Connecting to WiFi, using a self-service checkout and touch-typing have been named among modern life’s essential skills. Mastering online banking, searching the internet and being able to sort household rubbish into the correct bins also made the list of life’s top 50 most important and useful skills.
Other skills which were deemed ‘essential’ in the poll of 2,000 adults included knowing how to work privacy settings online, confidently using Google maps and navigating Facebook and social media.
It also emerged that darning, knitting and being able to bake fresh bread are all skills which are no longer necessary for everyday life.
Sewing, writing postcards and needing to know friends and relatives’ phone numbers are also among the ‘redundant’ skills.
A spokesman for touch-typing course KAZ-type which commissioned the research, said:
”For generations, there are skills which have been passed down from parent to child, because they were deemed so essential to everyday life.
”However, it seems technology is wiping out some of those skills as gadgets can now do it for us.
”The internet has become such a huge part of life that it’s so important to know how to use it, while built-in address books on mobile phones mean we no longer have to memorise the phone numbers of loved ones.
”It does seem that there are some skills which are standing the test of time though – knowing how to cook and touch-typing are things people have needed to know as much now as they did in previous years.
”If anything, touch-typing is only becoming more important over time as so many careers now rely on computers more than ever for their day-to-day work.”
Being able to search the internet was named life’s most essential skill, followed by operating a mobile phone and connecting a device to WiFi.
Learning how to manage your bank account online came fourth, while the classic skill of being able to cook was at five.
Knowing how to turn off the water at the mains was voted life’s sixth most essential skill, followed by knowing what rubbish goes into which bin and how to set online privacy settings.
Using a calculator and self-service checkouts in supermarkets completed the top ten.
Other ‘essential’ skills in the list included being able to set and follow a route on a sat-nav, using discount voucher websites, downloading music and turning HDTVs.
Series-linking TV shows, buying and selling via online auction websites and communicating via Skype also featured in the top 50.
In comparison, darning has been named the skill least likely to be used in modern life, closely followed by knitting and being able to polish brass or silver.
Baking bread from scratch has been replaced by modern day bread makers, while putting up a tent has been also deemed as ‘no longer essential’.
Servicing the car yourself and understanding how to work out pounds and ounces are also among the list.
In fact, six in ten Brits admitted they would struggle to do some of the ‘outdated’ skills.
And another 65% believe many of these skills are irrelevant to modern day life because gadgets now do so many of them for us.
However, 85% of Brits think modern technology has simply changed the skills we need, with a third believing we are actually more skilled that previous generations.
Just one in ten believe gadgets have led to people having fewer skills nowadays.
The spokesman for KAZ-type added:
“The survey confirms our own findings that touch typing is more important for education and job prospects than ever before – there are few jobs today where a keyboard doesn’t play a part.
“Like all essential life skills – whether it’s cooking or using a phone – learning to type has been updated and simplified for the 21st century.”
TOP 50 ESSENTIAL MODERN SKILLS
1. Googling
2. Operating a mobile phone
3. Connecting WiFi
4. Mastering online banking
5. Learn to cook
6. Being able to turn off the water at the mains
7. Knowing what goes in which recycling bin
8. Knowing about privacy settings online
9. Use a calculator
10. Using a self-service checkout
11. Search and apply for jobs online
12. Use Google maps
13. Updating/installing computer programmes
14. Being able to use sat-nav
15. Touch typing
16. Re-heat food in the microwave
17. Checking in online prior to getting to the airport
18. Uploading photographs
19. Communicate via Facebook
20. Change settings on the thermostat
21. Book cheap flights
22. Working a tablet
23. Use a USB charger
24. Work out the underground
25. Use voucher discount websites
26. Set up a wireless printer
27. Download music
28. Tuning HDTV
29. How to order at fast food restaurants
30. Have an amazon account
31. Know how to use an SD card
32. Setting up Sky/cable
33. Sell and buy via auction websites
34. Series linking television shows
35. Social media savvy
36. Use Bluetooth
37. Changing the clock on your oven
38. Communicate via Skype
39. Using hands free in the car
40. Working a Smart TV
41. Book cinema tickets online
42. Syncing iTunes
43. Communicate via Twitter
44. Transfer money via your phone
45. Connecting the laptop to the TV
46. How to put on an out of office
47. Learn new skills via YouTube
48. Know how to download movies/torrents
49. Pay for parking via your phone
50. Find the best prices by scanning barcodes on your phone
TOP 20 SKILLS NO LONGER ESSENTIAL
1. Darning
2. Knitting
3. Polishing the brass/silver
4. Baking fresh bread
5. Putting up a tent
6. Writing postcards
7. Sewing
8. Knowing the phone numbers of friends
9. Servicing the car yourself
10. Understanding pounds and ounces
11. Dinner party etiquette
12. Writing letters
13. Speaking a foreign language
14. Knowing capital cities
15. Understanding feet and inches
16. Putting up a shelf
17. Learning car journey sin advance/knowing how to get from A to B
18. Being able to change a tyre
19. Neat handwriting
20. Knowing how to spell long words
