Can We Guess Your Generation Based on Your Life Skills?

By: Emily Maggrett
Image: Kristina Lindberg/Digital Vision/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Each era requires different life skills. For instance, if you were a child during the Great Depression, you learned how to grow your own food, preserve your own vegetables and do your own home repairs. On the other hand, if you were a child during the '80s, it was more important that you learn how to type, multi-task and stick to a complicated schedule. 

In this quiz, we're going to ask you about your adeptness at various tasks, such as talking on the phone, uninstalling apps and sewing on buttons. If you answer honestly, we wager that we'll be able to pinpoint the exact generation you come from. That's because, as they came of age, baby boomers, the Silent Generation, millennials and Gen Xers all had to develop quite divergent skill sets. Whether you call it "adulting" or "just plain common sense," these are the abilities that make you feel like a grown-up! As you answer these questions, don't be ashamed of what you don't know. The truth is, this is an opportunity; the generations have a lot to teach one another. A gap in your knowledge can be a wonderful excuse to call a much older or much younger relative and ask for their help. It might just draw you closer together!

So, tell us the truth: do you know how to sew?

When a colleague asks you to fax over some paperwork, can you do it without asking the IT manager for help?

Have you ever canned vegetables?

Can you uninstall annoying apps on your phone without any help?

Is your handwriting amazing or abysmal?

Are you secretly scared of talking on the phone?

Can you Snapchat with ease?

When it comes to baking, do you have the finesse of a young Martha Stewart or are you more likely to mix up a cake fail?

Have you ever used a pager?

Like Ron Swanson, are you an expert at polishing wood furniture?

In a pinch, can you do basic video-editing?

Do you have fond memories of cleaning your Snoop Dogg and Weezer CDs to keep them from skipping?

Can you drive a stick shift?

This Thanksgiving, if someone asks you to carve the turkey, will you know what to do?

Are you good at ironing?

Can you comfortably give a presentation or does public speaking make your palms sweat?

Is filing your taxes a terrifying ordeal or a pleasant responsibility for you?

Have you ever made your own soap or candles?

When meeting new people, do you feel anxious or relaxed?

Are you at risk of a blowing out a tire on the freeway or do you know how to check your tire pressure?

Can you set good boundaries between work time and leisure time or are you always on the clock?

When camping with friends, are you able to start a fire?

If you had to, could you navigate your way through a new city using only a paper map?

Do you plan your meals ahead of time, or do you improvise dinner every night?

Are you good at composing photos?

If you go out to dinner with friends, can you calculate your share of the tip without a calculator?

Can you read sheet music?

When your Christmas lights break, do you throw them away or do you know how to repair them?

Have you ever diagrammed a sentence?

If you're hungry but don't want to cook anything too elaborate, do you know how to make an omelet​?

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