These essential life skills are vanishing from Gen Z's toolkit
As times change, why is the new ‘it’ generation losing these once-essential abilities?
KARIN CHAN28 Jan 2025 11:00am
Around 40 per cent of Gen Zs are struggling with handwritten communication. Photo generated by Recraft
For instance, many millennials don’t know how to drive a stick shift or write in cursive — life skills that would have been considered vital by previous generations. In exchange, they were the first to grow up doing Google searches and learn how to touch type.
As technology continues to advance, we are seeing Gen Z — the first generation of truly digital natives — go through the same cycle. But what are the skills now most in danger of disappearing from Gen Z lives, and what does this mean for them? Let’s find out.
HANDWRITING
A recent study by the University of Stavanger in Norway found that around 40 per cent of Gen Zs are struggling with handwritten communication. This finding is echoed by academics around the world, who claim that Gen Zs tend to be more insecure about writing in their classes and favour note-taking on devices instead of using good old pen and paper.
In Turkey, education expert Professor Nedret Kiliceri attributed the deterioration of Gen Z handwriting to an early reliance on keyboards, as well as a lack of handwriting training. “Students’ writing either slopes downward or upward across the page and [...] is often unreadable,” she says.
This is concerning, notes Professor Michael A. Smith from the University of Maryland, because writing things by hand has a proven impact on memory and cognition. He says: “The physical act of writing engages the brain in ways that cannot be replicated. When we write by hand, we’re not just recording information but processing it more deeply.”
Does this mean that a lack of handwriting ability affects how Gen Z processes information and communicates with others? Professor Michael thinks it likely, especially with the digital-driven disappearance of the natural ‘reflective pause’ that occurs when writing by hand.
“Digital communication, emphasising speed and instant response, rarely provides [a] space for contemplation. The result is often more impulsive and less carefully considered communication,” he says.
FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION
Gen Z has grown up using digital devices and platforms as their main forms of communication. As a result, their communication style has evolved to suit. In the most favourable terms, Gen Z communication is often described overall as being concise, direct, fast, and preferably text-based.
For in-person interaction specifically, however, various studies have shown that around 70 per cent of Gen Zs finds it a struggle — especially at work. Older generations tend to agree: ‘rude’ is a common refrain when they describe interactions with Gen Z, as is ‘unable to read a room’, ‘can’t look you in the eye’ and ‘doesn’t know how to speak up’.
Gen Zs themselves acknowledge the gap. A Preply Inc survey of over 1,500 Canadians found that more than half of Gen Z respondents felt their social skills have declined from remote work and/or studying, while 20 per cent felt less confident speaking or presenting in person instead of virtually.
Left unaddressed, the deterioration of these soft skills can have a significant impact on Gen Z lives — especially for their career prospects. In fact, a 2024 survey of 800 US employers found that nearly 40 per cent were “more likely to hire an older candidate due to Gen Z’s behaviour in interviews”, citing “issues with making eye contact” as a top complaint.
PATIENCE
Besides being a virtue, patience is also a skill that can be learned. However, patience seems to be in short supply for Gen Z. They have been touted as ‘the most impatient generation’ yet for their short attention spans, expectations of convenience, and a willingness to abandon something that isn’t producing the desired results quickly enough.
There are many examples of this phenomenon. Research indicates that Gen Z is the fastest to hang up (after 45 seconds if the phone is not answered), switches jobs more quickly (134 per cent higher in 2024 than 2019), and prefers shows that have already ended (34 per cent) so they can binge watch them in one go.
This is not surprising for a few reasons. Technology is more efficient than ever before, leading to many conveniences that have become ingrained into daily living. Digital content, which Gen Z is chronically consuming, is designed around instant gratification. Additionally, they are bombarded by constant ‘act now’ call to actions on everything from financial independence to environmental conservation.
As a result, Gen Zs are often ruthless in dropping anything they feel isn’t working so that they can achieve their goals in the least amount of time. However, sustaining this form of ‘hustle culture’ can leave them vulnerable to early burnout. To address this, more Gen Zs are championing a ‘slow living’ counter-movement for greater mindfulness.
NO SHORTCUTS TO LEARNING
Skills may fall out of favour, but they won’t necessarily vanish altogether if they still matter. Not knowing how to use a rotary phone is a little different from not being able to hold an in-person conversation, write legibly on a piece of paper, and seeing a long-term project to fruition. The latter are skills that are still highly relevant today and will still benefit Gen Z if they take the time to hone them.
In every scenario, the common advice given by experts to Gen Z is the same: if you want to get good at something, practise it. Start writing notes and cards. Practise interviews with friends. Complete smaller projects that take a moderate amount of time.
It may sound like a lot of effort, but that’s true of every skill worth learning — and preserving.
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