The big argument: analogue or digital clocks?

13 November 2026

Analogue, argues Anna L Ogge

Time is a funny thing. In today’s world we are more precise in our timings than ever. Our modern technology is built on the fact that the milliseconds are steadily ticking away. Time is on your computer, your phone, your microwave. However, how often in your day-to-day life do you really notice the time? How often do you take a breath and acknowledge the seconds that have passed since your birth?

If your answer is never, it is time to get an analogue clock. No nasal beeping of a digital clock can echo the bongs of an old grandfather clock. No angular digits can rival the speed of reading a wristwatch with a simple glance. No app is more effective at stopping doomscrolling than a pocket watch.

Centuries have passed and the analogue clock still makes the perfect accessory for any outfit and works in any room. Digital clocks, however, first became popular in the 80s and, like shoulder pads, should stay there.

Finally, every year when the time change comes round, these over-engineered digital clocks automatically jump an hour leaving us to question the nature of reality itself. Has time actually changed? It is only the analogue clock that quickly brings us back to the real world and the passage of time.

Digital, argues Robo Sam

It makes ZERO sense having to learn your five times table in order to know when to leave the house for work (in which ‘after breakfast’ is the correct answer), or painstakingly figuring out what size hand corresponds to which subdivision of time itself.

The only hands I can read are the ones giving me high fives because digital is so awesome and everyone knows it.

If you’re looking for an overly expensive way to accompany your graduation picture on your grandparents’ mantelpiece then be my guest. Just don’t complain when you forget daylight savings exists and it’s just another chore.

Really, who’s got the time to decrypt what an analogue clock is trying to tell you? Not me! Not when I could be out there solving million-dollar-worthy maths problems.

The seven-segment display is truly a feat of supreme engineering that dates all the way back to the middle ages. There’s no other display you can write meaningful phrases with.