840 like tracking in some respect that is not hippoprotected. It 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:30.120 does not fall under the FDA's oversight. And even if 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:34.360 it is hippoprotected, it is kind of an inadequate piece 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.120 of legislation. It was drafted a really long time ago. 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:41.480 There's a lot of concerns about how wearable data fits 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:45.160 into all of that. So the only responsible answer I 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:46.960 can give you is that you just have to be 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:52.560 cognizant of what you're sharing, and are you okay with 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.000 these companies having access to your PE data. I have 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.240 just resigned the fact that my personal data for my 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.920 job is kind of out there but if that's something 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.960 that you're really concerned about, I would steer clear. You 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:07.960 got to do a lot of research into the privacy 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:11.360 policies of these companies. At the Verge, when we review anything, 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.400 we have a section at the end of our reviews 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.440 called agree to Continue where we list all of the 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:19.560 policies that you are prompted to agree to whenever you 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:25.120 use a new product. Yeah, that's the dystopic reality about 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:25.760 might be. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.680 After the break, tech to help you save, and even 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:54.320 tech to help you unplug stay with us. I mean, 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.800 you yourself are quite interesting personal journey. Somebody who had 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.200 to use a lot of wearables for work, somebody who 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:05.120 experienced health problems, and somebody who's still today despite it 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:07.920 all uses wearable So can you just kind of spent 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.360 out your own journey with this field technology. 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:10.960 Yeah. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.440 Actually, before I ever got into this line of work, 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:18.320 I had experienced something like a sixty pound weight gain 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.320 and I was like, what is happening. I haven't changed 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.680 a single dang thing. This is really crazy. And so 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:28.400 I got into fitbits. This was like over ten years ago, 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.200 and I was eating right, I was tracking all of 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:35.720 my calories, I was getting hyper obsessive about it, having 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.840 some disordered eating habits, and nothing was changing. And I 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:40.760 went to my doctors. I was showing them all this 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.880 wearable data. And it took me two years and a 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:48.080 lot of false diagnoses, but I eventually was diagnosed with 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.640 polycystic over syndrome, which is a metabolic condition that causes 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.320 many women to gain weight against their will. I also 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:59.440 started testing these over the counter CGM or glucose biosensors, 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.760 whatever they want to call them, and I was like, 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.520 oh my god, am I pre diabetic? Because PCOS actually 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:09.639 causes insulin resistance in many women, and I was seeing 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.800 crazy numbers on there that didn't really make any sense. 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.800 So I started going to the doctors and they're like, no, 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.000 you're a one C which is your blood sugar marker 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:20.840 for about a three month period. That's totally fine. You're 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.520 not pre diabetic at all, but something's up. And then 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.000 I eventually found out that I have non alcoholic fatty 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.680 liver disease, and I was like, oh, okay, so it's 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:31.560 been a rollercoaster of a journey. I do think that 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.240 they can help you, but one thing that I think 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:38.159 these companies are lacking is proper guidance on how to 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:40.439 make sure that you were using the tools and that 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.960 the tools are not using you. So that's kind of 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.199 what I've made a lot of my work about because 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:51.000 I really think that it's not talked about enough. 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.760 They sort of just get unleashed into the world, and 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:57.000 we as people using them have to just wrap our 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.199 heads around how to best use them. There's no like 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:01.760 and this is how you use the or ring responsibly. 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:03.800 Yes, a lot of these companies are like, oh, well, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.200 we have informational blurbs in there so that people could 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.480 make the best decision for themselves. And it's like, sure, 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.280 you can know better and still fall into these very 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:18.000 insidious habits thinking that you're doing something great for yourself, 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.000 but you're paying a cost elsewhere. So it's something that 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:24.320 I think we should have much more public conversations about, 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:25.040 for sure. 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.879 So there are other categories around New Year's resolutions that 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.080 revolve around money, you know, either saving money or making money. 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.760 Is there any tech or apps that you recommend for 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:38.760 this kind of resolution making? 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.399 I really like wine app, which means you need a budget. 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:45.600 I've been using it for over ten years. I believe 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.800 it's one hundred dollars a year, but because I use it, 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.520 I definitely save one hundred dollars every month. 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:54.280 So in your wine app. 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:58.119 Yes, wineab is in my wine app. And it uses 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.480 the envelope method for personal finance, where you take your 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:05.320 income and you assign each dollar a job, and that 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.440 really works for me. It is a little more finicky. 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:10.760 I think it's really great for type A people, of 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.840 which I am. But another one I think is Rocket Money, 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:16.240 which I've tested, and the one thing I like from 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:19.119 them is that they will, for a small fee, negotiate 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.199 your subscriptions for you, some of them. And I was like, 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:25.520 oh my god, that's amazing because now for the New 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.760 York Times every year they just lower my monthly price 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:32.080 and I don't really do anything for it. And that's great. 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.000 Because Rocket Money is actually negotiating with the New York Times. 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:38.320 Yes it's not. It's not for every service. So if 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.480 you think you're going to like renegotiate all your bills 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.320 in there, that's not true. But like I've negotiated down 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:47.480 my Wall Street Journal bill and my New York Times. 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.080 Bill, so they for me as a customer. 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:51.879 Yeah, I don't pay full price. 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.439 Ever, it's great Oh, that's a very cool tip. 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:56.200 Yeah. 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:58.399 What about and this is sort of ironic, but what 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.480 about like tech or products that can help you spend 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:06.640 less time with tech? Or products like unplugging products, which 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:08.800 is another big thing people, I think. 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:10.640 Yeah. 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:15.040 Yeah, So I actually got something called Brick. It is 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:18.320 a small actually have it on my desk, and it 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:22.160 is kind of a nuclear option in some respects. You 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.080 sometimes sometimes you need to go nuclear. I was spending 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:28.120 way too much time on my phone for work and 0:20:28.200 --> 0:20:30.960 for other things, and my spouse was like, we need 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.760 to have an intervention because you cannot watch a TV 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.560 show without being on your phone, and that is not okay. 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:41.480 That's the definitely people for a couple couples. 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:44.280 Yeah, and you know they had been using it. They said, 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:46.680 I think you should really try it. And basically, it's 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.840 like this little NFC brick and you tap your phone 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:51.960 to it and when you enter a certain mode, it 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:55.200 just locks all of your apps and the only way 0:20:55.320 --> 0:20:57.879 to unlock your app The only way to unlock your 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.639 apps is to physically tap this physical brick. If you 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:06.440 lose the brick, there are five emergency overrides, and once 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.199 you use up your emergency overrides. Your phone has to 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:14.440 be completely reset. It is quite drastic. It does require 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:17.080 maybe that you're not someone who's going to lose the brick, 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:21.880 But I find that that's been really helpful for when 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.480 I notice that I am on my phone while watching TV, 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:27.360 like I shouldn't be doing that. I should be paying 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:30.600 attention to the TV show. Another thing I've been using 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:35.560 is something called focus Friend, which Hank Green actually created 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:38.600 earlier this year. It is a little bean that lives 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.240 inside of your phone. It's like kind of a gamified thing. 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:44.040