People's Confidence Level to fix up their house

 By Patrick Hounsell

 Emma Diorio, a 19-year-old EMT student at Action Ambulance, says she feels confident in only a handful of simple tasks.

 “I’m confident with things like reading nutrition labels or caring for a wound,” she said. “But I’m definitely not confident fixing a car engine or navigating with a compass, and forget about waterproofing doors, I’ll leave that one for my boyfriend.”

Her answers align with a recent Pew Research Center survey that found that adults under 30 express significantly less confidence than older generations when it comes to Things like weatherproofing homes, handling mechanical issues, or interpreting scientific information.

While Americans express confidence in tasks like removing stains (95%) or reading nutrition labels (88%), their confidence level drops when requiring technical or mechanical hands-on skills. This gap is more visible among young adults.

Stonehill College Psychology student, Landin Dallaire, 19, said there are some things he is confident doing and some things he is not. “I’m confident in the simple stuff like cleaning wounds, especially after I cut my eye playing basketball. I also feel confident calculating a tip in my head, but I have no confidence in interpreting weather maps or knowing what yeast does in baking,” he said.

Both Diorio and Dallaire are young adults who represent a broader pattern that younger Americans tend to feel sure of themselves with everyday tasks tied to school, health, or routine life. They also tend to hesitate when it comes to anything related to mechanical, technical, or home repair skills.

            According to Dr. Hamza Malik, an environmental science professor at Stonehill College, this hesitation often comes from a lack of effort and real-world exposure rather than intelligence. 

    Malik said his own confidence in repairs has come from learning through experience, not always knowing how to do something in the first place.

     “I have experience fixing panels on my deck that were rotting out. I thought it would be easy until I had difficulty pulling the pieces up, but I made it work,” Malik said. 

    He said this process was a little troubling, but it taught him that confidence is only built after struggling through a problem.

Malik lives in an older home that requires some repairs, and he prefers to attempt fixing things himself to save money before hiring someone to do the work. 

“I have a leak my ceiling, so I will try to fix it myself, but if I can’t, I’m going to have to hire someone to come do it.”

 He said these types of situations illustrate a different type of pressure that goes into home repairs. Malik said mistakes can be stressful and expensive which is why he often brings a photo with him to the hardware store to make sure he buys the right parts and tools.

 Malik also said that the fear of making costly mistakes  plays a role in house projects. 

“When I’m in the classroom dealing with technology or an assignment, the consequences of messing up are usually minor,” he said. “With home repairs, you have to be super cautious because one costly mistake can lead to a worse problem or a waste of money.”  

This fear often stops people from even attempting repairs. According to  Malik, he won’t know unless he tries.