Can High School Students Read A Clock? This Video Sparks Panic As Students Get Time Wrong: ‘It’s 6:74 Now’

Telling time on an analog clock is considered a basic life skill which is taught before students reach middle school. But an interaction involving high schoolers has brought that assumption under scrutiny in an unexpected way.

Recently, an Instagram video was shared by content creator John Seo where he holds up an analog clock and asks a group of high school students to read the time. The overlay text on the video reads, “Can high schoolers read a clock?”

High School Students Read Analog Clock

The first student immediately admits, “I have never seen one of these before. I am used to being a digital man.” When John asks him to read the time, the student answers, “7:12.” At that moment, the short hand of the clock is positioned between 11 and 12 while

the long hand points at 7. So, his answer was obviously incorrect.

John then approaches another teenager with a different time displayed (short hand rests on 9 and the long hand is on 12). The student guesses, “12:09.”

One Guesses ‘6:74.’ Yes, That Happened

The next interaction offers a bit of relief. A student looks at a clock where the short hand is on 9 and the long hand is slightly above 4. He guesses the time as “9:25.” While still not accurate, the answer is closer than previous attempts.

That moment doesn’t last long. Two girls are then shown the same clock setup with the short hand on 9 and the long hand on 2. One says “9:02” while the other responds with “2:09.” Both guesses miss the correct time by a huge gap.

The clip then reaches a moment that can leave anyone in shock. One girl looks at the analog clock and confidently says the time is “6:74.”

Watch The Clip Here

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A post shared by John Seo (@jvhnseo)

Viewers React With Disbelief

Since being shared online, the video accumulated more than two million views and varied reactions in the comment section.

One user commented, “What school are they attending so I WON’T send my children there.”

Another questioned the education system, asking, “Is this not a part of the elementary school curriculum because my daughter’s learning it in kindergarten? Is it not mandatory?”

“Please tell me this is all a joke,” a person wrote while someone else added, “This is actually concerning.”

“Are these people really our future then I’m afraid our future is dark,” a viewer said.

“That’s a damn shame. They used to teach this in elementary school. These new kids are cooked,” an individual replied.

“We’re doomed,” “This can’t be real,” “This is actually sad and scary,” and “Truly horrifying” were some other remarks.

Teachers Weigh In

Educators also joined the discussion and shared their own experiences. One Math teacher commented, “Math teacher here. This is real. Idiocracy was a documentary. COVID & this economy have halted procreation amongst intellectuals & parents are letting the teachers raise their kids. Add AI replacing cognitive functions & increased screen time to the equation. Here we are.”

Another teacher mentioned similar concerns, writing, “I teach high school. This is real. If the public realised the basic skills that these kids do not have, they would be frightened. The kids are all dopamine addicted and are constantly on a screen, if not their phone, then the Chromebook that the school thinks they all need! Give it 5 more years and it’ll be apparent to everyone. I’ll be retired but I truly wonder what will happen??”

Not everyone was convinced that the video showed reality. A section of viewers suggested the students might have been deliberately giving wrong answers.