Four in 10 Gen Zers would not feel confident hanging a mirror, while 74% are hesitant to assemble flat-pack furniture, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 adults found that only 23% of 18- to 24-year-olds feel comfortable handling basic home maintenance, such as unblocking a sink (62%), fitting shelves (63%), or changing a fuse (76%).
Confidence gap in practical skills
More than a quarter (27%) say they were never taught practical DIY skills. Meanwhile, 30% avoid home repairs altogether for fear of doing a bad job and facing an expensive bill to put it right.
By contrast, 41% of young adults feel confident setting up a home Wi-Fi network without assistance, 36% can build a website, and 35% are capable of troubleshooting internet connectivity issues.
AI adoption among young adults
In addition, 80% of 18- to 25-year-olds have used AI tools over the past year to create, write, or build projects—including websites and side hustles. The research was commissioned by Tiiny Host, a simple drag-and-drop platform designed to quickly launch and share static websites, PDFs and files online.
Elston Baretto, founder of the platform, said: "DIY hasn’t disappeared – it’s evolving – and for previous generations, making something yourself might have meant picking up a drill or opening a toolbox.
"Today, that same instinct to create, learn and figure things out for yourself is increasingly happening online."
Digital shift across generations
The study showed that Gen Zers were more likely to have built something using AI in the past year than put up a shelf (34% vs. 26%). A quarter (25%) in this age group learned their tech skills directly from tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot. It is not just younger generations leading the digital shift: 45% of all adults have used AI for a specific task within the same period.
Overall, 72% of respondents feel confident in their tech capabilities, compared to 60% who feel confident in traditional home maintenance. But Millennials are the generation most likely to prefer tech tasks over household DIY (41% vs. 18%).
Baretto added: "You no longer need years of technical experience or a team of experts to get started. People are teaching themselves, experimenting and building independently in a way that simply wasn’t possible before."
He also said: "This isn’t about replacing traditional DIY or saying one set of skills matters more than another, it’s about recognising that what it means to ‘do it yourself’ has expanded. A new generation is using a different toolbox - AI, digital platforms and technology - but the instinct behind it is exactly the same: I have an idea, I can learn how to do this, and I can make it happen myself."
