I’ve long said that I believe Millennials, as a generational cohort, are the best at typing that ever has been and ever will be. We were the first generation where adults really recognized that we’d be using computers our entire lives and took steps to teach typing. But, so much more importantly than that, we socialized through typing. I had typing classes in school, sure, but I learned to type quickly on AIM and in chat rooms.
Earlier generations only really typed for business or school. Later generations socialize over phones, so they, too, only use a physical keyboard for school and business.
I guess I should amend this theory to include all tech literacy in general.
Early Starcraft got me from ~10 wpm to near 100. You had to type those messages fast before your base was invaded and you died. If I had been born either 5 years earlier or later I don’t think I’d be nearly as fast a typer as I am today.
Same… My left hand home keys are wasd because I truly learned to type playing Team Fortress Classic online and needing to communicate without any voice chat. All the classes I took in school for typing didn’t get me anywhere, but needing to warn the engineer in the flag room he had 2 incoming because I was down… That got me typing with gusto.
Honestly, these days with voice chat everywhere, I feel like I am kind of out of practice and probably have slowed down since I do more typing at work than at home.
Typing was taught to boomers and genx first dude. In fact, as a liminal i’d readily say i’ve had an arseload more typing “teaching” than you have - both keyboard and typewriter- and i’ll wager my mother in the age of typewriters had even more.
I think you’re missing my point. I’m not saying nobody ever was taught to type in earlier generations. I’m saying that millennials were the first where there was a widespread recognition that typing was a valuable skill EVERYONE needed to learn, regardless of your future life path. Of course there were people getting trained to type ever since the first keyboards were invented. I mean, there were people as long ago as the 1870s learning to type on the earliest mass-produced typewriters.
I’m talking about a generational cohort as a whole, not individual select cases.
And I’m also talking about the difference between typing being a skill you learn for school/work vs something you use for socialization.
X here as well. But 78. So i got to take advantage of the digital age without having my teen stupidity immortalised on it. Truly the sweetest of spots.
As a Zoomer, I also had typing classes, but I learned how to type because I wanted to be able to quickly send messages in Minecraft when I was like 7 years old 🙃
I write a lot on my keyboard, and have been for a long time. But my left hand is not on SDF but on AWD because that’s the default hand position for gaming/shooters. 😬
Doesn’t stop me from typing fast or blind though. Otherwise I would have done something about it.
I didn’t teach my older zoomer kid to type. He learned on his own out of the necessity of chatting with friends in online games, played on his computer. He uses the first two fingers of both hands, and he’s faster than me, who learned in school and has been a touch-typist for 40 years.
I think we’re moving away from keyboard and mouse, anyway. It will be AR headsets with voice, eye tracking, and hand gestures for most use, and keyboards will be used only when direct input is needed.
I’ve long said that I believe Millennials, as a generational cohort, are the best at typing that ever has been and ever will be. We were the first generation where adults really recognized that we’d be using computers our entire lives and took steps to teach typing. But, so much more importantly than that, we socialized through typing. I had typing classes in school, sure, but I learned to type quickly on AIM and in chat rooms.
Earlier generations only really typed for business or school. Later generations socialize over phones, so they, too, only use a physical keyboard for school and business.
I guess I should amend this theory to include all tech literacy in general.
There wasn’t voice Chat in early games and you had to type fast to communicate and not die.
Exactly this
Early Starcraft got me from ~10 wpm to near 100. You had to type those messages fast before your base was invaded and you died. If I had been born either 5 years earlier or later I don’t think I’d be nearly as fast a typer as I am today.
that’s how I learned to touch type without “learning” It intentionally. never bothered using home keys but I can type at 100-ish WPM and 95% accuracy
Same… My left hand home keys are wasd because I truly learned to type playing Team Fortress Classic online and needing to communicate without any voice chat. All the classes I took in school for typing didn’t get me anywhere, but needing to warn the engineer in the flag room he had 2 incoming because I was down… That got me typing with gusto.
Honestly, these days with voice chat everywhere, I feel like I am kind of out of practice and probably have slowed down since I do more typing at work than at home.
I remember trying to type really fast with a controller a while ago when my mic broke.
Typing was taught to boomers and genx first dude. In fact, as a liminal i’d readily say i’ve had an arseload more typing “teaching” than you have - both keyboard and typewriter- and i’ll wager my mother in the age of typewriters had even more.
I think you’re missing my point. I’m not saying nobody ever was taught to type in earlier generations. I’m saying that millennials were the first where there was a widespread recognition that typing was a valuable skill EVERYONE needed to learn, regardless of your future life path. Of course there were people getting trained to type ever since the first keyboards were invented. I mean, there were people as long ago as the 1870s learning to type on the earliest mass-produced typewriters.
I’m talking about a generational cohort as a whole, not individual select cases.
And I’m also talking about the difference between typing being a skill you learn for school/work vs something you use for socialization.
I took typing class in high school. On a typewriter. Gen X. My mom was a trained stenographer in her younger years.
X here as well. But 78. So i got to take advantage of the digital age without having my teen stupidity immortalised on it. Truly the sweetest of spots.
I am a bit older but similar. My dad was an early adopter of computers even though he had zero idea how to use one.
The typewriter generation are probably faster overall because they don’t make mistakes.
Being able to delete any error makes you far less careful.
Sure, modern programs will autocorrect for you, but autocorrect to what?
Indeed. I joke that I can type 100 words per minute but that 32 of them are backspace.
Microsoft word fixing tiny mistakes like reversed i and e or other very common errors has made me an absurdly lazy typist.
Yeah, it was funny teaching my grandmother to use a computer… She couldn’t use a mouse, but she typed really fast!
I can type fast, but I have to hit the backspace really often.
As a Zoomer, I also had typing classes, but I learned how to type because I wanted to be able to quickly send messages in Minecraft when I was like 7 years old 🙃
I write a lot on my keyboard, and have been for a long time. But my left hand is not on SDF but on AWD because that’s the default hand position for gaming/shooters. 😬
Doesn’t stop me from typing fast or blind though. Otherwise I would have done something about it.
I didn’t teach my older zoomer kid to type. He learned on his own out of the necessity of chatting with friends in online games, played on his computer. He uses the first two fingers of both hands, and he’s faster than me, who learned in school and has been a touch-typist for 40 years.
I think we’re moving away from keyboard and mouse, anyway. It will be AR headsets with voice, eye tracking, and hand gestures for most use, and keyboards will be used only when direct input is needed.