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20 Lifestyle Choices That Are Unique to Millennials

March 13, 2024
Millennials

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The Millennial Generation is the demographic group of Americans who were born in the 1980s and 1990s. Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation preceded the Millennials while Generation Z is now the new rising generation of young Americans.

The millennial generation is turning 40. The lifestyle choices and habits of millennials have changed current societal standards and cultural norms, for better or worse. If you ever wondered why you paid $20 for avocado on toast or why fewer people are driving, you can thank the millennial generation.

Here are 20 lifestyle choices that are unique and signature to the millennial experience.

Openly Discussing Work Salaries

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Openly discussing your salary used to be a sacred workplace taboo. Having your salary leaked via office gossip used to be a violation of trust. Today’s young Americans have no qualms about openly discussing and comparing their work salaries, especially on social media.

Online Shopping

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Older generations of Americans could only shop at home via calling TV shopping programs, promotions, and infomercials. Almost all of the millennial generation would rather shop online now than go to a physical brick-and-mortar store. 

The Hybridized Work Office

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The rise of telecommuting work was gaining greater cultural acceptance long before the pandemic. However, the concept of a permanently hybridized work office, with multiple staff positions permanently dedicated to telecommuting roles, is now here to stay. The concept of the permanent remote worker position is now natural for the millennial..

Dressing Work Casual Daily

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Wearing “proper work attire” and adhering to strict dress codes at work used to be a non-negotiable prerequisite for previous generations. With the exception of “Casual Fridays,” the gainfully employed had to dress in business attire in office settings. Millennials of the current era are now very used to going to the office in jeans and other casual wear. 

Digital Nomads

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More than half of this era’s digital nomads are millennials. Digital nomads are telecommuting workers who travel the world on their own terms as long as they have access to wifi and beneficial currency exchange rates. Never before has such a generation been obsessed with being “global citizens,” as this one.

Not Prioritizing Privacy

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Young people approaching middle age seem to never heard of privacy. The typical millennial overshares aspects of their personal or professional life on social media. This generation is also eager to share personal information online for perceived discounts. Gen Z may primarily live out their lives online now, but the Millennials were the bridge to that lifestyle.

Eating Boneless Chicken Parts

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If you have noticed the rise of boneless chicken wings, tenders, and nuggets in adult fast-food marketing, then you can thank millennials. This is a demographic that does not enjoy eating old-school chicken pieces with bones in them.

Eating Out Less and Changing Restaurant Norms When They Do

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The millennial generation eats out a lot less than previous generations. They also have evolving preferences and culinary tastes that the restaurant industry is scrambling to keep pace with. Millennials like organic menu options, picturesque aesthetics for selfies and social media posts, and rapid service.

Watch Streaming TV Shows and Internet Videos for Entertainment On the Go

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It used to be a rite of passage to get cable TV and watch exclusive pay-per-view events at home. The modern generation is more likely to forego paying for cable to watch entertainment on the internet, social media sites, or streaming TV anywhere with wifi. About six out of every ten young adults prefer watching streaming TV to traditional TV. 

Staying Single and Foregoing Marriage

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The typical millennial has given up on matrimony and perpetuating a nuclear family unit. Only about half of the millennial generation ever get married. About 70% of Generation X and Baby Boomers got married while the Silent Generation got married at over an 85% rate,

Living With Parents As Adult Children Long-Term

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More young Americans between the ages of 25 to 34 are choosing to live with their parents or move back home with them, than any other generational demographic in history. Over 52% of millennials still live at home with their parents. The last time so many young Americans lived at home in such numbers was during the Great Depression.

Most Millennials Are Not Buying Homes

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Depending on the statistics you reference, anywhere between 40% to 50% of Millennials own a home. Factors like inflation, the high cost of home ownership, the bleak job market, and unsatisfactory credit scores hamper the millennial generation from buying more homes. 

Obsoleting the Landline Phone

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Generation X, the generation that preceded the millennial generation, will be the last generation that was fully dependent on landline phones. Over 41% of the millennial generation solely use a smart device for their communication needs. Over 83% of millennials sleep right next to their smart devices.

Avocado and Toast

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If there was one gourmet meal that was synonymous with the Millennial generation in recent years, it was avocado and toast. The culinary association between Millennials and this $20+ dish was inescapable for a while. Major news outlets like the New York Times even reported on the craze.

Millennials Drive Less Than Previous Generations

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Once upon a time, the zenith of the American dream was owning a home and a car. Most of the Millennial generation are foregoing getting a driver’s license, an American rite of passage, or owning a car. Less than half of Millennials get a driver’s license; they barely purchased 27% of new cars in recent years.

Obsession With Carbon Footprint Minimalism

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The millennial and rising Gen Z generations are far more cognizant and engaged in environmental activism than prior generations. We mainly have Millennials to thank for the societal awareness of carbon footprints and the global drive to reduce them. 

Buying Second-Hand Clothes

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Young Americans under the age of 40 are more likely to buy second-hand clothing as a preferred fashion choice than ever before. Over 41% of the millennial generation buys their clothes second-hand to save money and to combat unethical work practices, modern-day slavery, and environmental pollution enabled by international fashion corporations. 

Not Saving for Retirement

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It was a lifelong struggle and goal for previous generations to work hard and save as much as possible for retirement. It’s not the same for the millennial generation. Over 66% of young working Americans have zero savings for their retirement. The small percentage that do have a small nest egg don’t have nearly enough saved. 

They Don’t Shop at Warehouse Clubs

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Some economic experts fear that the millennial generation could be the start of the end for warehouse club shopping. The demographic of the typical warehouse club shopper is usually an older American with a family and a house who loves to shop in-store to find bargains. The typical millennial eschews marriage, doesn’t own a house or car, and prefers shopping online.

Using Text Messages and Emojis to Communicate

Text messaging

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The millennial generation is technically the last generation that was properly taught cursive writing in school. Some major retailers have stopped using cursive in their advertising since the rising Generation Z can’t read it. While a millennial can probably read cursive, they were the first crossover generation to fully embrace texting and emojis as a main form of communication.

Millennials and Their Impact on Society

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Millennials bridged the generation between the analog past of the 20th century and the digital age of the 21st century. While they are turning 40 as a generation, they are probably not finished yet impacting global society.

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