Materialism probably isn't the word, but conspicuous consumption of consumer goods (say that 5 times fast) is definitely less of a thing among the urban set than it used to be in the 80s and 90s. I wouldn't categorize smartphones as conspicuous consumption per se, because even when blinged out in gold they still tend to be pretty understated in comparison the the dinner-plate sized Breitlings that finance bros used to wear.

The culture at one point used to be REALLY insistent on showing off that you drink only the finest wines, eat the fanciest steaks, and so on. Trump is basically like, a distilled down and exaggerated throwback to this sort of tendency to buy stuff more to announce "I'M RICH BITCH!" than to actually enjoy the thing itself.

Insofar as millennials are still materialistic, I'd categorize it more as conspicuous consumption of "experiences." So rather than buying fancy things to announce how rich you are, you just post instagram pics of yourself in fancy places. If not for the carbon emissions from jet fuel, it would probably be a way more environmentally friendly way of being a status-whore all things considered.

> I wouldn't categorize smartphones as conspicuous consumption per se, because even when blinged out in gold they still tend to be pretty understated in comparison the the dinner-plate sized Breitlings that finance bros used to wear.

Trust me, "finance bros" still have plenty of insanely expensive items that are largely meant as signals to the people they work with (other people in finance).

Further, just because it's more understated doesn't mean it's not primarily meant as a status symbol or signal to other people. Remember when the rose gold iPhone was more expensive than the other colors, and it sold out immediately?

> So rather than buying fancy things to announce how rich you are, you just post instagram pics of yourself in fancy places.

Is that really better? Maybe it's not materialism in the strictest sense of the word, but the underlying desire (to signal status to others) is the same. The only thing that's changed is the artifact of that desire.

>Insofar as millennials are still materialistic, I'd categorize it more as conspicuous consumption of "experiences." So rather than buying fancy things to announce how rich you are, you just post instagram pics of yourself in fancy places

Agreed. Drinking the fairest trade coffee and the most micro brew beer has replaced having a massive TV and high end clothes.

That's the claim (experiences over stuff). Though I just got back from London and walked down Oxford Street (one of the main shopping streets) a couple times and you almost couldn't move for all the people with their shopping bags stuffed with goods from all manner of stores. London may well be an exceptional case but there was certainly no shortage of shoppers.

That's trivial compared to the expectation of buying a new car, a $40k wedding, and getting a mortgage immediately after undergrad.

All of the things you mentioned have become far more expensive relative to wage growth in the last 3 decades (cars not as much as the other 2, admittedly).