Our annual research into what millennials are killing explores the industries, trends, and items that are set to bite the dust (according to internet commentators).
Porn, the print news industry, and (oddly) exorcisms were on the millennials kill list last year, but what’s at risk in 2019?
To find out, similarly to previous years, we took around five months worth of tweets that included the phrase “millennials are killing”. We then used Excel to find the most common phrases to appear afterwards, and used an online word counter to determine the most common things.
Removing stop words, we had our list.
We decided to break out our results in two ways – industries (including for both general and specific things) and trends generally.
These are the things millennials are killing in 2019.
“Millennials are killing the x industry”
‘Industry’ or ‘industries’ is the most common thing to appear in the words following “millennials are killing” in tweets so far this year.
But what industries are we talking about, specifically?
Pet food topped the list, followed by the now cliché alcohol and restaurant industries.
Why pet food? Well, Business Insider (who are a hub of murderous Millennial content) reported in late 2018 that millennials are opting for more expensive pet food for their pets, which has meant the more traditional household names are suffering due to the change in spending behavior.
Millennials are treating pets like 'their firstborn child,' and it's reportedly causing problems for some of the best-known pet food brands https://t.co/nJ3CwbqLEh
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) November 12, 2018
The result? Tweets about millennials killing the pet food industry.
Dairy was next on the list. This is one we’re surprised not to have seen before – after all, veganism is a trend that’s been growing for a while.
YOU MIGHT LIKE
#PlantBased: An Exploration of Online Vegan Communities and Conversations
How do online vegan communities manifest themselves online? What do they look like, who frequents them, and what do they talk about? The Brandwatch React team investigates.
Moving on from dairy, napkins are apparently in the firing line. This has been floating around the conversation since 2016, when one study found millennials prefer paper towels.
Next up is mayonnaise.
Dairy and mayonnaise being murdered? The two may be related.
This, again, follows from a Business Insider report in 2018 in which it shared the story of the decline in mayonnaise sales.
Tweeters responded (this year) by joking that articles on millennial habits are becoming a bit of a joke.
Millennials are killing…
*spins wheel*
Mayonnaise. pic.twitter.com/YivlLMIIpI
— David Marshall (@David_Marshall3) August 20, 2018
To be fair, it’s a joke that’s been going on for years now, and we’ve been humoring it since 2017.
The final industry on our list is diamonds which, like napkins and restaurants, have been a common theme for multiple years.
“Millennials are killing”… other stuff
With industries out the way, we thought we’d take a look at the more obscure stuff in common words that come after “millennials are killing”. Stuff that isn’t a product or an industry in itself, but that still warrants a mention here.
Sex in parks
According to the New York Times, the number of police tickets issued for having sex in NYC parks has dramatically dropped in the last decade.
For this tweeter, it was a shocking revelation.
Challenging old beliefs
This tweet shares the results of a survey where members of different generations are asked about difficulties African Americans can face when it comes to social mobility.
According to these results, millennials are challenging views held by older generations.
Millennials are killing the incorrect beliefs about racism industry. pic.twitter.com/3NdS3wnRVK
— Data for Progress (@DataProgress) January 21, 2019
Homes on golf courses
This story combines golf, which has appeared before, with Baby Boomers’ house values.
Double kill.
https://twitter.com/mims/status/1083408280838381568
The things millennials are killing in 2019
| Ranking | Thing | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Industries | 971 |
| 2 | Pet food industry | 224 |
| 3 | Beer industry | 176 |
| 4 | The value of baby boomers’ houses (on/near golf courses) | 146 |
| 5 | Views of older generations on race and social mobility | 145 |
| 6 | Restaurant industry | 131 |
| 7 | Sex in parks | 130 |
| 8 | Napkin industry | 75 |
| 9 | Mayonnaise | 73 |
| 10 | Diamond industry | 68 |
Will millennials still be accused of murdering things next year? Volumes of tweets on the subject appear to be dropping on Twitter compared to last year.
But even if millennials are still getting flack, what will be on the list? Who knows what effects an election will have on what they go after.
–
This article first appeared in www.brandwatch.com
Seeking to build and grow your brand using the force of consumer insight, strategic foresight, creative disruption and technology prowess? Talk to us at +9714 3867728 or mail: info@groupisd.com or visit www.groupisd.com
