Minimalism; It’s That Simple
As millennials search for creativity and original inspiration to set them apart, they have taken a liking to a lifestyle known as minimalism.
It seems like just yesterday that neon tank tops and shoes covered in bright splatter paint were what was “in” and that’s why this switch in views and living is especially interesting to me.
Things such as white rooms, black and white marble accessories, and bullet journaling are among the top well-known minimalist trends. While there is a lot more behind the minimalist lifestyle, these trends are what everyone is seeing on social media.
Christina Song, founder of Forage Paper Co., wrote an insightful article explaining why people are turning from phones to paper.
The means of communicating through technology has become so saturated that people have become tired of it all.
Blogger Catherine Beard questions if minimalism is here to stay or if it’s another trend making its way through millennials Instagram feeds. If I were to create a research study about minimalism to see if it is just a trend, I think a cohort study that looked into millennials and their use of minimalism would be interesting and informative. Having participants of the same age cohort, those reaching young adulthood in the 21st century, analyzed can show who has adapted minimalism and then who has stuck with the lifestyle years after the study.
Minimalism is popularized through art, stationary, room decor, fashion, and many more aspects.
How is minimalism getting so much attention? YouTubers have taken this trend by storm and have advertised every aspect of a minimalistic approach to living as well as in their brand and design. Instagram posts and “how to” videos seem to gather the most attention from their viewers. The popular aesthetic of pretty and dainty fonts with a faint, possibly colored, background make way for creators to design unique and popular social media pieces. This “creation aesthetic” goes hand in hand with the belief of condensing and only keeping what you love.
Minimalism isn’t just how people live, it’s how they post. Having an Instagram theme is a huge part of gaining and keeping followers. There’s even an entire app called Planoly that’s used for pre-planning your Instagram profile to make sure everything looks uniform.
If we look past the obvious trends of minimalism (as shown above), we’d see that world travel and taking time off from school is another way millennials are showing their minimal lifestyles.
Taking a year off from school to travel or pursue “dreamy” job opportunities is no longer much of a taboo topic. This is tied with the minimalistic view that material things aren’t needed and value comes from what we experience and see, not buy.
I think there was a bit of time where everything had to be “loud”. Music, fashion, colors, etc. Time seems to fluctuate back and forth between times of rebellion and times of peace and simplicity. Minimalism seems to be the quiet after the storm that many millennials are looking to as they figure out what’s next in their lives. Topics such as financial burdens, job opportunities, and environmental protection hold a serious weight and minimalism gives millennials room to breathe.
In an online article on Elite Daily, the author explores reasons as to why it’s popular to aspire for less.
Many people dedicated to having less have had the opportunity to have more.
Some of the biggest believers in minimalism are people who have had the opportunity to make huge amounts of money, buy huge amounts of stuff and reap huge amounts of unhappiness.
They then chose to leave it all behind.
When times are hectic, the saying ‘less is more’ proves to be a helpful attitude and lifestyle to strive for. Millennials pave the way through posting how they live larger than life with the small things.
