Author Topic: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life  (Read 5221 times)

MoMan

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I used all the best stuff for a week and it nearly broke me
Living like a fancy millennial was wonderful, until it wasn’t.

By Rebecca Jennings@rebexxxxa  Dec 12, 2018, 7:24am EST

I enjoyed her take on realizing that all that expensive crap marketers try to entice you with doesn't make your life better.

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/12/18125668/best-products-casper-glossier-brooklinen


noplaceliketheroad

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2018, 04:07:07 PM »
Yes, hilarious writer, and thoroughly enjoyed her take!


OtherJen

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2018, 06:56:03 PM »
This is great! Thanks for sharing.

I’m just a bit too old to be a millennial (late ‘70s baby), but I do have an irrational fondness for cosmetics. I’ve been eyeing those Glossier products for a while but haven’t yet been able to justify the purchases. I know they won’t actually make my life better but they do look like fun.

JLee

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2018, 03:45:25 AM »
That was pretty great.

driftwood

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2018, 09:56:06 AM »
It was amusing but it seemed her problem was more that she was a cheap, lazy slob and that these expensive things didn't help. This would've made more sense comparing apples to apples... the 'best' electric toothbrush vs a normal, in-good-condition toothbrush. Thrift-store boots that fit well vs the 'best' boots on the market, that also fit well, etc.

Also, she won't buy a toothbrush but she bought TWO boxes of bandaids?!

If the conclusion she's going for is that she's bad at life and expensive things don't help, then she's right.

Ok, so I guess she still has the point that the expensive things won't fix her life. But maybe this article is silly to me because the marketing she's subscribing to isn't effective on me. What does work on me is something similar to something I have, but better performing, or better quality. If I already cook, I may be attracted to better cookware. If I don't cook, then advertising the best cookware doesn't make me want to buy any. Does that marketing work on you? Lighter skis for skiing? Hell yes I'll look at those, because I already ski. The best snowboard making you a terrain park badass? Hell no  because I can't snowboard, so the 'dream' marketed there just flies right over my head.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2018, 10:12:59 AM by driftwood »

kelvin

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2019, 09:11:31 AM »
Millennials often have a bad case of imposter syndrome, of feeling like they've "failed at adulting". Her take on it was funny, and relateable, and helps highlight how hard it is for a lot of brands to market to them.

Lighter skis for skiing? Hell yes I'll look at those, because I already ski.
A lot of millennials (myself included) can't afford things our parents insist are "perfectly normal". So it's hard to know where to draw the line on stuff. I have a friend who doesn't cook, but bought an instant pot, because he knows he should cook. This author never flossed regularly, but figured she should try the fancypants name-brand toothbrush+floss for a week to see if it would entice her into the habit. Marketers are scrambling because they need to sell a vision of "normal" to folk who spent their entire 20s making sub-poverty wages, and have no idea what "normal" looks like.

My personal workaround has been "start with the cheapest/easiest option, and if the habit sticks, then upgrade". In order to figure that out, I had to cut out a huge swath of advertising from my life, and also cut out most of my family, who are forever telling me that I fail at life because I don't spend the way they do.

True story: last time my mother visited, I borrowed a toaster from a friend. Otherwise she'd have bought me one, even though I eat rice and potatoes and never have bread in the apartment. I'd have to store it in my tiny kitchen, or more likely, donate it to charity. Waste of money.

I see where the author's coming from. Also good on her for getting all those sponsorship deals.

FireHiker

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2019, 03:45:20 PM »
Entertaining read, and a good reminder that having all the things isn't going to make your life magically better. I actually have three items on her list, and I am thrilled with all of them: ThirdLove bra, Allbirds shoes, Everlane sweater. All three were very specific, considered decisions, that I don't regret in the slightest. I can't fathom going out and having the "best of everything" always, but at 40 I'm willing to pay for comfortable bras and shoes, and I think it's okay to have one nice sweater. I've never even heard of most of the other items in the article, aside from Lululemon. Holy shit though, are Lululemon pants seriously $196?! I do go to yoga (subsidized by my employer) in $30 REI clearance running capris. I see Lulu pants all the time at the studio, I had no idea they cost so damn much! And $83 for shampoo and conditioner?! I didn't even know such things existed.

StockBeard

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2019, 09:21:01 PM »
My personal workaround has been "start with the cheapest/easiest option, and if the habit sticks, then upgrade".
I like this strategy!

DadJokes

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2019, 10:22:13 AM »

A lot of millennials (myself included) can't afford things our parents insist are "perfectly normal". So it's hard to know where to draw the line on stuff. I have a friend who doesn't cook, but bought an instant pot, because he knows he should cook. This author never flossed regularly, but figured she should try the fancypants name-brand toothbrush+floss for a week to see if it would entice her into the habit. Marketers are scrambling because they need to sell a vision of "normal" to folk who spent their entire 20s making sub-poverty wages, and have no idea what "normal" looks like.

My personal workaround has been "start with the cheapest/easiest option, and if the habit sticks, then upgrade". In order to figure that out, I had to cut out a huge swath of advertising from my life, and also cut out most of my family, who are forever telling me that I fail at life because I don't spend the way they do.


Something important to keep in mind is that parents have a 20-30 year head start on finances. We shouldn't be able to afford the same things our parents can. I think one of the things that hurts a lot of young people is that they come out of college expecting to have the same lifestyle that it took their parents 20+ years to get.

OtherJen

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2019, 12:19:43 PM »

A lot of millennials (myself included) can't afford things our parents insist are "perfectly normal". So it's hard to know where to draw the line on stuff. I have a friend who doesn't cook, but bought an instant pot, because he knows he should cook. This author never flossed regularly, but figured she should try the fancypants name-brand toothbrush+floss for a week to see if it would entice her into the habit. Marketers are scrambling because they need to sell a vision of "normal" to folk who spent their entire 20s making sub-poverty wages, and have no idea what "normal" looks like.

My personal workaround has been "start with the cheapest/easiest option, and if the habit sticks, then upgrade". In order to figure that out, I had to cut out a huge swath of advertising from my life, and also cut out most of my family, who are forever telling me that I fail at life because I don't spend the way they do.


Something important to keep in mind is that parents have a 20-30 year head start on finances. We shouldn't be able to afford the same things our parents can. I think one of the things that hurts a lot of young people is that they come out of college expecting to have the same lifestyle that it took their parents 20+ years to get.

Yes, and it seems that many parents forget this. I have too many friends who were pressured into buying much larger/fancier houses than they could afford and participating in (and paying for) expensive family vacations by their wealthy parents who had spent 30 or 40 years building that wealth, yet expected their young adult children to be able to keep up similar standards.

DadJokes

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2019, 12:45:37 PM »
Definitely true. I was somewhat pressured into getting a bigger house than I needed by my father-in-law. I have the income to support it, but it did slow down my early retirement by up to three years.

dcheesi

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2019, 01:37:56 PM »
My personal workaround has been "start with the cheapest/easiest option, and if the habit sticks, then upgrade".
I like this strategy!
Kind of like my tool strategy back when I was a homeowner: the first time I need something, buy the cheapo Harbor Freight version; if I need it a second time, then I can upgrade to the better tool if necessary. Not only did I save on tool costs for what often turned out to be one-off jobs, but I also had a better idea of what I was looking for in a quality tool for the (relatively few) recurring jobs. (And half the time the HF tool did just fine!)
« Last Edit: January 16, 2019, 01:51:31 PM by dcheesi »

The_Big_H

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2019, 03:14:44 PM »
Quote
His name is Zephyr, a name so perfectly suited for millennial baby name bingo that when the mother calls it out, I almost laugh

This happens to me all the time... "Millinial Baby Name Bingo" oh god its so true this generation has seriously over-reacted to the common names we all got from our parents.  Jennifer and John or Jessica and Ben have to have a kid with a name so "unique" now one will be able to spell it

StarBright

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2019, 09:38:05 AM »
I am an oldest millennial (early 80s baby) and was legitimately surprised that a 26 year old felt she was the target market for these products.

While the cosmetics and clothing make sense for folks in their mid 20s, the food and beverage deliveries, vitamins, bullet journaling, etc definitely feel like something more useful for 30 somethings with a paucity of time.

As a busy, full time working mother millennial, I would be happy to sign up for this experiment and report back :)

FWIW - I discovered Bullet Journaling a while ago and have consistently kept it up since day one. I find it both useful and fun!

Aelias

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Re: Vox article: Millennial discovers nice stuff doesn't improve life
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2019, 10:03:53 AM »
Kind of like my tool strategy back when I was a homeowner: the first time I need something, buy the cheapo Harbor Freight version; if I need it a second time, then I can upgrade to the better tool if necessary. Not only did I save on tool costs for what often turned out to be one-off jobs, but I also had a better idea of what I was looking for in a quality tool for the (relatively few) recurring jobs. (And half the time the HF tool did just fine!)


Boy howdy - that right there!  I can't tell you how many times I've seen the dubious advice, "You should buy the highest quality you can afford--that way you won't have to replace it!"  There is a link between quality and longevity, but the link between price and quality is much more tenuous.  More often than not, the cheap thing is perfectly good enough.

For example, I cook a lot, and it's been 18 years since I lived in my parents' home.  When I left home, I took a bunch of basic cooking supplies with me that they either had duplicates of or didn't really need -- a big pot, some small pots, and, most notably, a beat-to-hell potato masher that had maybe belonged to my grandmother. They were not particularly high quality.  In fact, I took the crappiest stuff from my parents house because it wasn't like they were going to let me take all their nice stuff!  Well, guess what?  I still have all of them and they work fine.  They're a little worse for the wear, but definitely do not need to be replaced any time soon.  And the potato masher is still mashing.

Also, even after the cheapo version wears out, you don't necessarily need to upgrade.  We got a cheapo salad spinner as a wedding gift 11 years ago.  It spun a lot of salad. It eventually died, mostly because both my husband and I admitted to taking our frustration out it once or twice.  But, do we need a higher quality salad spinner?  No!  I'm more than happy to get another cheapo one that will last another 10 years and probably longer if we take better care of it.

So I would tweak @dcheesi 's very solid advice as follows: "The first time I need something, buy the cheapo Harbor Freight version; if I need it a second time if I still need it after the cheapo version has been fully worn out, then I can upgrade to the better tool if necessary."

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!