So, I watched a tiny house marathon over last X-Mas trying to figure out what was the big deal ...
Pros
Get rid of your cluttered stuff (you have no choice, kind of like having stomach surgery to lose weight)
Reduce your expenses because you own the house
You are saving mother earth (yes, a large number of the people doing this believe in this point)
Cons
You are living in a glorified tree house on wheels
They cost more than a nicer/larger RV/trailer
People cramming families into them have zero privacy (goodbye sex life)
Most of the owners park the house on a friend or relatives property (ultimate guest that never leave)
Most of the owners have no clue how to drive a trailer or have a vehicle that can be used to move the home (not really mobile)
The shows never revisit them six-months to a year in to see how it is really working out
The kids are essentially along for the ride and try to make the most of it, but you can see many of them are not happy
For whatever strange reason, broke people are going this route to try to get a handle on their life so at least they are attempting to get things right. It certainly seems like a fad and specifically tied to high cost of living areas.