Towards accessible representations of time: learning from the preferences of children and adults

Abstract

Representations of time are used in many contexts, yet the decoding of time can be challenging for users with various cognitive profiles. The digital representation of time is perhaps the most common. This study performed a simple study to explore the time representation preferences among children and adults. Children were chosen as they may have different cognitive profiles to adults. The results show that the opinion of children is more divided than among adults. Children generally prefer the analogue representation, while adults consistently prefer the digital representation. The results suggest that the digital representation of time using digits may not necessarily be the best choice.