‘What are younger generations criticised for not doing but is largely obsolete anyway?’ – 21 skills that are pointless for Gen Z

From having a poor attention span to finding Friends offensive, Gen Z are judged pretty harshly by the very people who raised them. And most of this judgement is unfair, specifically when it’s about things they can’t do which are completely obsolete. It’s like being mean to a Boomer for not knowing morse code.

They’ve been chewing this over on the AskUK subreddit after PsychologicalRow8034 asked this:

What are younger generations often criticised for no longer doing that is largely pointless or obsolete?
I’ll start, I’ve heard Gen Z mocked for not being able to write in cursive. I cannot imagine a scenario the average person will encounter where cursive writing is necessary.

And lots of people chipped in with their thoughts, like these…

1.

‘Not being able to use a cheque book. Haven’t seen a cheque used in decades, but I’ve seen older generations bitch about ‘kids’ not knowing how to use ’em.’
–Misskinkykitty

2.

‘Changing a plug (UK). Seen by many of us as one of those life skills that is just baffling not to know how to do – but it’s gone.

;Went to teach my Gen A daughter a couple of years ago and realised that apart from Grandad’s old lamp, there wasn’t a single plug in the house anymore that we could change.’
–chipnicker

3.

‘I think typically older generations waste time on ironing T shirts, underwear, bed clothes and linen. I only see the need to iron my work shirts in the Summer when not covered by a jumper or jacket.

‘The rest of my uniform doesn’t need it at all. Modern fabrics. No one seems to be bothered. I hang my clothes to dry in the best way to ensure minimal creases.’
–krypto-pscyho-chimp

4.

‘My grandma told me off for not using one of those small yearly diaries. I already have an online calendar for work and another with my partner, and I need much bigger notebooks for my work and hobbies. So those diaries she loves and wants me to use are just impractical clutter.’
–ComicsCodeMadeMeGay

5.

‘A guy at my work was complaining people didn’t understand pre-decimalisation money.’
–bsnimunf

6.

‘Attending stuff they don’t want too. They seem to be criticised for flaking out but I love their attitude! Don’t fancy doing something? Then just don’t.

‘Don’t fancy replying to every waste of time message… just leave it on ‘unread’ for 3 weeks. I’m Gen X and I fully embrace Gen Z’s attitude to giving stuff a miss!!’
–GuybrushFunkwood

7.

‘My grandparents genuinely criticised us over Christmas because we didn’t know how to ‘dance a waltz’. They reckoned it was still an important skill that we would need to use in our life.’
–BumbleLizzieB

8.

‘Making paper notes, not completely gone but significantly reduced. I’ve started with a new team at work that are all 55+, they couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a notepad when I started and still to this day find it strange I take my laptop to all meetings to take notes.’
–anon_mouse_23-08

9.

‘Not being able to give change confidently when working in a shop. I get that cash is dying out, but it’s not gone yet, so they still need to know. But maybe in a couple of decades, not so much (we’re still teaching coins in primary school).’
–AuroraDF

10.

‘For large companies and especially tech jobs, older parents telling me I needed to be out there turning up at their offices handing them my CV in person asking to speak to the manager.

‘Sure this might still be good advice for trades and local shops etc where you can actually do that and the companies are small enough that this matters, but in the tech world it just makes you look a bit silly, they won’t even accept your paper CV and it makes YOU look like you don’t understand how the whole process works.

‘My parents were stunned when I came home with all my CVs and told them every single place told me to just apply online. They still wouldn’t accept that times had moved on – I must’ve been doing something wrong.’
–BronnOP

11.

‘Going out to play independently… most parents don’t let preteens out on their own any more, and there’s an army of Facebook curtain twitchers now that post pictures of kids or teens ‘on their own’ aka out in groups of friends, and imply that they are criminals or vandals.’
–360Saturn

12.

‘Learning to drive in a manual – it’s going to be obsolete in the next five years or so.

‘But WhAt If YoU NeEd A vAN’ the boomers will shout, I’ve driven plenty of vans and rental cars all over the world and have never had an issue getting an automatic, calm down and stick GB News back on.’
–Legal-Grade-6423