Years back, it was more simple. Food, shelter, and water. But now, as technology, advances and people get stressed out more and more from life getting too complicated, needing manuals for almost everything. What do you guys think the bear necessities are now?
Edit: let’s make a list for fun.
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Food
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Shelter
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Water
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Internet access
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email (?)
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phone number (?) / mobile phone (?)
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ID 100 points
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Love
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Clothing
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Hygiene and Healthcare
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Human connection
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Basic Education
Honestly?
(all this is predicated on being someone in a western or developed country, that is all I know and cannot speak to anything else)
The bear necessities are still, Food, shelter, and water. You can survive with that, but that is all you are doing, just surviving.
My next step up the ladder would be functional necessities, the things you need to function in modern society. Electricity and access to the internet. You struggle to function in a modern society without those.
Anything after that and you are moving into the realm of wants, rather than needs.
I live in a remote place and a few times a year have to live without stuff, so my list after water, food and shelter (assuming those are the minimum version of what the word means) would be: A sanitary toilet A means of washing oneself A reliable way of cooking food A reliable way of providing light at night Access to xkcd.com
The “classics”, but with the stipulation that they not be poisoned, polluted, toxic, or otherwise unsafe to be near, contact, or consume. That used to be implied, but in today’s world, you have to be specific.
Telephone usage. Everyone assumes that everyone else knows how to use a phone. Even before kids are old enough to use a phone themselves, parents make their children memorize an important number.
“Reliable transportation”. That can mean public transportation or a bike in addition to a car. Transportation is a requirement for virtually every job.
Basic computer literacy. The bare essentials of computer usage are expected of just about everyone, even if you only know how to log on to Facebook, which brings me to the next subject…
Internet access. It’s gotten to the point that people assume you are homeless, stupid, or in a weird cult if you can’t/won’t get on the internet.
In an European context:
- Food, shelter and water.
- Identity papers.
- Access to the Internet for essential administrative proceedings, since it’s all getting digitalized really fast. If possible a smartphone with wifi access and access to a way of charging it, if not and in an urban area, public library access.
You may survive without it but it’s nice to have a (digitized) proof that you’re allowed to be wherever your shelter is, and to be able to renew your ID.
Bear necessities you say? All that a modern bear needs is a pic-a-nic basket and a trusty sidekick.
