Millennials lack basic survival skills compared to older generations, this according to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom (WHITE, 2017).
Granted the survey was conducted in the United Kingdom, but we here in the United States can certainly see some similarities. The culprit, the reason why, according to the survey is technology. Google maps have replaced the paper map, GPS service on Every Smartphone, and Google itself has made us all geniuses, smart people until the Internet goes dark and then what.
The survey goes on to say that, 40 percent of those surveyed could not tie a simple knot could not spark a flame to create a fire, 50 percent had never swum in the open water, and 44 percent of those surveyed had never been camping. This means we assume that those 44 percent had never slept on the ground.
Millennials are taught about “trigger words”, “safe places”, and how to enact civil and not so civil discourse if they don’t agree with a certain point of view. However, what happens when the SHTF and safe places are smoldering ruins, and desperate people roam the streets looking for food, water, medicine and are looking for someone in charge to blame for their misery. A misery some may claim had been brought on by a lack of knowledge in even the basics of human survival.
It seems that there is a lack of knowledge on how the world really works, and some, if not many may not realize until it’s too late that each person is responsible, when it comes down to it, for his or her own survival. Teachers, professors and those from the government cannot keep you alive when you find yourself in a survival situation. The burden, in the end, is on you.
You can’t wake up one morning and be a Cody or Matt, Bear or Dave, but some skills can be self-taught, in as little as a day in some cases. How to tie a knot so your tarp doesn’t blow away, how to shave some dry wood to get curls for fire tinder, how to read a compass all can be self-taught in a matter of hours. However, it takes practice and using your skills regularly to really master them.
Remember, you only need to survive long enough to be rescued or until help arrives after a natural disaster in most cases. Of course, there may be a time when you have to survive for an extended period in your own home or in the wilds. If not prepared for this then your chances are not good. You can succumb to dehydration in three days or even less in some instances, so if you do not know how to find, collect, and purify a source your survival hangs in the balance if you are not rescued.
The skills needed to survive a few days to a week in the wilds are not that complicated, but it may seem daunting if you never had to apply those skills. You don’t want to have to drink your own urine or eat twigs to survive a few days so with a little preparation you can survive without taking drastic steps like that. Start now, and we here can help, so stay tuned.
WHITE, M. (2017). Retrieved 2017, from http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/749101/millennials-lack-basic-survival-skills-London-Boat-Show-Bear-Grylls