Is Eating a Bowl of Cereal Now Too Much Work?

The on-the-go, instant-gratification, fast-paced world in which we all live these days sure has changed some of our old routines. But have we become so lazy that eating a bowl of cereal is now deemed too much work?

It is, if you believe this story from the Business Insider. According to the story, eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast has fallen out of favor, especially with the millennial sector of the population, because it's "too much work."

The story says, "Almost 40% of millennials surveyed by Mintel said that cereal was an inconvenient breakfast choice, because they have to clean up after eating it." Instead, they're turning to such things as breakfast bars, yogurt and fast-food sandwiches, which can be eaten on-the-go and don't require much clean-up, besides throwing away the wrapper or container.

When I first read the headline on this story, I thought, "Are you kidding me? We're so lazy now that eating a bowl of cereal is too much work?!?" But then, it occurred to me: I haven't had a bowl of cereal for breakfast in quite awhile, either-- and I'm certainly not a millennial. And while I didn't specifically stop eating cereal because it was 'too much work,' I guess I didn't want to leave myself enough time in my hurried morning routine to stop and eat a bowl before leaving for work.

Now that I think about it, I guess I stopped eating cereal for breakfast during the time I was hosting a morning radio show, and had to get up at about 3:40 a.m. each day. It wasn't that cleaning up after having a bowl of cereal was such a big deal, it was more so that I didn't want to get up any earlier just so I could have a big bowl of Frosted Flakes. And, since I had a 25-minute drive into the station, it was just easier to eat a breakfast bar on my way in. And even though I don't get up that early any more, I just never went back to eating cereal for breakfast.

It's not that I don't like cereal; I used to eat it a lot, from the time I was a kid all the way through college. Heck, while I was in college and in the years right after I graduated, a bowl of cereal became the go-to 'meal' I'd eat if I was too lazy to make something else-- you know, something really exotic, like a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. But now, I can't tell you the last time I had a bowl of cereal.

It's a sign of the times, I guess. But what about you-- do you eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast these days? Or do you opt for something more convenient that easier to eat on-the-go?