Analog clocks, roman numerals and Morse code are unnecessary in modern living for 99%+ people, just like it's unnecessary for them to know why the moon always faces the same way or how a car engine works or what technologies are used by their computer monitor. It's good to know these facts exist and that they can be learned, but that's about it.

I think we all suffer from a lot of bias and assumptions about how other cultures operate. I also wonder if above article correlates with race - similar to a lot of other recent declining US education stats, it tracks pretty well with white % of population going down.