We don't walk anymore—We just count steps

Time of India

2 days ago

Walking isn't fun anymore, we are held hostage by the step count
There was a time when going for a walk meant exactly going for a walk. No wrist buzzing, no real-time pace updates, no dopamine hit from hitting an arbitrary number on a screen.
Just you, your legs, a sidewalk, and maybe a sunset if you timed it right.
Now? Walking has become a task. A goal. A competition. An item on your to-do list right between 'answer emails' and 'pretend to meditate.' We no longer stroll—we strategize. The step count watches us, judges us, and quietly whispers that 7,382 steps just isn't good enough.
What happened?
The rise of the step count
Let's start with the popular 10,000 steps. It sounds so science-y, so legit.
It came from a Japanese pedometer ad campaign in the 1960s. A device literally called 'manpo-kei,' which translates to—yep—10,000 steps meter.
Fast-forward to today, and it's gospel. Health apps, fitness influencers, insurance companies—even your grandma's on board. If you haven't walked 10,000 steps, did you even move?
And while walking is good for you, and sure, some folks need the nudge to get up and move, we've taken something simple and turned it into yet another performance metric.
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Undo
Walking used to be a mental reset. Now it's a mobile treadmill, just without the belt.
Performance over presence
Go to any park, promenade, or office complex at lunchtime, and you'll spot them: the step counters. Not people on leisurely strolls, but determined, headphone-clad individuals power-walking like their fitness tracker is their parole officer. No eye contact. No scenic detours. Just relentless pacing in circles if need be, anything to hit the number.
We've turned a basic human function into a performance. And with that, we've lost the most beautiful part of walking: the aimlessness.
Because here's the thing: real walking, the kind that clears your head and reconnects you with the world, doesn't care how far you go. It doesn't need to be Instagrammed. It doesn't come with a daily target. You might even walk five minutes, sit on a bench for ten, then walk home. And you know what? That still counts.
Even if your smartwatch says otherwise.
The anxiety of incomplete steps
We've developed a low-grade obsession. Miss your step goal one day, and it gnaws at you. You feel like you failed. Your body may feel fine, your mind rested, but that gap on your tracking app? That's betrayal.
Some people march around their living room at 11:57 PM just to close a loop. Some log 'extra' steps before bed, like hoarding coins in a game. Is that health? Or is it just another way to feel inadequate if you don't comply?
Fitness technology has brought a lot of good, but it's also made walking feel… mechanical.
Instead of intuitive movement, it's gamified motion. Instead of presence, there's pressure.
The lost art of wandering
Remember when walking meant window shopping, daydreaming, or talking with a friend while circling the block? Now we're laser-focused on pace, cadence, and distance. We've forgotten how to wander.
But here's what science actually supports: walking without distraction, without goals, improves mood, sparks creativity, and lowers cortisol.
In other words, you don't need a tracker to benefit. In fact, you may benefit more without one.
Philosophers, poets, and inventors throughout history have sworn by the casual, meandering walk. Charles Dickens walked 20 miles a day, not to burn fat, but to battle writer's block. Virginia Woolf wandered the streets of London just to think. Nietzsche famously said, 'All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.' None of them had an Apple Watch buzzing on their wrist.
The case for untracked steps
Do not ditch walking. Quite the opposite. Walk often. Walk far. Walk silly. Walk slow. Walk in zigzags if you want. But maybe, once in a while, leave the step counter at home.
Take a route you've never taken. Stop to look at flowers. Walk without a podcast. Let your thoughts drift. Let your mind breathe.
If you've been feeling like walking isn't helping the way it used to—maybe it's because you're not really walking. Maybe you're just collecting data while moving forward.
And no surprise, our bodies notice the difference.
When walking becomes just another line to check off your productivity app, it loses the peace that made it powerful in the first place. Movement becomes monotony. Stillness gets buried under stats.
Let walking be walking again
Here's a radical idea in 2025: walk for the hell of it.
No route. No goal. No tracker.
Let the walk take you wherever it wants. Breathe the air. Notice the sky. Stop for an ice cream if the mood hits.
Because when walking becomes about everything but walking about calories, steps, goals, goals, goals we lose the joy. And joy, believe it or not, is pretty good for your health too.
So maybe the question isn't 'Did you hit your steps today?' Maybe it's: 'Did you enjoy your walk?'