What will be Gen Zās spending habits with the looming recession in 2023? (A, USA)
Gen Z is thrifty and, yes, this goes beyond our love of second-hand stores. Especially for college and high school students, finding cheap alternatives are a necessity. In fact, 71% of us would wait for a product to be on sale to buy it. One recent trend in spending habits is the ādupeā economy; though finding knockoffs has been a popular move in the beauty industry for years, 2023 has seen its expansion into mainstream culture. #dupe currently has over 1.7B views on TikTok, and itās only getting bigger. In last weekās edition, we discussed ādeinfluencing,ā a trend that relates to dupes. With social media oversaturated by paid posts, a recession looming, and overconsumption tensing against sustainability, many creators have taken to telling their followers what *not* to spend on ā during and beyond #NoBuyJanuary. A large portion of Gen Zās income is spent on āeating out, mobile devices, transportation, and housing,ā according to NCR Greenhouse. Material purchases are not common for young people, though we will occasionally splurge. A trend within our extravagant purchases is an interest in positive impact. 84% of Gen Z choose to spend on sustainable or ethical goods. The items we do purchase are often second-hand; young people are crafty, and we love finding lightly used gems to make our own. Even before the recession, we were the biggest savers of any generation, at $857 a month. Honestly, we donāt see spending habits changing much from whatās been mentioned here. If anything, deinfluencing will become even bigger. Take it from Jessie J: itās not about the money.
What is a habit that your generation finds essential? (S, Canada)
Is Gen Z having sex or is it the incel generation? (E, UK)
Letās talk about sex, baby! Gen Z is candid like never before about our love lives, due to the rise of the internet. In our newsletter and blog this Valentineās Day (yes, the topic was inspired by this question!), we discussed the rise of āfemcelā and āvolcelā ā the first a femme-aligned version of āincelā that rebukes misogyny culture and the second a phrase for those who avoid hookup culture (or, jokingly, who listen to music like Radiohead, Bladee, and Yung Lean). Since the end of the pandemic, young people have boomeranged from hookup culture to long-term relationships. During a time of immense stress, many became hypersexual as a coping mechanism. With restrictions mainly eased, more Gen Z are becoming comfortable being vulnerable and pursuing long-term commitments. As of 2022, 48% of young adults considered sex on the first date a dealbreaker. In fact, one in four 18-24 year-olds surveyed had never had sex. The overarching trend appears to be: for those who want it, theyāre freely hooking up with others. 2023 is the year of *actual* dating, situationships be gone!
How does your generation prefer to connect with friends? (A, USA)
Why does your generation spend so much time arguing with their elders? (H, USA)
Why is Gen Z so argumentative? The short answer: our strong sense of justice, our boundaries, and our lack of giving a f*ck. Young people have been at the forefront of recent progressive movements, from supporting Bernie and Warren in 2020 to kickstarting an international movement of climate strikes (and increased political protests, in general). Gen Z founded many of the activism movements that dominate our social world today. Growing up amid economic and political turmoil has fine-tuned our sense of what is right and wrong, which translates to being willing to fight against the (older people in) positions of power. We also set strong boundaries, especially at work, making older generations see us as combative. Weāve talked about quiet quitting and rage applying before, but this spans far beyond just checking out in the office. Gen Z shuns invasive questions, establishes our bandwidth (emotionally, socially, professionally, etc.), and checks in with others. And, honestly, we just donāt care. @okjackok joked about older generations calling young people ālazy,ā āuseless,ā or āungratefulā and the typical Gen Z comeback: āYOU brought us into a world that you guys ruined!ā Our elders are the complete opposite of us in some respects: living to work (while we work to live), apathetic towards politics (weāve been leading protests since middle school), and a lot less open about their lives and identities (we go hand-in-hand with oversharing online and IRL). The factors above contribute to the many arguments between Gen Z and older people.
What is the current and future role of AI in Gen Zās life? (B, USA)
Gen Z talks a good game when it comes to social justice. Are they planning to vote to make a difference? (J, USA)
What travel experiences does your generation look for? What inspires you to select a destination? (E & M, USA)
Gen Z is the generation of individuality. So, when weāre shelling out a fortune to travel, our experience has to be *special.* Compared to other generations, we look to integrate into the culture, rather than staying in removed resorts or gentrified Airbnbs. We want hidden gems, insider perspectives, and ālocal,ā non-touristy activities (there have even been TikTok trends on Americans proving they donāt look like the stereotypical US tourist!). This also pairs with conscious traveling ā young people avoid locations like Hawaiāi that ask visitors to stay away, and the European Travel Commission identified 2 of their 5 Gen Z travel trends as climate-friendly. Namely, āgreener travel by land and seaā and āsustainability performance in the spotlight.ā We also choose to spend money on experiences over material items; 72% of Gen Z was planning to splurge on a trip in 2022. Compared to other generations, young people act on their desire to travel, partially due to the rise in remote work, gap years, and study abroad opportunities. These also lead to more solo travel. Accounts like Packs Light have gone viral for sharing paid travel options (PTOs) and international education scholarships. EF Go Ahead tours has reported a 66% increase in tour bookings for travelers under age 55 compared to 2019 and a 69% increase in solo trip bookings since 2021. Donāt try to tame Gen Zās wanderlust ā our longing to hop on a train or plane is endless.
