20% of Gen Z students can no longer read an analog clock without their phones

The debate over whether technology is liberating or eradicating humanity is an eternal one. While there is no way to prove either fully, some instances make us believe that excessive dependency on tech can dull our brains. A similar case can be seen in a video posted by Vivian — who goes by the username @vivianthemicgirl on TikTok — where 2 girls were asked what time it was showing on an analog clock. Their response has been both entertaining and disappointing for people.

Vivian resides in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), a province in Canada, where she walks around public spaces asking locals intellectual questions. One of her videos on TikTok features two teenage girls whom she asks to tell the time by reading an analog clock. One of the girls ponders and tries to calculate, but has no answer, and when the other is asked to help her out, she giggles and says, “I don’t know time.” After much calculation, she says, “That’s 10 o'clock,” and the other one agrees, but Vivian tells them that they are wrong.

Another video on her page showcases a similar incident where she asks the same question to two boys, probably in their early 20s. This time, too, there is an analog clock, but it's showing a different time.  One of them looks at the picture and immediately utters the correct time with confidence — the other one, however, takes an ample amount of time, only to get the answer wrong. He thought “there has to be some trick” to read time, revealing that he didn’t know the mechanism behind it.

An article by Adi Bloom reveals, “A teacher, giving a presentation at a conference in London, has said that many pupils in Years 9, 10, and 11 are only able to tell the time if provided with a digital clock.” She adds, “We live in a world where everything is digital. We are moving towards a digital age, and they do not necessarily have analog watches anymore, and they have mobile phones with the time on.” This gives us a clear picture of how kids today lack the basic skill of telling time under the influence of excessive technology. Unfortunately, it is not limited to reading a clock.

According to a study by Dr. Roni Cohen-Sandler, children today lack basic life skills in general — most of them don’t know any, even after they have graduated from High School. She suggests, “Kids need to do chores, have an allowance, a paid job outside of the home, if possible, contribute to their car expenses, and not get something if they run out of money. It doesn’t help your kids if you are an unending ATM and feel taken advantage of.”

After watching the video, @iceman82aj2 wondered, “How are people getting anything different from 10:10,” while @another_dave questioned, “Do homes not have clocks anymore? Even decorative?” This shift is quite chilling, given that generations born before the digital revolution still exist. Most simply can't imagine such a high level of digital dependence that erases basic life skills.

You can follow Vivian (@vivianthemicgirl) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.