Why can't kids use computers or type anymore?
Schools have stopped teaching basic computer literacy and touch typing, leaving kids unable to navigate desktops, use address bars, or type out simple websites. Without these fundamental skills, children struggle with basic digital tasks like joining online classroom games and risk falling behind as they progress through school.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- Most of it landed at once — the busiest month was October 2026, with 9 people.
- It is not one crowd: 13 people on Reddit and 1 on Stack Exchange ran into the same thing.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1framing payment as a reward for a task rather than just sitting a lessonDid this help you?
- 2using alternative rewards like screentime, specific treats, or tripsDid this help you?
- 3finding organic situations where they wish to learn the skill, such as chatting with friends or playing video gamesDid this help you?
- 4teaching condensed versions of basic computer lessons in regular classesDid this help you?
- 5blocking specific search engines or platformsDid this help you?
- 6removing curriculum content to accommodate slow task completionDid this help you?
- 7Having children practice handwriting through workbooks, lists, letters, and grocery lists during the summer and school yearDid this help you?
- 8Using online typing games and websites like typing club or homerow courses for a few minutes each dayDid this help you?
- 9Switching children to charter or alternative schools that emphasize paper, pencil, and traditional textbooksDid this help you?
- 10Unofficially budgeting class time to teach typing skills against curriculum guidelinesDid this help you?
- 11Manually helping younger students sign into testing platforms one by oneDid this help you?
- 12Using physical keyboard covers in dedicated technology classesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“They don't know the difference between an application and a file. They can't figure out anything on a desktop computer on their own.”source ↗
“They also can’t type. They can’t write by hand and they can’t type.”source ↗
“They don't know what an address bar is or how to type in a website.”source ↗
“Half of them can't even get on kahoot to enter a game pin because they can't grasp the concept of just typing in www.kahoot.it and being right at the screen to put in the pin.”source ↗
“We make 3rd graders do this computer test, and then watch them struggle and frustrate trying to find keys, spell words, use punctuation on the keyboard, and then focus and process looking back in the text?”source ↗
“I teach primarily juniors and seniors. They don’t know how to do anything!”source ↗
“Our EB students have to type in their writing responses on the computer and it's a nightmare.”source ↗
“Our kinders have to do standardized testing. Most of them need help signing in. It’s a whole farce.”source ↗
“Typing is part of my curriculum and I've still gotten dinged for it before. The AP who observed me "wanted to see the kids coding". I asked how they can code if they can't type”source ↗
“I learned to type and write in cursive in grade 3 in the early 90s and now my child learns neither one an struggles to complete their work in a timely manner.”source ↗
“Even disregarding standardized testing, the decline of instruction in the area of touch typing is a major headache for me... They are magically expected to start doing things like writing essays on it. Even though NO ONE EVER TAUGHT THEM HOW TO TYPE!”source ↗
“My son is in 7th grade now and those things are so beat up. For past 3 years, the chromebook that he's been loaned has had to be replaced at least once because they are just junk at this point.”source ↗
“He's still is a hundred percent reliant on looking at the keyboard, and he still types with 2 of his fingers.”source ↗
“I get it's frustrating, but I don't think you can rely on the system to really teach much beyond the core curriculum.”source ↗
“Yes it’s the same at my son’s school. It’s crazy, they’re expected to do their writing on the Chromebooks but these kids have never been taught to type.”source ↗
“we've discovered that the elementary school our children are attending no longer teach the students to touch type on a keyboard, and that is absolutely a skill that we want them to have.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why don't students know how to type a web address?
- 5Why does my cat sit on my keyboard?
- 7How to deal with coworkers who don't know basic computer skills
- 3How to teach students how to fill out Scantron forms
- 2Lesson ideas for teaching English to pre-literate kids
- 3How to clean dried paint spots and debris off a keyboard