VOA慢速英语--你在智能手机上打字的速度有多快?

How Fast Can You Write on Your Smartphone?

Many Americans use smartphones for most or all of their day-to-day communication activities. One result is that people have gotten faster and better at typing emails and text messages on their phones.

But how fast are we at using an electronic device compared to typing words on a traditional, physical keyboard? A new study has some answers. A team of researchers carried out an experiment. It involved more than 37,000 volunteers from over 160 countries.

The study was a project of researchers from Finland’s Aalto University, England’s University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. They used an Internet-based system to test the typing speed of people on their smartphones.

On average, the volunteers estimated they spent about six hours a day using their phones. The majority said they used two thumbs to write messages. Both Android and iPhone users were tested, and most said they used the device’s standard keyboard.

The experiment

The volunteers were given 15 English sentences to type out on their phones “as quickly and accurately¹ as possible.” The research team found that on average, people wrote about 36 words per minute. Those tested made a typing mistake 2.3 percent of the time.

The researchers noted² that 36 words per minute is about 25 percent slower than the average rate for people using a computer keyboard. In a 2018 University of Cambridge study, the average speed for computer typists was about 52 words per minute.

The researchers noted one reason for the narrowing of speed rates between smartphones and computers. They said people have become slower at typing on keyboards over the years.

Seventy-five percent of those taking part in the study had typing speeds below 44 words per minute. But the fastest phone typists reached speeds of over 80 words per minute.

The published results show there was no difference between males and females in the typing speeds.

Subjects who reported using two thumbs or two fingers reached speeds of 38 words per minute. Those who said they used only one finger typed 29 words per minute.

Among age groups, the fastest typists on an electronic device were between 10 and 19 years old. They typed nearly 40 words per minute. People aged³ 40 to 49 wrote about 29 words per minute. And the rate dropped to 26 words per minute for those aged 50 to 59.

Reaction to the findings

Anna Feit, a researcher at ETH Zurich, helped lead the study. She said it makes sense that younger people have higher typing speeds because they generally spend a lot more time on their devices.

"Such a large amount of experience transfers to the development of typing skill,” Feit said. “And explains why young people - who spend more time with social media, communicating with each other - are picking up higher speeds."

The researchers also found that a phone’s automatic correct tool can be extremely helpful. Users were able to type faster than those without the correct tool. But word prediction tools were not very helpful to users in the experiment, noted Aalto University researcher Sunjun Kim.

“The given understanding is that techniques like word completion help people,” Kim said. “But what we found out is that the time spent thinking about the word suggestions often outweighs⁴ the time it would take you to type the letters, making you slower overall.”

The researchers call the difference between typing words on a smartphone and a physical keyboard "the typing gap." They predict this gap will further narrow in the future as people get less skilled with keyboards and as smart methods for typing on devices continue to improve.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

type – v. write out letters on a keyboard

keyboard – n. a set of keys on a computer that a user presses to make it work

standard – adj. usual and not special

accurate – adj. correct or exact

per – prep. for each

transfer – v. to move from one thing to another

automatic – adj. happening as part of a normal process or system

gap – n. the difference between groups or situations

1 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句