There was a time when people blamed millennials for “destroying” certain industries. A backlash against the consumption of flashy items was believed to have contributed to the supposed decline of luxury brands. At the same time, traditional gyms were reportedly harmed by the generation’s preference for specialized fitness classes.
Now, many of these millennials are speaking out about the destruction they believe they personally contributed to. A recent Reddit thread sparked discussions about their mission to sabotage restaurant QR code menus, decorative soaps, and the wedding industry as a whole.
For all non-millennial readers out there, has Gen Y inflicted significant damage as perceived?
#1
I bought my fiancée a lab-grown diamond for her engagement ring. Considering the process for keeping blood diamonds out of the stream is essentially b******t, I'm not going to finance that. Russia controls 35% of the diamonds on the market. I'm not paying for their war in Ukraine.
Image credits: mrtoddw
#2
Cemeteries….i do not believe my rotting carcus deserves a permanent piece of earth and to take up space for the next generation.
Image credits: mdota1
#3
I refuse to buy fabric softener and my clothes smell and look great.
Image credits: gin10do64
#4
Chain restaurants. I’m done paying out the wazoo for microwaved meals and premixed drinks.
I’ve learned to cook and I’m not a Michelin star chef by any means but I can make way tastier food at home now.
Image credits: anon
#5
Big tobacco. Suck it, death merchants.
Image credits: thebookofswindles
#6
Silverware that's actually silver and not stainless. "Fine china.".
Image credits: BillyGoat_TTB
#7
I’m on a mission to k**l restaurant QR code menus.
I’m with the boomers on this one. I want a d**n paper menu!!!
Image credits: El_mochilero
#8
Streaming and subscribing.
I've been sailing the high seas for almost 15 years already and see no reason to go back. F**k these industries, I'm not paying for s**t anymore.
Image credits: -CocaineCowboys-
#9
Greeting cards/bday cards/etc. The only cards I will buy are thank you, retirement, wedding, and sympathy. And only from the dollar store. Cards go into the trash so why pay $5 for one? I have a Cricut so sometimes I’ll make my own cards.
I also avoid gift wrap whenever possible. I buy baby shower gifts and wedding gifts and put them in storage totes. Much more practical. .
Image credits: PrancingTiger424
#10
I'm childfree, so the entire toy and baby industry, I guess.
Image credits: PotatoFloats
#11
I've been trying really hard to k**l the coffee industry. I drink as much as I can but they keep up too well!
Image credits: analytickantian
#12
Craft beer. I still think it’s delicious, but at $7 a pint and probably close to 300-400 calories for some styles, I just stay away.
Image credits: NoPerformance9890
#13
Baby products industry. I don't think I will ever have a baby.
Image credits: Grand_Pomegranate671
#14
“Nice” dishes.
We have a decent set of everyday plates and tableware. One year, my in-laws gifted us a set of nice dishes and tableware. They were APPALLED that we gave away our old set and exclusively use the good stuff.
We aren’t supposed to use them, apparently. Except like once or twice a year whenever we host Christmas or Thanksgiving or something… which we never host.
Image credits: El_mochilero
#15
Makeup. Haven’t bought any in years.
#16
Hair coloring.
I'm keeping the grey.
#17
It was me. I killed Toys-R-Us, I grew up. I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Image credits: Heretek007
#18
Decorative soaps.
Image credits: Aromatic-Elephant110
#19
Mapquest. I got in like 3 accidents trying to read those f****n directions.
Image credits: Think_fast_no_faster
#20
I've been trying to k**l Amazon for decades but most of y'all are sucked in too tight to help a brother out.
Image credits: n1ckh0pan0nym0us
#21
The wedding industry (although I guess this sector is still going somewhat strong). My partner and I eloped and went on a trip to a foreign country for a honeymoon with the saved cash.
Image credits: BrightNeonGirl
#22
The Pay Per View industry.
Image credits: I_Defy_You1288
#23
Movie theatres.Too pricy when streaming and snacks at home are affordable.
Image credits: Unlikely_Pressure391
#24
I feel like as a millennial, we have made a collective personality out of hipster DIYing our whole lives because every single human interaction has been monetized.
I brew my own beer, grow my own weed, garden my vegetables, own my gym equipment, cook my food, build my furniture. I buy cheap plain natural fiber clothing. I drive a company vehicle.
I will not be a part of their rat race. I’m getting out dead or alive.
Image credits: minnesconsawaiiforni
#25
In germany we say "The retail sector is dying" ("Der Einzelhandel stirbt"), meaning people go less and less to stores and buy their stuff local in a shopping or city centre.
You know what? I couldn't care less that this part of the retail-industry is dying. You go to an electronics store here and they ask 20€ for a 1.5m HDMI cable. You can get a 5m cable with shipping for 10€.
#26
Door to door salemen.
#27
The fashion industry I guess? Most of my clothes are from Costco because they have my size (try finding a 36" inseam at any regular retail store, I dare you!) I haven't stepped foot in a Gap, old navy, Macy's, etc in a decade. .
#28
-Cursive writing
-Paper maps (for better)
-Rolodex
-Landlines
-Formal dresscode
-Ironing every piece of clothing
-Malt shoppes
-Traditional marriages
-Sears and K-Mart
-Bar soap (not the artisan variety).
#29
Millennials were the first generation I think to start abandoning terrestrial radio broadcast in favor of podcasts or streaming. Millennials on the edge with Gen X such as myself still listened to radio...but I think most millennials born in the 90s probably never got into radio. And probably for good reason as radio industry declined severely by the late 90s.
#30
Both the Avocado and Toast industries.
Image credits: Flamboyant-Jeering
#31
The kick knack industry. I’m done filling my place up w bs wall ornaments.
Image credits: anon
#32
Mcdonalds. It use to be a fun place for kids and families but Millennials made it grow up with them. Now it is all screens and corporate cafe vibes.
#33
Subway - coming from a big east coast American city, we’re teeming with tasty submarine sandwiches, and don’t need subways corporate, loveless, flavorless, sugar-filled bread subs. Ignoring the loss of $5/foot long and the Jared Fogle stuff, I’m excited to see subway close indefinitely.
#34
Literally all of them. I buy everything secondhand and don't consume except for local/ethical/fair-trade. I boycott and have been boycotting every bloodsucking corporation out there since I was a teenager.
#35
Blockbuster. I stopped going to my local store for a few months and before long they were out of business. But this is not a business I am happy to have helped k**l. .
#36
I was hoping we would be the generation to k**l off cable television but the chokehold they have on local sports is making it difficult.
Image credits: eyloi
#37
Cable. I was one of the first people I knew who "cut the cord" in the early 2010s. I was in my little hipster phase, thinking i was smarter or more unique watching indie movies and documentaries on Netflix. I uses to be mad judgy when I would hang out at my friend's houses and they'd be watching cable.
Now I'm nostalgic for a time where most people would at least be watching the same shows instead of being in their algorithmic content bubbles, or if 2 people happen to be watching the same show, people are on different episodes.
Now I find myself watching old broadcasts that have the commercials because I miss that time.
Image credits: jalabar
#38
The shopping mall experience. We all shop online now.
#39
Lego Bionicles. Couldn’t afford to buy enough when they were out to keep going.
Image credits: Thryzl
#40
Probably toy stores, I buy my kids toys all from Amazon now. If my dad had Amazon years ago he too would have never driven and cut out hours of his day to hear us whine in toysrus about getting something that's new, a fad and expensive.
#41
Over consumption.
Especially buying literally everything on Amazon. I understand if it's a necessity for older folks or in rural areas. But I'm realizing that I can buy nearly everything besides food + toiletries at my favorite local thrift store or on Facebook Marketplace.
#42
Car rental. Never rented a car in my life. And air travel. I haven't flown in well over a decade and never paid for a ticket myself.
So yeah, poverty is the most effective killer of industries.
#43
Candles. What a waste and most of them just release toxins in the air. The really good candles are too expensive. Just open the windows or use an air purifier.
#44
Local florists. I love to buy local when I can, but my local florist charges $60 for 12 small tulips. I can get 15 large tulips from Whole Foods for $14.
I hate that. I wish I could afford to buy local. Just can’t.
#45
Nice Clothes/fashion.
I wear the same 3 sweatpants everyday since I work from home. And, I don’t really go out anymore on weekends. If I do, it’s just one of the 2 pairs of jeans I have and a t-shirt from the brand of snowboards I ride or the “popular” state school I went to college’s football logo.
That’s it. My entire wardrobe is maybe 500 dollars worth of clothes and it’s sustained me since Covid started.
#46
Soda! Gave it up January 1st, 2024, and haven’t looked back. No cans, no 2 liters, no convenience store cups. I brew unsweetened tea at home and drink water.
#47
The cheap pet food industry. Forgive me for not wanting to feed my cat cornmeal and chicken byproduct slop.
#48
The (cow) milk industry. We pretty much only drink oat milk. I remember back in the 90s and early 2000s my family would have a glass of milk with dinner every night. It's crazy to me that that was normal, since now we drink water with every meal.
#49
S****y boomer restaurants — the “institutional” ones that haven’t updated their menus in 30 yrs.
#50
Slowly k*lling the printer industry.
Image credits: AverageMuggle99
#51
Top sheet - we just do the fitted sheet and duvet. Raising 2 kids to do the same.
Image credits: Green-Mang0-3435
#52
Laundry softener industry. I don't know a single person that buys Downy.
#53
The iron industry — like does any millennial actually iron their clothes? The cursive and signatures industry. Not that there’s an industry for that but I just, forgot cursive, and don’t have a proper signature.
Image credits: celeriacly
#54
White bread.
The purple ketchup
Shamwow
Cable.
#55
I mean i bought my wife’s engagement ring with all grown diamond so yeah f**k that industry.
I can say I feel like I have been apart of saving the book industry. In the last several years I have had a reading reawakening and even by the physical copies of book I listen to on audible.
#56
I've had the same batch of clothes for like 15 years does that count?
#57
The iron, ironing board and starch industries.
#58
Chain restaurants, any unnecessary chemicals, gasoline/diesel, spending on s**t quality clothes every month, linear tv and probably many more.
#59
Trying to k**l food delivery.
#60
Happiness.
