New Norms Millennials Brought to Everyday Life

Although it might seem like a cliché, millennials have truly changed the face of the world we live in today. They are different. Bold. Daring. Adventurous. And are not afraid to show it. 

So far, millennials have had a huge impact on various spheres of life, including family and private life, the work market, retail and shopping, the wellness industry, as well as the relationship between technology and everyday life.

Let’s see what kind of change millennials brought to our society.  

1. Personal life

Due to high down payments and other expenses you have to cover when buying a home, millennials made co-living spaces a new normal. They share rooms and houses with parents, friends, or random roommates until they are ready to hit the housing market and buy their own place.   

Also, millennials tend to marry later in life, delay parenthood, or skip marriage altogether, which had a huge impact on the structure of a traditional family model. In fact, this is the first time in history that the birth rate for 30-something women is higher than the birth rate of 20-year-old women, according to a report published by CDC. 

2. Career and work environment

Millennials know exactly what they want from their job and they know how to get it. Job satisfaction is their main priority, so they typically pursue a career that gives them a sense of purpose and they are willing to work hard for it. Also, millennials are responsible for changing the company culture in terms of perks offered, since having various benefits is high on every millennial’s priority list when looking for a job. 

As a job-hopping generation, millennials’ work ethics helped them to put an end to an age-old belief that you should stick to one company for as long as you can. For millennials, changing jobs is as natural as breathing itself and they tend to do so every couple of years. Moreover, millennials promote self-employment and teleworking, which brought great flexibility to the traditional organizational structure.

3. Retail and shopping industry

Online shopping is another thing that became widely popular thanks to millennials. They enjoy shopping on their smart devices more than going to an actual brick-and-mortar store. This caused a great change in both the retail and marketing industries, as they needed to reinvent their strategies and learn how to attract this new type of shoppers. 

In addition, millennials’ fashion habits are completely different than those of their parents. They put an emphasis on brands and the values those brands represent. What’s more, they try to make luxury items more casual and, thus, more accessible to others. Millennials’ fashion trends are unique, bold, and daring, as the millennial generation itself. 

4. Health and well-being

Both physical and mental well-being are every millennial’s priority – to such an extent that this generation is considered responsible for a huge boom happening in the wellness industry. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry now represents a $4.2 trillion market, and this is largely due to the millennial love for all things connected to health and fitness.

Dubbed as the “wellness generation”, millennials are all about making better choices for themselves. So, instead of drinking sugary drinks, they opt for freshly made juices. They tend to choose low-calorie meals and alcoholic drinks or switch to vaping instead of smoking cigarettes. 

5. Technology innovations and social networking

The relationship between millennials and technology seems to be a permanent one, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that they are a generation that grew up surrounded by all kinds of gadgets and devices. Millennials strive for convenience and tech innovations provide exactly that – they are always connected and can shop, rent, share, chat, order, and, do business online, all thanks to technology.  

Moreover, the millennials’ social media presence is huge. They are building million-dollar empires with the help of social media following and are very active on networks such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Even millennial dating culture is closely related to technology, as they immediately jumped to the idea of online dating and frequently use various dating apps and platforms in an attempt to find love. 

Takeaway

Like it or not, we are currently living in a millennial world. And each day we witness subtle and less subtle changes that this unique generation brought to our everyday lifestyle. Since millennials are known as the most idealistic, educated, and diverse generation, no wonder they are the ones who are reshaping our present and, very likely, our entire future.