Quartz: Researchers from the Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina found that men and women under 30 have weaker grip strength than they did back in 1985. Their work was published (paywall) in the Journal of Hand Therapy.
The researchers asked almost 240 men and women under 30—most 20 to 24 years old—to exert as much force as they could on a hand dynamometer, which measures grip force in pounds. On average, men’s hand strength decreased by 20 pounds, and women’s hand strength decreased by 10 pounds.
The culprit? Probably a combination of increased technology use at home and at work, and less manual labor. “As a society, we’re no longer agricultural or manufacturing,” Elizabeth Fain, an occupational therapist and lead author of the study, told NPR. “What we’re doing more now is technology-related, especially for millennials.”
It’s possible that looser grip strength could translate into a weaker handshake. That would be bad news for millennials, because handshakes have long been an important measure we use (paywall) to size up someone we’ve just met. (Link)
5 comments:
I grew up in a blue collar town. My old man was big on shaking another guys hand when you greet them. He taught me the proper technique, grip, eye contact, etc. There are different philosophies on the handshake. I wasn't taught the alpha male handshake. I was taught the gentleman's, friendly technique. It's what I use right to today.
The adult/male hands I shook as a young man were of factory workers, tradesmen. They were all rough, dry and calloused. Over the past 50 plus years the hands have become moist, smooth, and girly. We are a nation of pussies.
My father always said that if you shake another man's hand you can tell right away what type of man you are going to deal with based on the level of their grip. When I shake the hands of millenials, it's like shaking the hands of a spineless eunuch.
Maturbation jokes aside, the reason is few young men do any physical labor. Boys used to dig holes, chop wood, etc. There is a lot less of that now. Other than a few who play sports like lacross, hockey or baseball, or gymnastics, there is not a lot of things to increase grip strength.
Less manual labor in both men and women. Children are not given chores anymore (Chores??? that would be child abuse...right?) that have them doing manual work or actually any real work. Things that build strength, get you outside, or that are productive. We have machines and conveniences that do the manual work. For many children and adults, the most active thing they do is to play a video game, type on the computer or text. I bet their thumbs are awesome though.
Rural children and rural adults have to be more active. Pulling weeds, raking the yard, pruning and hauling limbs from the orchards, feeding the animals, digging up tree sprouts, digging holes to plant bushes, carrying wheelbarrows of sand and dirt to the garden area, and other outdoor chores. (I did all of these things in the last few days and sigh...will have more all summer long)
Who actually scrubs the floors anymore? I don't mean use a roomba, but get down on your knees and scrub. Using a brush and bucket of water on the kitchen floor to get into the corners and under the stove.
My husband has brutal grip strength. He needs it to pull on 3 foot pipe wrenches.
I bet this test they did was on a bunch of pajama boy SJW wimp types. Come up here and give us rural hicks a test. I have a few loggers, ranchers, carpenters, plumbers, farm wives and 4H kids that would literally crush this test.
I don't like a limp grip but by the same token I really don't like one of those viselike grips where the guy's establishing how manly he is. Plus, there's the germ factor. Maybe we should make bumping fists the universal substitute for the handshake.
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