Now phone-addicted Gen-Z are losing the ability to use computer keyboards, experts fear – so, how fast can YOU type?

For a generation that has grown up glued to their screens, you would expect Gen Z to be masters of all things electronic.

However, experts now suggest that the online generation might be losing their ability to type on a keyboard.

As smartphones and tablets eclipse laptop and desktop computers, many are concerned that touch typing might become a forgotten skill.

In April, Gen Z icon Billie Eilish told Rolling Stone: ‘I never learnt to type because I wasn’t that generation, and now I regret it.’

So, how fast can you type? Take the test below to find out.  

In April, Billie Eilish revealed that she could not touch type, saying that this was because she ‘wasn’t that generation’. Like Ms Eilish, many Gen Z also appear to be lacking this core skill 

Over the last 25 years, the number of young people taking typing courses has fallen drastically.

This may be driven by a reduction in the number of schools offering ‘keyboarding’ classes, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In the UK, schools can decide to offer a national Ofqual regulated certificate in typing but there is no requirement that this be offered.

Despite typing skills being described as ‘desirable’, touch typing is not part of the national curriculum.

Prestigious schools like Brighton College and Eton reintroduced touch typing to the curriculum, but there is no official data on how many students across the country are taught this skill.

Teachers are also concerned that Gen Z’s increasing use of touchscreen devices might be making matters worse.

Since Gen Z spend more time on smartphones and tablets, some believe that they may be losing the ability to type on a keyboard (stock image) 

Instructure, a Utah-based company which produces platforms for students to upload work, found that 39 per cent of assignments submitted in May were written on an online device rather than a computer.

Melissa Loble, chief academic officer at Instructure told the Wall Street Journal: ‘What students want to do is do the work on their mobile devices.

‘We have two generations experiencing the teaching, and the learning, in a very different way. That’s alarming to me.’

Since one of the biggest predictors of typing speed is time spent typing, a reduction in computer use is likely to produce less proficient typers.

In 2019, a study of 37,000 typers conducted by Alto University and the University of Cambridge found that smartphone typing speeds are now catching up with computer speeds.

Their study found that the so-called ‘typing gap’ between smartphone and computer speeds is now just 25 per cent.

In 2000, 44 per cent of students had taken a typing course with many being taught using software like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (pictured). However, by 2019 that figure had fallen to just 2.5 per cent 

A study assessing smartphone typing speed (pictured) found that the gap between smartphones and computer keyboards was shrinking with participants hitting 38 words per minute on a smartphone

The mean typing speed on a smartphone was 38 words per minute (wpm) compared to about 52 on a standard QWERTY keyboard.

That gap was even smaller among those aged 10-19 years old who, on average, could type 10 wpm faster on a phone than those in their 40s.

That speed increase might not be surprising given that the participants reported spending about 6 hours per day on their mobile devices on average.

While this study alone does not show that computer typing ability is falling, anecdotal evidence from teachers points towards declining touch typing speeds among Gen Z.

Christine Mueller, a teacher from Oklahoma had heard so many colleagues complaining about their student’s poor typing skills that she organised a keyboard spelling competition.

Ms Mueller found that the renewed enthusiasm for the skill helped boost speeds across the school with one student hitting 91 wpm.

A fourth-grade teacher even told Ms Mueller that her students’ average speed had increased from 13 wpm to 25 wpm.

Dr Per Ola Kristensson, an expert in typing systems from the University of Cambridge and co-author of the phone typing study, told MailOnline that the issue is likely to be time spent practising.

While Dr Kristensson says his research does not show Gen Z are losing the ability to type, it does suggest that they are spending more time typing on screens.

The main problem appears to be that students are spending less time on computers than they had in the past which could lead to decreased typing speeds (stock image) 

‘There are many factors but the key factor is practice,’ Dr Kristensson says.

‘I am unaware of any evidence that increased touchscreen typing would be detrimental to physical keyboard skills. More likely, people spend less time typing on physical keyboards.’

Despite the growing ubiquity of typed exams and coursework in schools, reduced use of keyboards at home and for homework could explain the difficulties seen by teachers.

However, Dr Kristensson points out that this is not necessarily an issue so long as students are still able to get information down quickly.

He says: ‘As long as a user has a typing strategy that yields a text entry rate at 40 words per minute or higher it is in my opinion more important to focus on what to write, rather than the specific skill of inputting it into a computer.’

The bigger issue is that a shift towards typing on screens may actually hinder students’ ability to communicate.

Dr Kristensson concludes: ‘I suspect auto-correct and generative AI are more likely to have a deteriorating effect on the ability to write.’