35 Basic Life Skills That Weirdly Many Adults Still Can’t Do

Critical thinking. Too many people just taking information that is spoon-fed to them and accepting it as fact. Take 30 seconds and think things through.

HawaiianShirtsOR:

"The computer isn't working!"
Did it give you an error message?
"It says 'click OK to continue.' What should I do?"
Click OK.
"Are you sure?"

Cooking. People treat the ability of cooking as some amazing skill that few have, but cooking for yourself is one of the most basic tools you should have to be able to keep yourself alive.

Great-Wishbone-9923:

I was a traveling chef for 13 years, teaching people how to cook, in their own homes, using their own tools.
People are super f**king afraid of the kitchen. They think if you can’t make a gourmet dish right away, you can’t make grilled cheese. It’s crazy how many people thought cooking was hard, until I showed them.

I’d say basic fact checking. People don’t seem to know how to check a source or multiple sources and validate something. When I do it people look at me like I’m Gandalf , what wizardry is this???

TomCatInTheHouse:

"How do we know we can trust those sources though?" is a common response I've received.

I'm a guy. The older I get the more it bemuses me that some men view cooking and keeping their place clean as "woman's work".

It's not "woman's work" for a guy to be able to sustain himself. And no woman ever looked at the apartment of a guy who lived like a pig and didn't know his way around a kitchen and thought "Wow! What a manly man!"

Expecting a grown woman to do all your cooking and cleaning is how a 7 year-old child views their mother. We're not supposed to stay at that stage of development our entire lives.

Spacial awareness and etiquette in public spaces. 100% of the time people gather in walkways forcing anyone using the walkways / entryways (entryways always at bars or parties - the bar could be empty while the entryway is impassible) to walk around them. That, or they stop walking right in front of you as well not checking (as they would/should if they were in a car) to look to see if someone is coming before crossing pathways. It’s so simple and yet it seems as if it’s flat out impossible for people to acknowledge.

pah1027:

Same with carts in stores. Evidently everyone thinks they are the only one in the store aisles.

Simple finances. Not about investing or interest rates or that. But basically...yes you can afford this..no you cannot afford this...yes if you get this on sale, you save money...yes, if you cut out a Starbucks a day, you save money...if you pay off your credit card, you will have more money after.


HMSSpeedy1801:

If you buy something you didn't otherwise want or need simply because it was on sale, you didn’t “save money.”

Simple grammar.

You’re vs. your.

To, two, too.

Saw vs. seen

Have vs. of.

SlapThatA**e:

It mostly happens because majority don't know or just don't care about turning off "auto correct" function on their phones.

Have a quick confrontational conversation that will take less than 5 minutes and prevent a lifetime of misunderstandings and awkwardness.

Seriously...why can't people just do it?

fitblubber:

Because my experience of confrontational conversations was my dad getting into massive fights . . . every single bloody time.
But yes, you're right. It's a great skill to have.

Self reflection, being able to grow.

Delicious-Trip-384:

Many people are content to just say "well that's the way I am" because it's easier than recognizing that they're s**tty people. Working on yourself is hard work and you have to face some uncomfortable things about yourself. Most people are too contented and weak to actually work on themselves.

Make/take a call in public without using speaker phone.

Teejay717:

I can't take any calls in public at all... I don't know why, it just makes me feel distracted like a bus might be barreling down the sidewalk or something and my situational awareness is compromised because I'm on the phone lol. It's weird but I just can't talk on the phone in public without feeling anxiety.
To your point though, yeah people who talk on speaker are rude.

Reading.

I don't mean being illiterate, the number of people I see walk up to doors with signs telling them it's locked or the wrong way or please go find an employee, and they struggle for several minutes without reading the signs.

TomCatInTheHouse:

Yeah. But honestly there are so many signs hung everywhere now for everything that I think a lot of people have just tuned them out.

Speaking specifically about the USA, an entirely car dependent nation.

You know how many adults have pulled up to my shop over the years and asked me to put air in their tires? While parked next to the complimentary free air pump in the parking lot. That when pointed out to them, they say they don't know how to use?

I'm sorry, you're a grown a*s adult and you can't manage to put air into your car tires? The most basic of maintenance on one of the most expensive things you own?

When they lack basic manners. It doesn’t matter if we come from different walks of life etc etc. Having BASIC MANNERS is the bare minimum of being human.

Washing your hands after using a bathroom. D**n disgusting and I see men do it all the time…

trb15a78:

I've fired more people than I care to admit from the restuarant industry because of this. Simply will not stand for it.

Understanding when it is not a good time to ask questions. But doing what you are told.

If the tone your partner is using is urgent enough, and:
- Is telling you to pack your things and go
- Or to close the car window in a red light
- Or to not go through a dark alley, ...

YOU FIRST DO IT!!

Then you ask questions.

Basic navigation, without a GPS.

I live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain - cell service is spotty. This situation has happened no less than 3 times in the past year, including yesterday:

I have a DoorDash order on the way. It is getting close to the promised delivery time. I get a call from DoorDash - the driver needs to speak with me. I answer.

Driver: uh yeah....I can't find your house, and my GPS stopped working so....
Me: no worries - where are you? I can talk you in.
Driver: I'm on already.
Me: oh okay, well just keep coming up - we live a little past the top.
Driver: yeah I went up there and I didn't see it.

(I should note here that ALL of the mailboxes on the mountain road I live on are GLARINGLY obvious, and it was daytime.)


Me: ummm then you just didn't come far enough. Did you go past ?
Driver: no, but I couldn't find it.

Me: okay but house numbers keep counting - you just have to keep going until you find
Driver: yeah but my GPS went out so...

Me: right but if you are looking for 2000 and the numbers are going 1990, 1992, 1994, then you know you're heading in the right direction to reach 2000. So...you just have to keep coming up.

Driver: well my GPS stopped working so...

Of the 3 times - 2 of them I had to literally stay on the phone while they drove on the correct road in the correct direction, insisting over and over they didn't see it, with me saying "just keep coming" to literally lead them to my driveway like a toddler.

And the 3rd? They gave up. You are reading that correctly. I had them on the phone with DoorDash support and they just said "we can't deliver it without a GPS" and drove away in the opposite direction.

Baffling. I said "basic navigation" but really just - knowing how house numbers work: even one side, odd the other. Both sides go up in the same direction. If Number you are trying to find > current number you can see and numbers are going up - keep going - otherwise, turn around - it's not that hard.

And why on EARTH would you take a job as a delivery driver when you CANT do that?

This felt good. Thanks, reddit.

Empathy.

Being able to search for information instead of asking others to do it for them.

Of course, that would eliminate 80% of reddit posts...

Knowing how to be a good person. I’ve read and heard multiple say they don’t understand people having morals and ethics without being religious. It’s easy. Treat others how you want to be treated. You don’t have to complicate it with laws or rules. You don’t have to be in fear of an invisible sky daddy. Just be nice.

Sewing. I’m not talking about making a quilt or a stuffed toy. I’m talking about putting a needle in a thread and simply closing a tear or repairing something instead of buying to replace. I’m 41yrs and learned basics and how to use a sewing machine with Home Economics at school and have self taught myself after. I really wish these skills were still taught in schools along with cooking. It’s more than crafting, it’s teaching self reliance.