When Swiping Supplants Scissors: The Hidden Cost of Touchscreens — and how Designers Can Help Amber Case 9 min read · 1 day ago 1 day ago -- Listen Share
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The history of technology is full of innovators who got their start creating with their hands. Steve Jobs cites a calligraphy class at Reed College as influencing the design of the Mac; Susan Kare, who designed the Apple icons we still use today, had a childhood immersed in arts, crafts, and embroidery.
It’s a keen irony that their work evolved into smartphones and tablets — devices that have inadvertently led to a whole generation whose primary mode of interaction is a flat glass touchscreen. I was shocked to to recently read how much a lack of physical tactility is affecting fine motor skills of kids:
A recent survey by Education Week found that 77 percent of educators reported young students having greater difficulties handling pencils, pens, and scissors. In comparison, 69 percent noted increased struggles with tying shoes compared to five years ago.
Children are losing critical fine motor skills — the small, precise movements required to tie a shoelace, write with a pen, or build a tower.
“It’s like they’ve never seen a block,” says Hornbeck, an instructional coach at Beverly City Public Schools in New Jersey, describing how kids fumble when asked to stack just three blocks. “The things they do with the block when you’ve just shown them what to do is boggling.”
It’s painful for me to picture a kid struggling to use scissors, trying to coordinate their small hands to work two blades at the same time.
The shift away from the tactile is so profound, I’m beginning to explore it with some first-hand reporting for an upcoming project. In this essay, I’ll share some of my early findings, contrast them with my own childhood experiences, then conclude with some principles and research that I hope inspire designers and companies to help restore tactile interactivity in our lives.
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