CBS News poll: Are analog clocks on the way out?
Despite an increasingly digital world, old fashioned analog clocks — the kinds with moving hands — can still be found in most American households in 2021, if not in great numbers. Seven in 10 Americans have at least one analog clock in their home, but fewer than half have two, and just one in five have three or more clocks in their home.
Still, analog clocks may be going out of style with younger adults. Nearly half of those under 35 don't have one, and a third of Americans between 35 and 44 also don't have an analog clock in their home either.
Nevertheless, most Americans think children should still know how to read them. Three in four think children should still be taught in school how to tell time with an analog clock — including most Americans who don't have an analog clock in their home themselves. A quarter think their time would be better spent learning other things.
This poll was conducted by telephone October 12-17, 2021 among a random sample of 1,010 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Glen Mills, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.
The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
