Why Do Screens Glitch When You Touch Them?

Imagine a touchscreen is like a cookie sheet covered in chocolate chips. When you touch it, the chocolate chips (which are tiny sensors) react and tell the screen what to do. But sometimes, when too many chocolate chips get touched at once or one gets stuck, the screen can’t figure out what to do, so it glitches!

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Examples

  1. Your phone freezes when you try to swipe through your photos too fast
  2. A tablet shows random taps on its screen when it’s cold outside
  3. A smartwatch flickers when you press a button

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