NEWSWIRE: 11/20/17
- New research shows that rentals by the 55+ grew 28% from 2009 to 2015, the biggest increase of any age group. While Millennials get a lot of press for their “rent, don’t own” mentality, it’s actually downsizing Boomers who have accounted for the greatest renting increase since the Great Recession. (RENTCafé)
- NH: Much of this simply reflects the overall demographic trend: Over the last decade, the 55-74 year-old age bracket has accounted for slightly more than all of the growth in the number of U.S. households. This is true not just because Boomers are relatively large in number, but also because they are more likely (than the previous generation of seniors) to divorce, buy multiple houses, or become a head of household for their adult children. It's also true that Boomers are, to some extent, participating in the current shift among all generations to favor renting over owning. And, yes, these downsizing Boomers prefer renting in the suburbs over renting in urban centers--as do Millennials with kids who don't want to raise them in urban centers.
- Many new Millennial parents are turning to “postpartum doulas” to preserve their mental well-being. A generation that has been taught to seek help when they need it, Millennials have no qualms about turning to a licensed professional to help them manage the stress of parenthood. (Star Tribune)
- NH: How many Boomer moms ever used something like a postpartum doula for their Millennial babies? Precious few. For Boomers, the whole Lamaze ideology demanded a physically and emotionally exhausting postpartum experience with your new child as a sort of rite of passage. Boomers hated how their own parents had raised them with science and institutions rather than with passion and bonding. Millennial parents are starting a long swing in the other direction. They are beginning a shift away from attachment parenting (and toward greater reliance on family, peers, and credentialed experts) that will ultimately lead to "detached parenting" of teens by the 2030s. Prepare yourself, by the 2040s, for the next great youth awakening directed against the world of delegated care these Millennials have built. It will be led not by Homelanders, but by the young firebrands born just after the Homeland Generation.
- Walmart chief executives have a new side job this holiday season: pitching products for sale on Walmart.com. By throwing themselves into the trenches of retail, these executives are hoping to gain firsthand experience on how to move merchandise—giving them ammunition in their ongoing battle with Amazon. (Bloomberg Business)
- NH: WMT is on the right path. They are totally focused on going upmarket and going digital--and are investing hugely to get there. AMZN had a blowout Q3, but so did WMT.
- Downtown Tampa will soon be the home of a Gen-X themed bar, featuring name tags with AOL screen names and a weekly Mixtape night. According to the owner, the bar will also feature a display case filled with real ‘80s and ‘90s sports awards that are explicitly not Millennial participation trophies. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)
- NH: LOL, there's a lot to love here. My favorite is a Sue Ellen Ewing Burger heading a lineup full of unabashed junk food. And a cocktail described as "what keeps Demi Moore and Rob Lowe looking so hot well into their 50s."
- Millennials are more likely than older consumers to be scammed online, through text messages, and through phone calls. In addition to being more trusting than Boomers and Xers, Millennials are used to having all their information “out there” on the Web—which has bred a lax attitude regarding online security. (LinkedIn)
- A growing body of research finds a correlation between the rise of dating apps and recent regional spikes in STD prevalence. As a result, health advocates are calling on “hookup culture” companies like Tinder to take a greater stake in espousing the benefits of safe sex. (Vox)
- NH: The dirty little secret of the rise in STDs is that it is being led by older generations, especially Boomers. CDC data show huge percentage increases over age 40 and especially over age 60. True, dating apps are used mainly by Millennials--but not entirely. About 50% of Tinder users are over 30, but on (say) OKCupid 75% are over 30 and 25% are over 50.
- An upcoming streaming service announced by Walt Disney will feature Disney, Pixar, and Marvel Films—and will cost less than a Netflix subscription. Enter yet another media heavyweight into the battle to win over viewers with exclusive digital content. (Bloomberg Business)
- NH: As ever more good content moves behind paywalls--a trend I think is just beginning--the impact on ad-supported digital content will be corrosive. Such content will gradually shrink in size, scope, and quality. And its brand image will be pushed steadily downmarket. Google has to be watching this trend with trepidation.
- A new survey shows that one in two Millennials and one in four Boomers have a side hustle. Whether they are paying off student loans or preparing for retirement, both generations are looking for ways to earn some extra cash. (GoDaddy)
- NH: Welcome to the website engineers that enable the new "gig economy" to function. And kudos to GoDaddy for jettisoning the edgy 90s-era advertising that wasn't taking them anywhere. For lots of Boomers and even for many male Millennials, of course, these "side hustles" are really the only hustles going on their lives. Two questions. First, how do these people answer the CPS household survey question asking if they "worked" at all during reference week? Presumably, they say yes. Second, how much interest does the IRS take in the taxability of this income? Might GoDaddy be arm-twisted into helping the feds keep track?
- A father recounts the experience of living with Cozmo, an “empathic” robot that he bought for his son. Using highly sophisticated “emotion engines,” Cozmo formed an emotional bond with the family almost instantly, as evidenced by the father’s reaction when Cozmo narrowly avoided an accident: “I was relieved, and unable to disentangle the financial and emotional components of the feeling.” (The Atlantic)
- Fully 52% of UK consumers prefer to buy music in its physical form (CD or vinyl) over the digital version—and late-wave Millennials are leading the trend. While Millennials are often accused of killing the music business, these digital natives are buying classic albums for nostalgia and Instagram glory. (eBay)
- NH: eBay, entitling its survey "Generation Phygital," shows that 18-to-24 year-olds are actually more likely to prefer vinyl records and paper books than older people. It has already been well documented that people retain knowledge better when they read from a physical book than from a Kindle--and ditto when they take notes with a pen and paper than with a laptop. We are finding that when humans absorb information, the physical context of that experience absolutely makes a difference. We want to be aware when reading (and, when taking notes, we want control over) the actual place each bit of information is stored. Down deep, we are hunter-gatherer animals, and our memory of place is vastly superior to our memory of disembodied numbers and symbols. For a fun perspective on this aspect of memory, read Moonwalking with Einstein.
DID YOU KNOW?
The New Golf Course. Affluent families have long sought homes situated near pristine golf courses and swanky country clubs. But now, in many places around the country, these golf communities are giving ground to “agrihoods.” Instead of fairways and greens, some of today’s hottest residential real estate is within walking distance of greenhouses and acres of farmland. California-based Rancho Mission Viejo, which coined the term “agrihood” back in 2014, grants residents access to communal farms and plenty of seasonal community events. (Homes in the neighborhood are priced from $400,000 to over $1 million.) Many former golf communities are even turning into agrihoods: Developers in Palm Springs are transforming an 18-hole golf course into a 300-acre agrihood that will include 1,150 housing units, six miles of hiking trails, and 70 acres of olive trees. Fueling this trend is generational change: While affluent Boomers wanted a place to hobnob with other high rollers, sustainable-living Millennials prefer their wealth to have a broader impact.
