If there is one thing that sets millennials apart from other generations, besides their not-so-green passion for avocados and unconditional love of memes, it is their quirky habits. These are not objections to buying a first home or job stability, but little daily quirks that, once discovered, raise more than a few eyebrows.
Laura, for example, is a 30-year-old journalist with a strange obsession with blow dryers. While most of us might consider the hair dryer a trivial tool, for Laura it is a veritable extension of her arm. She cannot do without it and states so with disarming seriousness.
And it is not only the hair dryer that monopolizes her attention: there is also the induction cooktop. Laura compulsively cleans hers after each use, as if she were a surgeon preparing for a difficult operation. Every speck of dust must be removed, every fingerprint removed. A manic rigor almost poetic in its absurdity.
Then there is Elizabeth, a 33-year-old yoga teacher with a secret passion for clapping. Not applause addressed to her students for a perfect execution of the upside-down dog, but of a solitary, ceremonial act. Every time she finishes reading a book she has enjoyed, Elizabeth claps her hands three times. For her, it is a ritual as sacred as the sun salutation.
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But where do all these quirks come from? Some psychologists argue that millennials' fixations are a form of control in a world that seems increasingly chaotic. Indeed, the 2020 "Millennial Report" published by Ipsos Mori indicates that this generation is particularly prone to develop routines and rituals as coping mechanisms against stress.
And while these foibles may seem eccentric or even ridiculous in the eyes of others, for those affected they are necessary practices to maintain a worthy mental balance. Behavioral psychology experts such as Dr. Elena Roberts suggest that repetitive habits "can act as emotional anchors, offering a sense of stability and comfort."
In a sense, these fixations represent the very essence of millennials: a generation desperate to find order in the clutter, beauty in the mundane, and above all, some peace in a world that always seems to be on the brink of chaos.
So the next time you come across someone with a strange fixation, it would be good to remember Laura and her stovetop or Elizabeth and her solitary clapping. Maybe instead of judging, one could clap. Even if only twice.
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios
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