It may not surprise many people that the amount of time youth are spending in front of a computer screen, tablets, cell phones or even HD TV, is taking away their perception and ability to do things as simple as understanding what the hands on an analog clock mean. In the U.K. it has come to a point that teachers have chosen to replace analog clocks in exam rooms with digital clocks, because these young students are having a difficult time reading them while under stress and are not able to determine how much time they have left to finish their exams.
“The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations. 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,” said Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders in an article by The Telegraph, a national British daily newspaper. You don’t want them to put their hand up to ask how much time is left, he continued. Schools will inevitably be doing their best to make young children feel as relaxed as they can be. There is actually a big advantage in using digital clocks in exam rooms because it is much less easy to mistake a time on a digital clock when you are working against time.
And it’s not only that. It’s also pens and pencils. Sally Payne, a senior pediatric doctor at the Heart of England foundation NHS Trust warned that ‘children are increasingly finding it hard to hold pens and pencils because of an excessive use of technology. Children need lots of opportunity to develop those skills,” she said. “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.”
