Pets Over People

According to a recent Washington Post article, young Americans in their 30’s commonly known as ‘millennials’  are choosing to share their lives pets rather than other humans. The article says that this generation is less likely to be homeowners, car owners or parents than their predecessors, but they do lead in one category: Pets.

The pet market is a $63 billion dollar industry that has increasingly grown since 1996. Pets are becoming replacements for children. Reportedly, three-fourths of millennials have dogs while a whopping 51% are cat owners. This generation of people are approaching pet parenting as seriously as generations in the past have approached preparing for and raising children. They buy all the books and do all of the same research that first time human parents would. Millennials are not the only people spending big money on their pets. In 2015, Americans as a whole shelled out $11 million on pet pampering products and services such as regular grooming, toys, pet costumes, bedding, strollers…etc.

This also opens a larger market for the smaller breed dogs due to the fact that most millennials are urban or apartment dwellers and prefer animals who take up less space and consume less food. The millennials are delaying parenthood and demanding flexible work arrangements — all of which, researchers say, has translated to higher rates of pet ownership.

What are your thoughts on this new trend? Do you think it’s better for American society or worse? We’d love to hear your opinion on this subject.

The younger generation are reportedly choosing their pets over children. What do you think of this trend?

Article Credit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/09/13/millennials-are-picking-pets-over-people/