Smartwatch alerts: What our devices say about us

A friend once joked that her smartwatch now knows her moods better than she does.

- By NEEN SAPALO-CHAN

It nudges her to stand, praises her for meeting daily step goals, and even reminds her to breathe as if the body needed prompts for what it already knows how to do.Across the Philippines, more people wear devices that quietly monitor them: smartwatches, fitness rings, calorie-tracking apps, meditation reminders. These technologies promise health and self-awareness, yet they also encourage a constant gaze inward not for reflection, but for measurement. We check sleep scores, stress levels, and daily movement as if wellness were something to audit.

Where we once trusted 'pakiram-dam' (feeling), we now consult our smartphone apps.

This habit of self-tracking may feel new and contemporary, but it echoes older histories. The Filipino body did not suddenly become something to monitor; it has long been watched, shaped, and disciplined.

From Colonialdiscipline to modern alerts

Spanish friars emphasized bodily modesty, discipline, and restraint, linking the control of the body to moral virtue and religious order. Posture, comportment, and even gestures were sites of instruction, as the colonial church sought to shape not only belief but bodily conduct.