Fact · Typing and writing speed
In a 2015 writing study of 19 younger adults and 19 older adults, the speed of typing, measured as the time to type each key, was much higher in the younger group.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“Nineteen younger adults (age range 21–31, mean age 26.1) and 19 older adults (age range 65–83, mean age 72.1) participated in the study. ... As expected, the speed of typing, as calculated by the time to type each key, was much higher in the younger group.”
Writing in a Digital World: Self-Correction While Typing in Younger and Older Adults, Yoram M. Kalman et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2015, Abstract and Results.
Open the original (DOI 10.3390/ijerph121012723)- What it measures
- Participants wrote simple and complex texts on a laptop with a key logger that recorded each keystroke to a thousandth of a second. Spell check and grammar check were off, and no text could be imported.
- What it does not show
- Per-key timing is a narrow measure. It is the time to type each key, not words per minute on finished text. The sample was small and the task was a single session.