Millennials lack basic survival skills

[IronWing]

I don't like fish so learning to fish would be a waste. Learning to skin hot pockets and harvesting pickles would be time better spent.

 

[Meghan54]

How can I tell you've got no experience buying and using paper maps? Because they were updated yearly, much like the GPS's are today. Amazing, isn't it? Updating maps on a yearly basis? Who'd have thought such a thing could be done?

(Not a Millennial)

Couldn't one create a slightly different poll with bias and try to use the results to chastise those >55?

For example, "Only x% of those over 55 use Google Maps. Instead they prefer to use a paper map. The problem here is the paper map has likely has not have been updated in the last few years to account for all of the growth that has occurred across the area over the past several years."

 

[BoomerD]

Neither of my Boomer parents could do most of those things and probably haven't been "camping" since Eisenhower was president.

Son? Izzat you?

If by "camping," you mean taking the RV out for a spin...I go several times per year. If you mean sleep on the ground, in a tent...then not since Ronnie Raygun was President.
I can read a paper map, have a couple of current (or recent) road atlases...but I also know how to use Google Maps and Mapquest. (I prefer Mapquest for trip planning as it gives me more options for planning a trip...but GM is better overall)

 

[ViRGE]

They've been setup to fail since birth. Manufacturing went the way of Mexico and China, so those jobs are limited. Skilled trades were sold as "lesser" jobs. Minimum wage is not a living wage. So what is left? They are told from the start of elementary school that they have to go to college. So they go to college and take on a pile debt. Only to come out to a flooded job market with a bunch of boomers clinging on for dear life to their inflated incomes and benefits. And when they retire the boomer administration eliminates the positions because it's an easy way to fluff up profits and make the bottom line look good. So they retreat back to school for more education and loans and hope to come out again when the market is better. Oh and they've seen the wasteland of marriage and divorce rates brought on by their boomer parents/older Genx parents so they are sour on the idea of marriage. But are stuck with the lucrative housing costs created by dual income households the previous two generations before them. So they have a huge pile of debt. Take forever to find a job since the market for highly educated positions is low and they were never given an option for skilled labor. And they can't afford to buy a house even if they had a job. So they retreat back to their parents place and attempt to dig themselves out of it.

I really feel sorry for this generation. They've been left a plate of crumbs and huge tab to pickup after everyone else bolted.

On that note, here's a timely article from the AP about a government report that puts some numbers behind that phenomena.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/13/millennials-falling-behind-boomer-parents/96530338/

With a median household income of $40,581, millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life [in 1989], despite being better educated, according to a new analysis of Federal Reserve data by the advocacy group Young Invincibles.
[...]
Yet compared to white baby boomers, some white millennials appear stuck in a pattern of downward mobility. This group has seen their median income tumble more than 21 percent to $47,688.

 

[MongGrel]

I could have survived on my own in a woods with a knife at age 10 back in the 60's.

Does make you a bit more self reliant oriented I suppose.

I was never that motivated to "rank up" most of my life, even when I was in boy scouts later in life I frustrated my scout masters, I was just there to hang out and camp, I knew more than about anyone in the troop about outdoor related things and taught the guys I was hanging out with a lot.

Joining the Marines later after that didn't seem a big stretch, half wish I had just become a Lifer there considering how badly manufacturing in the US even in the Defense Industry has went into the toilet over time.

I could have been retired years ago.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Well I think the survey may underline a disturbing trend in urban living. I hold as axiomatic that humans belong in nature by which I mean under the stars, in the fields , appreciating fire and water and running through the grass. Smelling the earth is possible in a city , some stars are viewable at night in suburban areas but unfortunately , the survey suggests to me the fact that urbanites are more and more separated from what makes us human, the outdoor life in general and nature in particular. The more this separation happens, the less happy we feel , the more angry we can become, the less sense we find in our lives.This may be why riots devastate city cores where there is no nature at all.

As populations and cities expand, nature disappears--think endless urban blight like in some third world shit hole, condo construction here and animal extinctions everywhere . People who have never lived outdoors and enjoyed the connections there will never understand or care when its gone , or at least is only remotely available . Logically then, some lost tribe in Bora Bora is better off than many of our neighbours. Can that be true ?

Life will go on of course but I understand from futurists, that eventually humans will have to move elsewhere because everything that supports life on earth will be gone.
The survey disappoints me.
Just a thought .

Sorry but this "we're not in nature so we're not happy" is pretty much blatantly wrong, for one simple reason. When we were spending most of our time in nature, we were basically constantly stressed out as our lives literally were at stake. We lived nowhere close to as long and often suffered violent deaths as we eked out survival. We were not happy, we didn't even have time to consider such things most of the time.

As for riots, it isn't because of a lack of nature. I'd argue its actually because they're being treated more like animals. They were thrown rotten apple cores and told "now stop whining that we don't do anything for you". Corruption, crime, and that level of basic survival and dealing with daily threats is more prevalent there.

If you actually look, rural areas (meaning the people closest to nature and having quite easy access to it) are taking a fucking bath. Rural areas are actually likely more unhappy than city folk, as they have been getting the shit kicked out of them for decades now. Economic downturns hit them hard, and they basically have not been recovering, while more and more people move to cities and rural areas get overrun by drugs.

The only reason people value that so much now is because we've turned it into a fantasy and we've deluded ourselves about how nature actually is. Because when we go into nature we've mitigated most threats to such a degree, and made resources so prevalent, that there's very little risk, so we can romanticize it. We can literally stop to smell the flowers. Sure you can still easily die if you're stupid out in nature, but you pretty much have to willfully desire that. And even then you're chances for survival are still overwhelmingly good). If you were dumped in some of the sparsely populated regions of the planet with minimal resources (I'm not talking those stupid survival shows, but give you some tools, some seeds, some food, and even somethings to provide shelter) and told survive until you can't any more, I highly doubt you'd have such an idyllic view of nature. Although I'm sure you'd grow to appreciate it.

That's not to say valuing nature is bad. Quite the opposite, but people need to be realists. Likewise, with the "simpler times" mentality, where its simpler because you are willfully discarding all of the things you'd actually have to deal with. Even if you're old enough to have lived in some of these simpler days, chances are you're viewing them through the mind of a child. Living has always been hard. Its just now, we have the luxury of being able to talk and be like "life is hard" and have people echo that sentiment, while simultaneously being exposed to people who have it way worse and also way better (so we see both extremes).

They've been setup to fail since birth. Manufacturing went the way of Mexico and China, so those jobs are limited. Skilled trades were sold as "lesser" jobs. Minimum wage is not a living wage. So what is left? They are told from the start of elementary school that they have to go to college. So they go to college and take on a pile debt. Only to come out to a flooded job market with a bunch of boomers clinging on for dear life to their inflated incomes and benefits. And when they retire the boomer administration eliminates the positions because it's an easy way to fluff up profits and make the bottom line look good. So they retreat back to school for more education and loans and hope to come out again when the market is better. Oh and they've seen the wasteland of marriage and divorce rates brought on by their boomer parents/older Genx parents so they are sour on the idea of marriage. But are stuck with the lucrative housing costs created by dual income households the previous two generations before them. So they have a huge pile of debt. Take forever to find a job since the market for highly educated positions is low and they were never given an option for skilled labor. And they can't afford to buy a house even if they had a job. So they retreat back to their parents place and attempt to dig themselves out of it.

I really feel sorry for this generation. They've been left a plate of crumbs and huge tab to pickup after everyone else bolted.

They didn't bolt. They're now trying to force feed them bullshit, tell them its pizza and ice cream, and then scream at them "why aren't you buying our shit?!?, we need the money!"

https://youtu.be/hER0Qp6QJNU

Can't roll my eyes enough at this. Its like a marketing person spouting nonsenical buzzwords that they themselves clearly don't comprehend or understand. Actually that's exactly what it is.

The speaker is Simon Sinek, who, among other things, is a "leadership consultant" and sells books and courses on how to make people work better.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/that-anti-millennial-rant-bs-cracked-destroys-meme/

 

[olds]

We need a butt hurt button

 

[OverVolt]

Wait a minute, are we supposed to be suckers and believe most Baby Boomers and Generation Xers have outdoors skills?

Sorry, this isnt a new phenomenon, and it isnt restricted to Millennial.

And I know how to do quite a few of those things, Im a little lacking in the various knots department, but I know how to do most of the other stuff.

The difference is that if thrust into that situation they would adapt quickly. Millennials would not. Millennials are deficit like 10 years+ life experience at this point and it is quite insurmountable for most of them to catch up.

A boomer or a Gen X'er might not know exactly how to make a fire but I'm sure they'd have 2-3 ideas. When they fail the first time they wouldn't collapse into a useless lump, like a millennial. They have the experience of past failures to rebound quickly and keep trying.

Thats the difference.

Millennials aren't bad people, just very annoying. Like having a book club with the book of life experience, and millennials are still on the first chapter. Every week they come in and still, stuck on that first chapter.

 

[brianmanahan]

the category lumping and pontificating in this thread makes me LOL

i've worked with older people and younger people who have plenty of initiative and work to improve themselves. and also older people and younger people who do the bare minimum just to get by and have to be handheld through everything.

the attitude that someone's ability to figure things out and take charge is almost %100 decided by which side of 1980 they were born on is naive and does not reflect what i've seen in real life.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I'm more worried about social aspects of Millennials. That's what truly tells you they have zero chance in hell at succeeding in this world.

There are VERY VERY few jobs that do not require some type of social interaction.

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm more worried about social aspects of Millennials. That's what truly tells you they have zero chance in hell at succeeding in this world.

in 20 years when gen x retires, they will be the majority of the working world. some will succeed and some will fail. success and failure may be defined differently in the future than it is right now.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

in 20 years when gen x retires, they will be the majority of the working world. some will succeed and some will fail. success and failure may be defined differently in the future than it is right now.

That's bs. Losers will always think money defines success. Success in the past, present and, future will always be defined as creating something useful while taking responsibility.

 

[brianmanahan]

That's bs. Losers will always think money defines success. Success in the past, present and, future will always be defined as creating something useful while taking responsibility.

i dunno, i'd rather have money than success. success doesn't pay the bills.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

in 20 years when gen x retires, they will be the majority of the working world. some will succeed and some will fail. success and failure may be defined differently in the future than it is right now.

As someone that currently works in consulting, I can definitely tell you that nothing will change in that regard. Anyone of any decent power in a company (CEO, CFO, Director, etc...) will not be someone you can convince via text message and emoticons. Ever. It just isn't a language that can be translated to be convincing or sales worthy.

I say this as someone that is very much an introvert and hates social interaction. I deal with it because I have to. The majority of millennials I can already tell can't take it to save their life. You sound a lot like me though. I deal with it not because I enjoy the challenge or the job... but simply the money. Money talks, bullshit walks.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

i dunno, i'd rather have money than success. success doesn't pay the bills.

Have you heard of self defining moments?

 

[brianmanahan]

You sound a lot like me though. I deal with it not because I enjoy the challenge or the job... but simply the money.

yep that describes my career in 1 sentence. i'm sociable at work and generally pleasant to deal with because it means more money.

but i can't wait until i'm done working and can retire and do whatever i want, coworkers optional. shoot i have given serious thought to living in the woods alone like a hermit.

 

[brianmanahan]

Have you heard of self defining moments?

well i have no expectations of being rich or successful. i just want to save up enough money to live off of interest + dividends, then be free to do my own thing.

i'm not the kind of guy that anyone is going to remember after i die.

 

[BoomerD]

well i have no expectations of being rich or successful. i just want to save up enough money to live off of interest + dividends, then be free to do my own thing.

i'm not the kind of guy that anyone is going to remember after i die.

It's not like your pomes will make you famous...anywhere but here...

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

yep that describes my career in 1 sentence. i'm sociable at work and generally pleasant to deal with because it means more money.

but i can't wait until i'm done working and can retire and do whatever i want, coworkers optional. shoot i have given serious thought to living in the woods alone like a hermit.

/fistbump

I wish I worked with people like you more often. Though, I do the least amount of social interaction that is in my best interest.... At the end of the day though, my current project is a large implementation that involves ~150+ people tossed into one room like a warehouse. It annoys the fucking shit out of me, because the client hiring us doesn't have the decency to give us a simple cubicle. So they are obviously oblivious to the fact that people walking by 24/7 can be a WEE-bit distracting from completing daily tasks for introverts like myself.

Sadly, all of this shit has just resulted in coming home and wanting to drink more often to reduce social anxiety. Pretty sad actually, I haven't drank this much in my life till now.

Oh well, like I said - Money talks and my employer has done a decent job at that. I toss as much money as I can into tax advantage retirement to hopefully be well ahead for my mid 50's or so.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

well i have no expectations of being rich or successful. i just want to save up enough money to live off of interest + dividends, then be free to do my own thing.

i'm not the kind of guy that anyone is going to remember after i die.

Why choose to live that way? No one is born successful. I always wonder about people who work at jobs they hate, living a life they hate so, they can retire early and begin living, at what? After you've bought all the cool toys and, traveled the world watching others do things they're passionate about, what will you DO with your money? Will you spend the rest of your life observing others follow their dreams?

 

[brianmanahan]

sadly, all of this shit has just resulted in coming home and wanting to drink more often to reduce social anxiety. Pretty sad actually, I haven't drank this much in my life till now.

ooh you're able to do that? after surgery the doc told me to never do it. might be a specific drug-interaction thing for the drug i take though.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

ooh you're able to do that? after surgery the doc told me to never do it. might be a specific drug-interaction thing for the drug i take though.

Oh believe me, I've been told that when taking the drugs.... From what I understand in general it simply doesn't work with prescriptions in general.

That said, since my surgery I have thankfully yet to have a full one. I'm really hoping it stays that way. The most I have is an occasional aura. I brought up my drinking to my neurologist last time and she didn't seem phased since I emphasized that I like beer heh. I guess I convinced her it's a legitimate hobby since I still refuse to drink 24 packs of Budlight and shitty vodka. I actually do enjoy delicious beers, the problem is I enjoy it often... As in anytime after work... though I can usually hold it until the weekend at least.

 

[ringtail]

Millennials lack basic showering skills,
not to mention a diligent work ethic,
not to mention whining for a gold trophy for showing up.

 

[Mixolydian]

Oh look, another generation bashing thread. Let me know when we get to the Baby Boomers.

 

[IronWing]

Oh look, another generation bashing thread. Let me know when we get to the Baby Boomers.

Those assholes!