Technology is now part of our daily life and with the constant advancement of technology, everything is becoming digital. Even the smallest things, such as telling time!
Most people no longer rely on paper maps or newspaper because everything is in our smartphones! And for young people, they no longer know how to read analog clocks as they are used to checking time on their phones.
In fact, it is becoming a problem in schools as most the clocks are the "old-fashioned" analog ones and the younger generations cannot tell time anymore. In the UK, teachers have found that students are distracted by analog clocks during their lessons. Students seem to have a very strong propensity to stare at them to try to find out how much time is left in class. This is why many schools are phasing out analog wall clocks and replacing them with digital, easier to read clocks.
“The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), told The Telegraph. “They are used to seeing a digital representation of time on their phone, on their computer. Nearly everything they’ve got is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere.”
The distraction is even greater during exams: instead of focusing on the task at hand, they worry about how much time they have left, trying to decipher the position of the needles. Many students have complained to teachers that they have difficulty understanding their time left during exams and are having difficulty managing their time.
According to a survey, children between the ages of ten and twelve cannot tell the time by looking at an analog clock. But that's not all, even high school students have difficulty reading the time with a traditional clock.
But what is even more alarming is that children starting school are starting to find it hard to hold pens and pencils because of an excessive use of technology. "It’s easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes. Because of this, they’re not developing the underlying foundation skills they need to grip and hold a pencil." said Sally Payne, the head paediatric occupational therapist at the Heart of England foundation NHS Trust to The Telegraph.
What do you think? Is the younger generation too dependant on technology?
Do you know how to read the time from an analog clock?
