From avocado angst to prosecco panic - what millennials fear most

What worries millennials most - never owning a home? Student debt? That your degree was a waste of time? Well no - these are a given and truly unworthy of millennial consternation (we'll think about them later). 

The truth is far more stressful. Researchers working with a behavioural psychologist from Goldsmiths, University of London, commissioned by HTC, compared the biggest “first-world” or trivial worries reported today, with those faced by people now aged 50 or over two decades ago.

Two thousand people were polled, aged 18 to 70, and some of the concerns are truly a sign of the times. While the number one worry 20 years ago was having a happy relationship, now it seems we're all fretting about having to wait in all day for a delivery because there isn’t a specific time-slot (the key is to have an affair with your Amazon delivery person, surely).

The academics also revealed that one in three complained about 'avocado anxiety' - either too hard or overripe - the fruit having become a brunch-must for millennial hipsters. While a third of Londoners feared a repeat of the Great Prosecco Shortage of 2016 - almost twice the proportion of people elsewhere.

It got us asking - what else would send millennials into a blind panic? Read on...

1. Avocado anxiety

According to researchers at Goldsmiths, one in three of those polled a fear their avocado's weren't ripe. Why would Wholefoods even put us through this trauma?

So how can you tell if your avocado is in prime eating condition? Some suggest removing the small brown stem at the top and, if you see green beneath, your avocado isn't past it. Others recommend pressing the fruit and if it is over-ripe, then your finger mark will be imprinted in the skin, if not, breath - you've survived this round.

2. Prosecco panic

Last year, supply problems saw prosecco withdrawn from Sainsbury's following high demand for the sparkling wine.

And while all of us are into a tipple - Britons drank 112.7 million bottles last year, a third of all prosecco produced - it seems millennials are especially into the fizz. A poll in August by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) found that 97 per cent of 18-24 year olds surveyed drink it. 

And with millennials notoriously shunning alcohol (it's what our parents drink, so uncool) when we do have a glass, we want it to be just so. Cue hysteria.

3. ATM agitation

A report in August revealed that millennials are more likely than pensioners to be targeted by fraudsters for the first time, because we just don't bother to check our bank statements.

No surprise when we're all worse off than the generation before. Have you ever felt the searing pain at the ATM, when you just want to get a ￡20 out for the night, but instead hit view balance on screen and then have to scoop your eyes out with a spoon? Best to just put it on the contactless - yay, free money.

Bank transfer fraud | How you can be targeted

3. Communication concerns

Apoll by a US student loan company found that 69 per cent of millennials reported suffering from anxiety when they were separated from their mobiles. What other object can give us such a warm glow?

Plus, what are we meant to do at the juice bar when you're with your friends? Talk to them? No Sir, I'll just swipe through Tinder aimlessly.

In the Goldsmiths study, 'leaving your phone at home' was the third biggest worry - with 29 per cent of respondents horrified by the thought.

4. Herbal tea terror

You're at your favourite Italian restaurant, and it's time for a night cap - but you read somewhere that alcohol is bad for your skin and you haven't drunk it since Freshers week. So you ask them what flavours of tea they have. Sorry, only have earl grey or coffee? But you have yoga tomorrow morning...

A 2016 study, by consumer analysts Mintel, found that people aged 16 to 34 were twice as likely to prefer speciality drinks such as green and fruit teas, over black tea, than the over 55s. And we now know that millennials are shunning booze. So if there's not a selection of at least five different Pukka brews available, you're storming out of there quicker than you can say echinacea.

5. Soya milk stress

The number of vegans in the UK has risen 350 per cent over the past 10 years, with 42 percent aged between 15 and 34 - so don't you dare say you've run out of soya milk Mr Barista.  

And it had better be organic, or else I'm going to have a full on breakdown right next to the coffee stirrers.

6. Wifi worry

So you've just moved into a flat with eight of your uni mates (it's the only way you can afford it) and you've tried to time it so the Sky man can set up your wifi just as you arrive. But he's not here yet, and you were just on the last episode of Stranger Things before the new series begins this month. It's your worst nightmare because now you'll probably have to read a book.

And it's not just in our homes - according to inflight internet provider Gogo, 48 per cent of millennials won't board a plane if it has no wifi. A little thing like being 30,000 feet in the air shouldn't stop us from checking Snapchat.

At a glance | Airlines that offer free in-flight Wi-Fi

7. Netflix nervousness

Twenty-eight per cent of those in the 'first world problems' poll expressed distress at the buffering sign when they were streaming online. Apparently, we're just not very patient when that dreaded rotating circle appears.

Patience is a virtue we just don't have time for.