Community Chat

[ChiliPepper]

@Laura14 

I believe it too!

Happened at my work also.

I work with a lot of young people, I have shown a couple of them how to fill out an envelope.

These are not dumb "kids", they just never had to do it apparently.

[goldensrbest]

I am shocked,if this is true.

[lovethgedress]

I wonder why they just didn't google it?

[chrystaltree]

I don't believe that for a minute.  

[Kachina624]

Years ago, I supervised a program that prepared welfare recipients, who'd often had few life experiences,  for the workforce.  They were taught all sorts of common sense rudimentry skill such as those mentioned here.  The course was called "Life Skills".  It's obviously needed in our schools now.

Many of these deficits are the result of parental laziness and neglect, I feel certain.  Surely not all kids are so deprived.

[haddon9]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

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@Wsmom wrote:

So this means they have also never seen a piece of mail.  Grandma never sent them a birthday card, etc.  Scary that they are managers.

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@Wsmom   Grandma undoubtedly sent them a birthday card but you can bet they never sent her a "thank you" note.

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This!!!  You would have to wonder why their parents never taught them how to mail a card.   I also wonder if they know how to tell time...the analog way.

Didn't we have a thread fairly recently about some of the younger adult generation just out of college having their parents along at their job interviews?

I have seen YouTube videos of many young adults when asked what is a quarter of an hour said twenty five.  They were thinking of twenty five cents which is a quarter coin but had no clue that a quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes.

I could go on about the ignorance of many of this younger generation.  Many are not being taught basics in school....July 4th is coming up.  Why do we celebrate it and which country did we gain independence from?  They couldn't answer.

[Carmie]

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@scatcat wrote:

Tough crowd

My kids don't write checks.  They get their bills emailed to them and they pay them on line. 
Quote - "sending a check through the mail is archaic".  I agree. 

Many seniors have no idea how to use a cell phone, excel spreadsheet, gps, attach a google doc etc.  My DH helps his in their 70's parents with YouTube TV, Netflix, computer issues regularly. 

And when his dad almost gave away the farm to a computer scammer, he cleaned up the mess.

I'd take the Jimmy Kimmel bit with a grain of salt.

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My husband always writes checks.  I recently advised him to pay a bill on line.  In fact, I did it for him.

It actually cost $3.20 more to pay online.  He will pay the next bill by check.  It is cheaper.  Not ever company does this, but our water company does.

I am 70. I bought my first computer in 1994.  It was an IBM and used DOS, no windows back then.  I taught myself how to use it.  When my company first got computers, I already knew how to use them.

I can do speed sheets.  I own a business and did all my bookkeeping online.

I remember when the internet was brand new.  I had to plug in to my phone line.  I first used prodigy, then it was sold to AOL. I paid $3.85 an hour to access it.

Times have changed, and things are easier now.  Young folks have it easier....no more going to the library, typing manually and fighting errors with white out tape and dictionaries.

Not every senior is technology challenged and not every young person is technology proficient.

Some people are just not too bright and it has nothing to do with their age.

[BlueFinch]

Paper needs to live on. I can't imagine the chaos ensuing if a hospital's computer system goes down and there were many staff who do not know how to write in cursive.You have to go to paper, STAT.

This applies to many situations that could be very dangerous, if staff are unable to read and write on paper. It's bad when systems can go down for prolonged periods, particularly with systems under attack. It happens. 

Even years ago, hospital staff were given little computer boxes to check for almost everything and discouraged from any written narrative. I found it hard to give a clear picture and assessment with boxes.

I was told it was because many of the staff had poor writing skills. I always wondered how this could happen, when we all had higher education. When did this form of communication become unnecessary to even make it through college? 

[781Florist]

There is a comedian named Karen Morgan who has a routine that says---

"My kids are Gen Z.  They belong to the generation that cannot tell time on an analog clock.  They cannot write a check.  They cannot read cursive and they do not know how to address an envelope.  They cannot read a map.

Fortunately, when they eventually take over the world it is going to be very easy to get it back.

We will simply write out our battle plan in cursive on plain paper and mail it to ourselves in envelopes."

[Toppers3]

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@Goodie2shoes wrote:

Oh my goodness !!!   Well I've heard everything !  At 73 I didn't know something like that was possible !  I also found out recently that my grandson's school ( he's going into the 3rd grade next school session starting in August)  will no longer teach cursive writing ! How are these young people going to sign their name to important documents as they become adults ? Buying a home etc ? Will printing out their name vs writing be exceptable ?

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It seems like many signatures are done electronically these days if you have to sign any documents online to keep things more paperless.

Sometimes when you start to type your name in a signature box, it is done in a cursive format for you.

Regarding addressing an envelope, I remember learning how to properly write a letter and how to address its corresponding envelope somewhere back in elementary school. I think that it might have been Grade 4. I think that I learned cursive writing in Grade 3.