When it comes to phones, Gen Z is on it. Life skills tend to be harder for the tech-driven generation to handle. “Adulting 101” crash courses held at the University of Waterloo and Toronto Metropolitan University are helping young people learn skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. These universities cover everything from folding fitted sheets, interest rates, nutrition, maintaining a home, and much more.
The reason behind Gen Z taking “Adulting 101” classes is best described by Psychologist Jean Twenge. People in their twenties today are more likely to have been raised with fewer hands-on responsibilities and a lack of independence. The trend of overbearing parents, fewer home ec curricula, and more young adults living with their parents for a longer period leads to many Genzers not having an early experience of managing tasks independently. This can lead many students, as they hit adulthood, to feel unprepared.
Twenge calls this phenomenon “the slow life strategy” in her 2017 book iGen, where people live longer, stay in school longer, and parents have fewer children but keep a tighter leash on them. She says that this approach means that kids get to experience independence at a later age than previous generations.
“We send them off to adulthood without other skills. If they’re not learning how to make decisions on their own and solve problems, that can be challenging,” Twenge explained. According to the 2023 Journal of Pediatrics, mental health issues are intrinsically linked to decreasing opportunities for adolescents to engage in activities separately from adults. Parents often think that they have to do everything for their kids, which can hinder their long-term development.
Having access to resources makes young adults feel less scared about the future. Twenge explains that students are often grateful and willing to learn. “You see their shoulders drop when they realize there’s actually someone and something here to help me solve my problem.”
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Image Credit: Ketut Subiyanto
