Millennials Prefer Pets to People. Here's Why Maybe That's Not a Bad Thing

Make fun of pet lovers all you want — dressing a dog in the latest canine trends, dedicating half the living room to cat condos and feeding an animal human-grade food still doesn’t cost as much as raising a child. Sure, having pets isn’t cheap, even if you’re buying only necessities, but financially speaking, it’s better to have a furbaby than a human baby.

So it’s not a stretch to say millennials’ apparent tendency to fill their homes with pets rather than people is a smart money move. The Washington Post’s Abha Bhattarai just wrote about this, citing a survey showing higher pet ownership among young Americans: About 75% of Americans in their 30s have dogs and 51% have cats, and among the general population, those rates are 50% and 35%, respectively. The figures come from a survey of 2,001 adults conducted by Mintel, a marketing research company.

Meanwhile, today’s young Americans are less likely to be married or have kids, when compared to previous generations’ behaviors in their 20s and 30s. Bhattarai quoted one researcher who went as far as calling pets a replacement for children.

“They’re less expensive,” Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, told the Post. “You can get one even if you’re not ready to live with someone or get married, and they can still provide companionship.”

Many people would likely argue that cuddling with a puppy isn’t as gratifying as raising a human being, but in this era of record-high student loan debt, disappearing starter homes and dismal personal savings, delaying or skipping parenthood can be a practical choice. It’s not that you can’t have it all. Perhaps starting out buying kitty litter instead of diapers will help young people achieve their dreams of being debt free, owning a home or retiring comfortably.

Ultimately, if it’s companionship you seek during that dark period between paying rent and payday, animal snuggles are probably more than sufficient, not to mention relatively economical and low-maintenance.

Disclosure: This post was written by a childless millennial dog mom.

Image: Renato Arap