Why Millennials are Trending Towards Minimalism

"The Millennial generation is the most environmentally conscious of all age groups and this influences their buying habits significantly."

"The Millennial Generation has graduated college and entered the workforce in the middle of the Great Recession. In fact, most economic studies would indicate this generation is entering one of the worst working environments in modern history burdened with more student loans than ever."

"Economic forces (housing bubble, student debt, shrinking of the middle class) and generational preferences (the environment, social justice) have resulted in a generation distrusting of large corporations and ?the 1%? who run them."

"There is growing evidence that the Millennial Generation is ?delaying adulthood.? At least, they are delaying adulthood as defined by economists (getting married, buying homes and cars, having children). Researchers point out that marriage is important to Millennials, they just want to do it later?the same with parenthood."

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full article here: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/millennials/

These few quotes speak to me and I see it happening everywhere. Lots of people my age (20s) are like this and I feel like the thoughts about life differ from people in the millennial generation to the baby boomer generation. For example, I can't imagine having kids til I'm in my 30s and to my mom, having kids at 25 is ideal.

I feel like the prices of everything is stopping us from following in our parents' footsteps. I can't afford what they can and I certainly can't buy food for what they could. Things change and I feel like prices are more expensive than they ever have been. I can't rent an apartment in my city for under 1k/month and freaking ramen isn't even under a dollar anymore. I just feel like there is no end to the prices rising and eventually things will crash because nobody could afford the high prices. Just the other day, my mom and I went out shopping for clothes and she almost bought a pair of jeans for $120. I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw the price tag.

Houses are so expensive in my city that we literally made $375k more on our house than what we bought it for. We've lived here for 10 years. My other house sold for only $25k more and we lived there the same amount of time.

Of course this isn't EVERYONE but I feel like it's most and it's happening beyond my eyes, at least around where I live. I dunno, I felt I should rant and see if other people are experiencing the same thing. In my generation, I feel like everyone is just trying to get by and can't afford ****. I also feel like the good jobs baby boomers had access to no longer exist now. My dad for example, makes lots of money and his job didn't need college or uni. That just doesn't exist anymore and even WITH education, it's STILL hard to get a job.

I feel like I'll be struggling with money forever tbh. I dunno, this thread is a mess, sorry.

I'm excited for when the world is run by our generation (I'm 25). I think the baby boomer generation is trying to recapture their "glory days" but the world is a completely different place and you can't run it with old ideas. They also don't really understand how different it is for us (changing prices, value of university and high school diplomas) yet seem to pass judgement on us. I think the later onset of families is because of realization that you don't need to start a family early and that women want to have a career set up before having any children. Either way of thinking isn't bad until you start passing judgement on a different generation group of people as a whole

This. So much. Buying groceries is now so expensive compared to what I remember when I was a little kid, it's really mind blowing. Especially allergen/celiac friendly foods that cost even more even though the ingredients are actually cheaper. It's not just jobs though, but maturity and incentive too. I've noticed that most millennials have crap parents and family, and were raised with a 'you can have whatever you want whenever you want' mentality. This reflects on the overuse of welfare by a lot of millennials, and is one of the contributors to our shoddy economy. I pray Trump (glob knows how) fixes our economy, and gets us more jobs so things slowly fall back into place by the next generation.

A lot of what you said is pretty accurate (From my point of view at least)

The reason millennials aren't buying things like houses and "following our parents footsteps" is because things are so expensive. I pay more for the apartment I live in than my parents paid for their mortgage when we move to this city - and I live in a pretty old apartment that's not in the best place and still one of the cheapest buildings in the city. The older generation has always said "Why aren't you doing x, y, and z," but they don't realize right now most people don't have the resources to do it. I would love a house and a better job but I've had to take what I can get and afford. I already have one of my degrees and three certifications but I'm working in a restaurant because I just haven't found a job that will accept a computer science degree when there are people with bachelors and masters competing for the same job.

toadsworthy said:

I'm excited for when the world is run by our generation (I'm 25). I think the baby boomer generation is trying to recapture their "glory days" but the world is a completely different place and you can't run it with old ideas. They also don't really understand how different it is for us (changing prices, value of university and high school diplomas) yet seem to pass judgement on us. I think the later onset of families is because of realization that you don't need to start a family early and that women want to have a career set up before having any children. Either way of thinking isn't bad until you start passing judgement on a different generation group of people as a whole

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I totally agree. I think a really big issue is that baby boomers and millennials just can't relate. The times are changing and we need to change with them.

Yeah, that's much the same story where I live as well. There's no chance in hell I'll ever be able to buy property here, at least not in any neighborhood I'd want to have property in. There's a lot of speculation here that the housing market is in a bubble and has to burst eventually although I'm skeptical. Not particularly concerned about it right now since I have a tendency to uproot myself and my life and travel using extremely bare bones means. Like carrying camping/cooking gear on a bicycle and living off of beans bare bones. It's fine by me since I don't aspire to make $100k a year, have kids or live in a McMansion though it would sure be nice to pay a mortgage that's less than half of what I'm currently paying to rent. It's difficult to imagine this situation changing anytime soon as others have stated the world has completely changed. The Baby Boomers had it relatively easy, everything from housing to a higher education was far more affordable than it is now.

Who can afford the space to put stuff when you live in an apartment with 3 other people because you can't afford a house? lol

Not to say that all that other stuff isn't true. I honestly think it's not so astounding that we DO care about the environment so much as it baffles me how others can possibly NOT care. It's like watching someone put a gun to their foot and saying "I don't care if this hurts" as they pull the trigger.

I'm afraid I'll not have money to retire. Oh dear....

'Trending' sounds like it's a choice millennials are making when in reality it's probably to do more with:
- Everything being more expensive than it was 20 years ago when you could afford a house, children, holidays, boats, unicorns and vintage gold plated fighter jets on minimum wage.
- Jobs being harder for young people to get because 1) 99% of jobs seem that you need the job to get the experience the job requires to get the job and 2) about 100 other people are applying for the same damn job.


But rather than do anything to help, the older generations would rather place the blame on millennials just being lazy and entitled...Because apparently it's hard to accept it's not 1976 anymore and that maybe they were the ones who were handed all the opportunities.

Though I know that it is not the case with everyone but I feel the majority of Millennials do not have the hunger to chase what they want. They are to many distractions around us to stop us from being truly productive. So when we don't get what we want we come up with a reason and just complain about it. As for everything being more expensive I believe it has more to do with the economy. The price of living has obviously gone up and the value of a dollar as decreased tremendously since the Andy Griffith days.

I don't think that should be a excuse tho. We should unite has a community/nation and not stay stuck behind a tv, computer, or Phone screen just to escape reality and responsibility. honestly this all began in the 80's imo and has evolved to what it is today.

I don't believe in this whole minimalist mentality. I chase what I want and if I cant afford something I make a plan. Its as simple as that and if you don't agree that then your overthinking the idea. But I live in a small town it could be different in a big city.

I feel like Baby Boomers are terrible people in general. They basically got to where they are by deficit spending and taking a dump on the environment, and then they have the gall to complain about us millennials for trying to fix the problems that we'll have to deal with after they're long gone. Baby Boomers are like the husband who's a total slob and leaves his **** everywhere and then yells at his wife for not cleaning up after him.

3skulls said:

Though I know that it is not the case with everyone but I feel the majority of Millennials do not have the hunger to chase what they want. They are to many distractions around us to stop us from being truly productive. So when we don't get what we want we come up with a reason and just complain about it.

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I don't necessarily think that's true. Yes, some people rely on their parents and were spoiled growing up so they didn't have to want something because they got it with little to no effort. But I go to college, I work a job that gives me little income, and I've made do with what little means I can afford because I'm chasing what I want and I know if I bust my butt I'll get it eventually. I know a lot of people who have chose to work instead of go to college because it's so expensive and still I hear older people say all the time "why don't you just go to college and actually do something" without realizing that unless you have super rich parents your only option is going into debt, getting a scholarship if you're lucky enough, or going straight to work.

Millennials aren't even the lazier generation. There have been plenty of studies showing that we actually work the same, if not harder than the other generations. We have to. Going above and beyond is just "good enough" to a lot of the older generations. If anything, I hear more older people complaining than the younger generations.

Speaking as a Millennial child myself, I can definitely say that this is mostly true. I'm not exactly bothered about getting married or having a family at this moment of time and would rather lay it off until my late 20's. Not only that, I want the opportunity to experience things for myself before I even consider settling down. I would much prefer enjoying myself and experiencing stuff to the fullest before I even consider settling down.

Kyoko said:

I don't necessarily think that's true. Yes, some people rely on their parents and were spoiled growing up so they didn't have to want something because they got it with little to no effort. But I go to college, I work a job that gives me little income, and I've made do with what little means I can afford because I'm chasing what I want and I know if I bust my butt I'll get it eventually. I know a lot of people who have chose to work instead of go to college because it's so expensive and still I hear older people say all the time "why don't you just go to college and actually do something" without realizing that unless you have super rich parents your only option is going into debt, getting a scholarship if you're lucky enough, or going straight to work.

Millennials aren't even the lazier generation. There have been plenty of studies showing that we actually work the same, if not harder than the other generations. We have to. Going above and beyond is just "good enough" to a lot of the older generations. If anything, I hear more older people complaining than the younger generations.

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I think it's true that opportunities are harder to come by then they used to be, but I think 3skulls meant that it's not impossible to succeed but that many millennials are not making the smartest decisions. No, we are not lazy, we are well educated and hard working and work even harder sometimes then our parents to be independent with crappy jobs with no benefits. . . but I agree with 3skulls that when I look around at the people my age, the ones who have the least, ie. living at home, no good job, and no way of getting a good job in the forseeable future, are the ones who don't try. You have to make smart decisions about what education to get, you have to be committed to the career field and persistent when looking for a job. I'm not on a high horse, I'm one of us who made silly education choices and gave up on my career choice. I went through 4 years of school for something dumb and then I had to work for two years saving money so that in the fall I can go back and do something smarter. If I was as "hungry" at the age of 17 as I am now, I would be done with school and could have a good job by now. I think that's the truth of it.

Avocado LaSchaap said:

I think it's true that opportunities are harder to come by then they used to be, but I think 3skulls meant that it's not impossible to succeed but that many millennials are not making the smartest decisions. No, we are not lazy, we are well educated and hard working and work even harder sometimes then our parents to be independent with crappy jobs with no benefits. . . but I agree with 3skulls that when I look around at the people my age, the ones who have the least, ie. living at home, no good job, and no way of getting a good job in the forseeable future, are the ones who don't try. You have to make smart decisions about what education to get, you have to be committed to the career field and persistent when looking for a job. I'm not on a high horse, I'm one of us who made silly education choices and gave up on my career choice. I went through 4 years of school for something dumb and then I had to work for two years saving money so that in the fall I can go back and do something smarter. If I was as "hungry" at the age of 17 as I am now, I would be done with school and could have a good job by now. I think that's the truth of it.

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I think a lot of what your said is true. But when you think about it, no wonder some people aren't ambitious. If you're living off your parents and they're babying yout of course most people are going to stay where it's comfortable. A lot of people my age work hard, but I would be lying if I said I didn't see the same amount of people goofing off and blaming the government for them not being able to find a job.

I've also seen a lot of people do the same thing you did - go to college for something that is extremely hard to find a job in. I think you should love what you do for a living but you also have to be realistic when planning your ideal job and what you want to go to college for.

Very interesting and relatable. I am currently a student in university with a STEM major, and lemme tell ya, it's horrible. I don't even think I'm going to graduate because I'm doing terrible (not even being modest lol I'm doing really bad) in all of my classes. Back several decades ago, you could raise an entire family with just a high school diploma, but things are so much different now. Prices are rising so much and a lot of people really need a degree in order to have a sustainable income. Unfortunately though, tuition prices are ridiculously high, and most of the "money-making" majors are so, so incredibly difficult. It would be a great life if we could all do what we love and have what we want in life too...

TheMisaMisa said:

Very interesting and relatable. I am currently a student in university with a STEM major, and lemme tell ya, it's horrible. I don't even think I'm going to graduate because I'm doing terrible (not even being modest lol I'm doing really bad) in all of my classes. Back several decades ago, you could raise an entire family with just a high school diploma, but things are so much different now. Prices are rising so much and a lot of people really need a degree in order to have a sustainable income. Unfortunately though, tuition prices are ridiculously high, and most of the "money-making" majors are so, so incredibly difficult. It would be a great life if we could all do what we love and have what we want in life too...

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That seems to be the issue. What was good enough to support a family back then isn't even enough to hold over one person now. You need a good paying job to pay for tuition but you need a good degree to be qualified for the job needed to pay for tuition.

I believe that there is a documentary on Netflix with a similar title, but it may not go that deep, it may just literally be talking about what's cool to look at.

There are a lot of socio-economical reasons underlying our differences in lifestyles, but I do think just trendy aesthetics is a driving factor, as well. Some of it is a choice, because people within the means to do so still live minimally, but then there are all of the millennials living in the shadow of luxe that can't afford the choice to live minimally or grandiosely, and are forced to do so. But the point is, that on either balance of the scale, minimalism is in.

But beyond the short-term unease, there is a long-term anxiety clouding the retail market. This long-term worry is far more significant and can be summarized in one sentence: Millennials don’t want to buy stuff.

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Having said that, I would love the actual, in-depth anthropological/sociological study that maps if it being "in" is because of the anxieties of the marketplace, or if our lifestyles were naturally curving in that direction and it also happened to start trending.

In design on-screen and in life, people really love their white space and open rooms. There are still big collectors and people who buy, buy, buy - sometimes not within their means to do so - but I can't even find the energy to hold onto things for sentimental reasons anymore, whereas my parents and many of the parents of my friends have attics full of stuff they'll never touch again. The worst that I may hoard are pictures.

There's also a huge shift in the way we hoard, the way we collect, and the way we consume. People forget that so much of what used to be only physical is now digital: pictures, music, real estate (websites, etc.). What many may have had to make floor space or closet space for in the 80s and 90s, we're just buying more storage for on our devices. That still costs money, but you don't see it as readily when you walk into someone's room.

I think all of the political factors that make someone buy into things less in our market still hold true, but I don't know that it's fair to say we're all environmentally-cautious, corporately-mistrusting, politically-non-affiliating peace keepers (as this article suggests). Some of us just make a decision to either live outside of the habits our parents formed, or live within them. And everyone's decision and reasoning is different in that regard.

There is a landscape for a conversation about when it is a choice and when it is not. I think that that survey and wide-scale cultivation of an article would be more rewarding of a read.

*It's also worth mentioning the fact that we have a much different marketplace than we did even 10 years ago, and we are creating a new space for jobs that weren't once heard of with our digital age, so those opportunities bring on very new challenges that aren't really comparable (though people will try) to what life looked like 10-20 years ago.