Editing Touch typing (section)

== Advantages ==

=== Speed ===
Touch type training can improve an individual's typing speed and accuracy dramatically. Speeds average around 30–40 WPM ([[words per minute]]), while a speed of 60–80 WPM is the approximate speed to keep up with one's thoughts. A Microsoft survey suggested that many managers expect employees to be able to type at a minimum of 50 WPM.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11061755/Why-your-typing-means-youre-probably-not-up-to-the-job.html|publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|title=Why your typing means you're probably not up to the job - Less than half of Britons hit the 50 words per minute typing speed seen as 'minimum' for work|date=29 August 2014 |access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref> Professional career typists can exceed 100 WPM repeatedly and continuously (secretarial, data entry, etc.). Routine practice is required to maintain a high typing speed and accuracy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180423-one-skill-to-make-you-type-a-lot-faster|title=One skill to make you type a lot faster|date=23 April 2018 |publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref>

=== Reduced switching of attention ===
A touch typist does not need to move the sight between the keyboard (that is obscured with fingers and may be poorly lit) and other areas that require attention. This increases productivity and reduces the number of errors.

=== Reduced neck strain ===
Touch typing helps improve posture and reduce neck pain by keeping one's eyes focused on the display and avoiding a constant need to glance at the keyboard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/computer-back-pain-tips-for-a-healthy-posture-11364064056364|title=Sore back? 7 tips to stop your hours of computer use becoming a pain in the neck|website=BT.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-24|archive-date=2020-11-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125050608/http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/computer-back-pain-tips-for-a-healthy-posture-11364064056364|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Disputes over advantages ===
There are many other typing styles in between novice-style "[[hunt and peck]]" and touch typing. For example, many hunt-and-peck typists have the keyboard layout memorized and are able to type while focusing their gaze on the screen. One study examining 30 subjects, of varying different styles and expertise, has found minimal difference in typing speed between touch typists and self-taught hybrid typists.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aalto University|author-link=Aalto University|date=10 Feb 2016|title=Ten fingers not needed for fast typing, study shows|url=https://phys.org/news/2016-02-ten-fingers-fast.html|access-date=2021-04-10|website=phys.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1145/2858036.2858233|chapter=How We Type|title=Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '16|pages=4262–4273|year=2016|last1=Feit|first1=Anna Maria|last2=Weir|first2=Daryl|last3=Oulasvirta|first3=Antti|isbn=9781450333627|s2cid=6271677}}</ref> According to the study, "The number of fingers does not determine typing speed... People using self-taught typing strategies were found to be as fast as trained typists... instead of the number of fingers, there are other factors that predict typing speed... fast typists... keep their hands fixed on one position, instead of moving them over the keyboard, and more consistently use the same finger to type a certain letter." To quote doctoral candidate Anna Feit: "We were surprised to observe that people who took a typing course performed at similar average speed and accuracy as those that taught typing to themselves and only used 6 fingers on average". However, the study has been criticised for only selecting subjects with average typing speeds up to 75 words per minute, thus lacking [[Inductive reasoning#Statistical generalization|generalizability]] for faster typists.