Millennials are ditching DIY for ‘do it for me’? We should be cheering

There is a new trend in DIY, known as “do it for me”. This embarrassing sign of the times includes basic maintenance services offered in-store, such as at Halfords, where customers can pay a tradesperson £5 to change an indicator bulb. It also refers to innovations in self-assembly products, such as Ikea’s wedge dowels, which require no screws or tools. It is always reported in the press as a bad thing, even down to the horrible name. As if “do it yourself” isn’t the rudest phrase in the English language.

This is probably because the change caters to less practically skilled young people, who don’t know how to put up shelves, or replace the oscillating mechanism of a spindle sander, because they are too preoccupied with emojis or working longer hours for less money or something. It is another way to bash millennials, who only know how to swipe, not screw. What a persecuted generation. When they boost the economy by creating jobs at Halfords, they are seen as lazy; when they make their own things, whether it is kefir or artisanal spoons or bad facial hair, these are derided for being affectations.

I am struggling to see DIFM as a bad thing. We act as if Kris Jenner and Ron Swanson are the only role models in our entire culture. I have put together a lot of Ikea furniture, and messing about with 17 sizes of nail is a Beckettian nightmare of existential futility. Self-adhesive tiles are a huge improvement on the older variety. Furniture that requires no screws is elegant and attractive, Occam’s razor as applied to product design. It is not as if we are going to be building more houses out of wifi and avocados. It is not as if we are going to be building more houses at all. Probably young people’s fault.