" Young people will have 10 K followers and call them ' friends ' but ca n’t hold a conversation in person . "
Young folks like to give older generations flak for not knowing how to work certain things like technology, but there are quite a few things older people are experts in that younger folks have no clue about. Recently, Redditoru/idiot_in_realasked the older adults of the Reddit community to share the basic skills they’re shockedyounger people don’t know, and it’s part-fascinating and part-alarming:
1.“How to read a map and figure directions out by yourself.”
2.“How to address a piece of mail. A few years ago, I told my stepson that he needed to address the envelopes so we could mail out his graduation announcements. He had no idea how to.”
— Snapdragoo
3.“I used to help a friend manage properties. I was on a call while she was out of the country, where one of the tenants called me and said their toilet was clogged and wanted me to fix it. The renters were early twenysomethings. I asked a young lady, ‘Well, did plunging the toilet not take care of the problem?’ She responded, ‘Plunging? What is that?’ I replied, ‘You know, when you take a plunger and push it many times over the toilet hole to unclog the clog?’ She had never heard of a plunger or experienced using one.”
4.“How to interact in real life. There’s too much time spent behind a screen behind some fake personality. Young people will have 10K followers and call them ‘friends’ but can’t hold a conversation in person.”
— ebonyxcougar
5.“The ability to tell time on a clock with hands.”
6.“Counting change. I recently had a transaction where my change was going to be $4.85. I originally gave the young cashier $20, but I fished out 15 cents from my wallet after the register told him how much change to give me. When he saw the change, he seemed bewildered and handed me the 15 cents back. I think I broke him.”
— Ernigirl
7.“Typing. Most young people can’t type on an actual keyboard without looking and doing a ‘hunt and peck.’ Typing class was mandatory for me in ninth grade. I graduated from high school in 1995, and it’s the single thing I learned in high school that I still use every day. It’s easily the most practical skill I acquired.”
8.“Darning socks, sewing on buttons, or mending clothes. I guess, at some point, it got cheaper to discard clothing rather than repair it.”
— CPetersky
9.“How to cook.”
10.“How to use technology — and I’m not kidding. Young people who have mostly only used phones haven’t the slightest idea where a file went if they downloaded it or what to do with a PDF. At one of my last jobs, one task was helping the college interns with their work computers. I was in my late 60s.”
— cannycandelabra
11.“Basic handyman skills are a lost art: simple outlet replacement, changing a light fixture, or putting up a damn shelf. I always have my boys help or watch me do these things so they pick up some skills.”
12.“How to write a check.”
— Inishmore12
13.“Reading. The falling level of literacy in the US is shocking. Many Americans can’t identify the narrative in a text or the arguments being made for or against in a written piece. The idea of living such a blinkered life is frightening to me. No wonder so many people believe things that just aren’t true.”
14.“Control C and Control V! So many young people we hire only use their mobile phones and need to be taught keyboard shortcuts.”
— Fragrant_Heart3054
15.“I am constantly bemused by the number of young people who can’t use a can opener. Also, there’s always the recurring question of whether minor things in life are ‘legal’ or not.”
16.“I’ve had to explain to quite a few college-educated coworkers what a 401K is and how it works.”
— GuitarEvening8674
17.“How to write in cursive.”
18.“Making a business call and articulating to a business partner, client, or company what you want.”
— spaetzlechick
19.Lastly: “How to drive a stick shift. I’ve been driving a manual transmission since I was 16 up until my most recent car. It’s a great anti-theft device since most people wouldn’t even know how to start it.”
Note : Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity .
