First of all, sorry about the comments lost during the server migration yesterday. Couldn’t be helped, really. Had to migrate (and there will be a second wave in a couple of days) to solve the database problems that have been plaguing me for ages. That said, let me go into the subject of this entry.
I was reading an article about a three-year-old child’s sleeping issue being solved by a digital clock in his bedroom. The child determines if it’s too early or too late to get up in the morning by reading the numbers on the clock. My kids first learned to tell time by reading digital clocks too. And when I tried to teach them how to read analog clocks, we started having problems. In fact, when they were old enough to start wearing wrist watches, they preferred digital to analog. And it ate at me, you know? I wondered if that was okay.
To put it more clearly, I wondered if I wasn’t depriving them of anything by allowing them to get used to reading time in digital format. Was the ability to read analog clocks no longer a necessary skill in a world that was fast becoming a purely digital arena?
Of course, the issue became less controversial as they grew older. Without any nagging from me (except that I refused to buy any more digital wrist watches), they did learn to read analog clocks. But, until today, they are not as fast with analog clocks as they are with digital ones. And they especially have a problem with analog clocks that don’t have any numbers. Quite frankly, the reverse is true with me. In fact, I’m so slow with the 24-hour format. I still manually count from 1300 onward to get the exact time. And even if an analog clock has no numbers, I can tell at a glance what the time is.
I wonder sometimes if it’s a generation thing, you know? My generation grew up with analog clocks; theirs with digital ones. And I wonder just how many kids have issues with analog clocks. I wonder too if the retention of the analog face in formal (and more expensive) wrist watches has more to do with style than functionality.
I love analog clocks! All my clocks at home and my watches are analog one. I can’t seem to appreciate a digital one except when I use one as a timing device.
I find digital clocks to be more accurate and trouble-free.
On a 24-hour format, I mentally subtracted 1200 after noon time (12 pm) until I was able to automatically tell time by just looking.
I can’t imagine hanging a digital clock on the wall. LOL I think that will look very, very awful.
A digital clock on the wall would look like a timer used by fast food restaurants to time their speed of service. But a digital alarm clock is what we have at home – it’s easy to read the time when you wake-up in the morning.
I only wear analog watches, especially the classic rectangular design – like a good wine, the older the better. I think they are here to stay for good. Even our grown-up kids prefer analog watches.
I bought my first digital watch just a few months ago; it was a Timex divers watch that was within my budget. I wore it when we went to the beach last month and it was weird to be able to “see” the time without having to think, and I really did miss wearing an analog watch. But I guess, once I get enough guts to finally have my diving lessons, I will appreciate knowing the time at an instant way down there.
Nikita, you’re diving! Wait ’till Speedy reads your comment. We’ve talked about diving on and off for ages but never had the guts. LOL
I had a boss who once said that anyone wearing a digital watch was a complete nerd who didn’t deserve to be promoted to management level…..I threw mine away that same night hahahaha
back when i was starting grade school, my mother would not buy me any digital wristwatch because she said that I would not learn to read/tell the time with digital clocks. i did learn to read the time using analog time pieces and then i was ready to have the “robot watch”- that was in thing during grade 2 or 3!
personally i like analog time pieces better. i think it was gonz (from pinoymac) that said you can estimate the time elapsed/remaining just by glancing on the face of an analog clock. how true! but when i officiate a football game, i prefer a digital watch :p
Miguk, so did it work? LOL
Icoy, “robot watch”? It’s really different with boys, huh. My daughters’ first wristwatches were the Mickey Mouse variety — the ones with faces that change color depending on the body temperature of the wearer. Cute and all but they kept asking for digital watches. LOL
Connie, we’re in the same boat, i.e., we’re still just talking about taking diving lessons; di pa natutuloy dahil naduduwag pa ako. Pero may divers watch na ako, baka sakali…
Nikita, the biggest come on for me is that I can take kick ass underwater pics. Siguro, when I can afford underwater camera gear, the fear will dissipate hehehehe
No I’m just a nerd with an analog watch hahahaha
We still have analog clocks at home but wristwatches were replaced by celfones. I think it’s still important to teach kids to read analog watches. It’s as important as buying shoes with laces and not velcros. My daughter is in second grade and has not learned to tie a ribbon yet so I promised myself to buy her rubbershoes with laces.