I feel we're on the same wavelength here -- the article seems to claim that there is a singular force behind this trend and that the trend is new. I think there are a multitude of forces at work here and I think you're right to suggest the state of the economy has a big part to do with it. I'm sure in previous recessions, there was a lot more borrowing, sharing and renting going on too. It's happening online now because the internet exists and it's in everyone's pocket.

I'd also make the assertion that the article fails to account for people like my co-workers, who are not millennials and use Car2Go more often than anyone else I know. Parking is absurdly expensive where I work, so people use Car2Go to avoid that. I used it to get to school until I was able to purchase a car of my own, at which point the costs shot down dramatically and I now have a secure asset -- as you pointed out. It made way more sense to own -- and still does. Perhaps as these businesses grow, they will be able to rival the prices of ownership and offset the downsides of not having a secure asset. If that happens, I will certainly reconsider owning.

That being said, I do feel that a lot more people in my generation are less inclined to desire a thing because of the status it assigns you. Perhaps I'm just an out of touch dreamer though.