Just 1 in 10 Americans say they own a freestanding or grandfather clock, fewer than the share who own a digital watch (14%), an analog watch (33%), a smartwatch (33%), a wall clock (54%), or an alarm clock (56%), a new YouGov poll finds.
Older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to own most of these types of clocks and watches. The biggest exception is smartwatches: 39% of adults under 45 own one, compared to 29% of older Americans.
One-third (33%) of Americans say that when awake, they check what time it is multiple times per hour, while 14% say they check it about once per hour, 37% every few hours, and 10% once or twice per day or less. Americans 65 or older are less likely to check the time frequently than are younger adults.
Most Americans say they can read the time off a clock with hour and minute hands — but many might need a few seconds.
Overall, 71% of Americans say they can tell the time on an analog clock instantly, while 23% say they would need several seconds and 3% would need more than a few seconds.
Younger adults are much less likely than older Americans to be able to instantly read an analog clock. 95% of Americans 65 or older say they can instantly tell the time from the hour and minute hands, while only 43% of adults under 30 can. 78% of Americans with college degrees say they can instantly tell the time on an analog clock, compared to 68% of non-college graduates.
It turns out that most Americans think they are more punctual than average: 68% say they're more likely than other people to arrive on time for events, while 23% say they're equally likely to arrive on time and only 6% say they're less likely than others to be punctual.
Older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to say they're more likely to arrive on time.
But being on time doesn't mean the same thing in all places. Majorities of Americans say they'd show up very or a little early if they were attending a concert, job interview, or sporting event. But just 32% say they'd show up early if attending a party — about the same as the 31% who say they'd show up late.
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,128 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (PM Images)
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