Could These Disappear From Kalamazoo If Millennials Don’t Buy In?

I started thinking about this when the second milk company Borden declared that they would be filing for bankruptcy.  How could something as American as milk be on it's way out?  It seems unfathomable that there could be such a severe decline to cause these long-standing companies to go under.  So what else might we see disappear from the world?

The folks at msn.com had the same thoughts and put a list together.  Here's a few.  See if you agree.

1. Cars (and Gas)

Millennials are pumping the breaks on buying cars and, with that, purchasing gas. Many millennials are even deciding not to get their driver’s license all together. In fact, in the last eight years, the number of drivers age 18-25 was down nearly 25%.

2. Fabric Softener

What’s in a name? Well, if the name is “fabric softener,” the name is pretty much an explanation of what the product does. But don’t go asking millennials about it. A recent study said that millennials are not using fabric softener because they are not exactly sure what it really does.

3. Traditional Gyms

Millennials are tending to focus so much on healthy, organic options when it comes to food. Considering that, it seems surprising that the number of people going to traditional gyms is declining. But it is not that millennials are skipping the workouts altogether, they are just choosing to do so elsewhere.

4. Cereal

Blame it on laziness or blame it on the overly packed schedules among young professionals, but there is a pretty shocking reason why this age group chooses not to eat cereal in the morning. According to the New York Times, 40 percent of millennials surveyed said they do not eat cereal because it was “inconvenient.” But why?

5. Homes

We’ve all seen the quintessential pictures of first time home buyers, clutching their shiny, new keys as they stand outside of their brand new house. But has anyone else noticed that there seem to be less and less of those happy homeowners? There are a few reasons for that.

6. Regular Milk

We are old enough to remember a time when there were seemingly just three types of milk: nonfat, whole, and two percent. Today, it seems like just about everything is producing milk. There’s almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk and oat milk just to name a few. And we could keep going.

7. Weddings and Diamonds

First comes love, then comes marriage? Apparently not anymore. In the 1980s, two-thirds of people age 25-34 had married. Today, more than half of the people in that age group are single. Millennials are saying “I Don’t” to saying “I Do.”

8. Movie Theaters

People used to make a night out of heading to the theater, grabbing a gigantic tub of refillable popcorn, and watching a movie. Nowadays, even the draws of reclining chairs, bar service and surround sound are not enough to fill up a movie theater.

9. Domestic Brand Beers

Domestic beers like Budweiser, Coors and and Miller brands used to be a staple of any barbecue. But for anyone who has been to a millennial’s housewarming or back yard party, they might be hard pressed to find a Bud Light in the fridge.

10. McDonald’s

The Golden Arches are apparently losing their shine in the eyes of millennial customers. The McDonald’s drive-thru used to drive a supersize amount of people to the fast food restaurant, but younger customers just are not Lovin’ It anymore. And it seems not even Ronald McDonald can bring them back.