# Millenials eating less cereal, because they have to wash a bowl **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098 "2016-06-11T11:42:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/1 "2016-06-11T11:42:58Z")
Just when you think you have heard it all: > [@](#): > > The dream of all these [cereal] companies is to capture the all-powerful and elusive millennial eater, who just isn’t all that into cereal for breakfast. It’s just too much work, for one thing. Almost 40 percent of the millennials surveyed by Mintel for its 2015 report said cereal was an inconvenient breakfast choice because they had to clean up after eating it. Apparently if it isn’t in a disposable package, it’s just too darn much trouble. Because rinsing a bowl and putting in the dishwasher, _waaaaahh!!_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/2 "2016-06-11T12:27:29Z")
Forgot the link: > **[Cereal, a Taste of Nostalgia, Looks for Its Next Chapter (Published 2016)](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/dining/breakfast-cereal.html)** > > As sales flag, companies are reaching out to millennials and cutting-edge chefs. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/3 "2016-06-11T12:36:39Z")
Yes, it’s simply awful for the new generation to develop their own habits and practices different from ours. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/4 "2016-06-11T12:38:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes, it’s simply awful for the new generation to develop their own habits and practices different from ours. Their habits fill up landfills faster than mine. Yes, that’s awful. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/5 "2016-06-11T12:46:19Z")
Well, washing a bowl uses precious water, so there are always trade-offs. But the only millennials I know eat plenty of cereal and they use a bowl. They do use paper plates a lot though. Especially at large family gatherings. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/6 "2016-06-11T12:54:36Z")
[Millennials aren’t buying cereal for multiple reasons. And the inconvenience factor isn’t one of them.](http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2016/02/26/lazy-millennials-cereal-bowl-stories-too-good-to-be-true-.html) Yes, 39% of Millennial respondents agreed with the statement “cereal is inconvenient because I have to clean dishes after eating it. But that doesn’t mean such “laziness” is why they aren’t eating it. “Millennials are awful people!” articles are created so that folks like the OP will have yet another reason to froth at the mouth over “kids today”. But they can’t help themselves, bless their hearts. You’d be a sucker too if you grew up on a diet of Cap’n Crunch and Frosted Flakes. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/7 "2016-06-11T13:10:27Z")
I’m older than a milleniall (I think I bring up the tail end of Gen X) and I don’t eat cereal. why? because by and large it’s all junk food. if I eat anything for breakfast it’s usually a V8 and a hard-cooked egg. > [@](#): > > “Millennials are awful people!” articles are created so that folks like the OP will have yet another reason to froth at the mouth over “kids today”. But they can’t help themselves, bless their hearts. You’d be a sucker too if you grew up on a diet of Cap’n Crunch and Frosted Flakes. the sad thing is that the people who complain about “kids today” don’t want to admit that they’re the reason kids are the way they are. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/8 "2016-06-11T13:13:51Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the sad thing is that the people who complain about “kids today” don’t want to admit that they’re the reason kids are the way they are. They’re the reason the irritating little bastards even exists. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/9 "2016-06-11T13:18:04Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’m older than a milleniall (I think I bring up the tail end of Gen X) and I don’t eat cereal. > > why? because by and large it’s all junk food. if I eat anything for breakfast it’s usually a V8 and a hard-cooked egg. > > the sad thing is that the people who complain about “kids today” don’t want to admit that they’re the reason kids are the way they are. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Just when you think you have heard it all:Apparently if it isn’t in a disposable package, it’s just too darn much trouble. Because rinsing a bowl and putting in the dishwasher, _waaaaahh!!_ Dumb pitting - cereal is junk food. Maybe they’re just smarter or better informed. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/10 "2016-06-11T13:24:31Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Dumb pitting - cereal is junk food. But that’s not what millennials say. Read the OP. 40% say it’s because it’s too inconvenient. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/11 "2016-06-11T13:36:20Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > But that’s not what millennials say. Read the OP. 40% say it’s because it’s too inconvenient. No, 40% said it’s inconvenient, not that they don’t eat it because it’s inconvenient. You’re misinterpreting the survey results. Since 70% said it doesn’t keep them full long enough and 56% said it’s not portable and 45% said it’s just junk food (sugar rush) it’s very unlikely that 40% don’t eat cereal because it’s too inconvenient. They have many reasons for not eating cereal; inconvenience is one of them but not the dominant one. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/12 "2016-06-11T13:44:31Z")
I bet those lazy bastards would probably even refuse to walk to school if it meant they had to go uphill both ways like the OP had to. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/13 "2016-06-11T13:53:07Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > But that’s not what millennials say. Read the OP. 40% say it’s because it’s too inconvenient. The difference, I suspect, is that when I read I read with comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/14 "2016-06-11T13:58:26Z")
I hope the cereal at least gave them enough energy to get off the author’s lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/15 "2016-06-11T14:13:46Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I bet those lazy bastards would probably even refuse to walk to school if it meant they had to go uphill both ways like the OP had to. in snow 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/16 "2016-06-11T14:16:52Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > in snow 🙂 To be fair, once you have the barbed wire wrapped around your feet for traction, the snow isn’t much of an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/17 "2016-06-11T14:59:44Z")
For traction? We wrapped barbed wire around our feet for the _warmth_. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/18 "2016-06-11T15:12:43Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > …45% said it’s just junk food (sugar rush) There you go - millennials are just as ignorant about nutrition as other “generations”. If all you know about cereal is Fruit Loops and Cap’n Crunch, then yeah they’re junky. But there are [plenty](http://greatist.com/health/best-healthy-cereal-brands) of [healthy](http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/breakfast-cereal) cereal options, especially when you don’t eat the whole box at one sitting and add fruit.\* \*I had a bowl of combined mini-wheats and dark chocolate/almond organic non-GMO/handmade by virginal Bernie Sanders supporters granola this morning, with raspberries and just-picked serviceberries from my garden. I’m feeling so healthy I can’t stand it - though I was too lazy to wash out the bowl afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/19 "2016-06-11T15:17:12Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > For traction? We wrapped barbed wire around our feet for the _warmth_. You had feet? We wrapped barbed wire around our stumps, so we wouldn’t fall over. ---
**Author:** ![mind\_the\_gap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@mind\_the\_gap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mind_the_gap)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098/20 "2016-06-11T15:57:19Z")
So I hear this noise out on the lawn and there’s a bunch of god damn kids arguing about whether or not they can eat cereal because they have to wash the bowl. Just before I yelled at them to G.T.H.O.M.L., I reminded them that back in my day you could get cereal in little single serving boxes THAT CONVERTED INTO A BOWL! When you were done you could throw it out. Gone. No washing. (On a serious note, they may or may not still make these. I’ve been attempting to chase slow loading threads on this matter but with limited success. Kellogg evidently was thinking of re-introducing this concept in 1989.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millenials-eating-less-cereal-because-they-have-to-wash-a-bowl/757098.md?page=2)