Modern technology has completely taken over our lives, and we have become totally dependent on it. This dependence on digital technology has affected even the most minor of things, like telling time.

Now, Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), has revealed that children under the age of 18 are having an increasingly difficult time reading analog clocks because they are so used to digital ones. In fact, things have gotten so bad that many schools are removing analog clocks altogether.

“The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” Malcolm explained. “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.”

Malcolm went on to justify the switch from analog to digital clocks at school by citing the stress factor.

“You don’t want them to put their hand up to ask how much time is left. Schools will inevitably be doing their best to make young children feel as relaxed as the can be,” he said. “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.”

Malcolm said that though teaching kids to read analog clocks is part of the curriculum at most schools, kids aren’t learning it very well.

“It may be a little sad if youngsters coming through aren’t able to tell the time on clock faces,” he said. “One hopes that we will be teaching youngsters to read clocks, however we can see the benefit of digital clocks in exam rooms.”