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The 12 Trends That Only Millennials Understand
Arcadia Weekly Dec 03, 2016
Julie Bank. - Courtesy photo
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Two millennial friends look to hail a ride in the rain. – Photo courtesy of Garry Knight (CC BY 2.0)
By Robyn Dutton
Millennials are a unique breed, they straddle the border somewhere between their old-fashioned parents and iPad obsessed five year olds. They are as unique as they are rule-breaking, and there are a few behaviors that set them apart from all other demographics. Here are just a few of those distinctive characteristics that belong to millennials.
They stretch the appropriate age limit of living with their parents. Rent is high, student debt is higher and they are just trying to get ahead… by staying behind. As far as they are concerned, Uber is to cabs what Netflix is to blockbuster (RIP, blockbuster). They can much more quickly hail a ride on their smartphone, and frankly, they prefer it. Don’t have a 5 star rating? Don’t bother. Which brings me to my next point; millennials can’t leave the house without their smart phones. According to Michelle Klein, Head of North America Marketing at Facebook, millennials tend to check their phones a shocking 167 times a day. They can pay for groceries, transfer money to others and even track their friends’ whereabouts.
Millennial brides and grooms tend to take a unique approach to their big day. – Photo Courtesy of Unsplash (CC0)
Doing without their devices causes anxiety and panic, along with FOMO that they are missing out on a text, call or that Instagram post that Becky took an hour to filter and caption. That’s another millennial-only habit. Got a bad side? They’ve got a filter for that. Because did anything really happen if it isn’t photographed? Just make sure you don’t like your ex’s photo from 40 weeks ago as you’re creeping through the archives. For those of you non millennials reading, FOMO is an abbreviation for “fear of missing out.” You see, they love their abbreviations. IRL, they’re a BFD. Get it? Good.
They also love using emoji’s to represent their feelings in texts, and more specifically, to symbolize body parts. Apple changed the peach emoji so that it no longer looked like a hiney and more like an actual peach, and there were so many complaints they had to bring it back. imagine these emoji’s get a particular amount of use on dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble, where almost every single millennial has swiped left and right hoping to meet their Tinderella. Even Instagram and Twitter have become dating platforms, with more and more people trying to slide into the DM’s. Funny thing is – I know many couples who are happily together and even married after meeting on said apps. My grandma would roll over in her grave if witnessed this trend right now. “Chivalry is dead” she would say… as I debate whether or not to message Billy first. Once you do make it to the aisle, we tend to mix it up with progressive trends, such as; having our dog as a ring bearer, creating a punny wedding hashtag, designing a custom Snapchat filter and wearing mix match dresses that stray from the traditional apparel.
Most people have complaints for millennials; they move around jobs often, expect to live a CEO lifestyle on an assistant’s salary, thrive off immediate gratification and are maybe a little too selfie obsessed. Fortunately for the rest of the world, as millennials know best, the only thing constant is change. We look forward to seeing what millennial trends arrive on our doorstep next.
