A new survey has found that millennials are significantly less equipped with basic survival skills than their grandparents’ generation, with many unable to perform simple tasks such as tying a knot or navigating with a paper map.
The research, conducted ahead of the London Boat Show, revealed that more than half of young adults cannot tie a single knot, while 40 per cent have never swum in open water – despite Britain being an island nation. A third of the 2,000 people polled know how to start a fire using natural means, and fewer than a third have caught their own fish or seafood.
The findings suggest that advances in technology have left traditional life skills behind. Most adults under 44 prefer to rely on Google Maps or sat-navs to find their way, whereas half of those aged over 55 still use a paper street map. The survey also found that 44 per cent of respondents have never been camping, and that people born before 1950 were three times more likely than those born in the 1990s to be able to tie a sheepshank knot.
A London Boat Show spokeswoman said: “Despite the rise of TV shows such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and Bear Grylls: Born Survivor, young people lack basic survival skills such as building a fire or catching food.”
