“Yes, homes cost more now, but census data show more Americans own their homes now than when I was a kid.
And today’s homes are much bigger and twice as likely to have central air, dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc.
We want more now.
Also, young people can afford more now.
Today, Americans actually spend a smaller percentage of our money on food, clothing, and housing than we used to, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data.
“We have a lot more things and we don’t have to work as hard to get them,” says Michel. “Now it’s the norm to go out for dinner.”
When I was young, few people did that.
Few people flew places for vacation. They didn’t have the money, and flying cost much more. Adjusted for inflation, a cross-country flight cost $1,000. Now it’s about $300.
“People did not just go on vacation,” says Michel, “did not fly all across the country.”
…
Gen Z, overall, is doing better than young people once did. A typical 25-year-old Gen Zer has annual household income that’s 50 percent above Baby Boomers’.”
https://reason.com/2025/10/01/young-people-are-richer-than-boomers-were/
Jerome Powell says the Gen Z hiring nightmare is real: ‘Kids coming out of college…are having a hard time finding jobs’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/jerome-powell-says-gen-z-212422015.html
“It’s a startling reality about Gen Z, backed up by multiple studies and what we can all see for ourselves: The most online generation is also the worst at discerning fact from fiction on the internet.
That becomes an issue when the internet — and specifically, social media — has become the main source of news for the younger generation. About three in five Gen Zers, from between the ages of 13 and 26, say they get their news from social media at least once a week. TikTok is a particularly popular platform: 45 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 said they were regular news consumers on the app.”
…
“although people of all ages are bad at detecting misinformation — which is only getting harder amid the rise of AI — members of Gen Z are particularly vulnerable to being fooled. Why? There’s a dangerous feedback loop at play. Many young people are growing deeply skeptical of institutions and more inclined toward conspiracy theories, which makes them shun mainstream news outlets and immerse themselves in narrow online communities — which then feeds them fabrications based on powerful algorithms and further deepens their distrust. It’s the kind of media consumption that differs drastically from older generations who spend far more time with mainstream media, and the consequences can be grim.”
…
“Only 16 percent of Gen Zers have strong confidence in the news. It’s no surprise then that so many young people are shunning traditional publications and seeking their news on social media, often from unverified accounts that do little fact-checking.
The ramifications are potentially huge for American politics. Without some sort of course correction, a growing piece of the electorate will find itself falling victim to fake news and fringe conspiracy theories online — likely driving the hyperpolarization of our politics to new heights.”
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“Gen Zers are uniquely vulnerable to misinformation compared to older age groups not just because of their social media habits, says Rakoen Maertens, a behavioral scientist at the University of Oxford, but because they have fewer lived experiences and knowledge to discern reality.
Maertens, who helped create a test that measures a person’s likelihood of being duped by fake headlines, says that while Gen Zers were most likely to fall for fake news now, there is hope that as time passes, they’ll become better at detecting falsities, just like the generations before them.
There’s also another, far more depressing alternative that may be just as likely — that the rest of the population will go the way of Gen Z.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/23/gen-z-media-tiktok-misinformation-00287561
“Given a generic Democrat vs. Republican ballot for 2026, respondents ages 18-21 supported Republicans by nearly 12 points, while those ages 22-29 backed Democrats by about 6 points.
It was a stunning gap that undermined the longstanding notion of younger voters always trending more liberal. On the contrary, today’s youngest eligible voters are more conservative than their older counterparts: According to the poll, they are less likely to support transgender athletes participating in sports, less likely to support sending aid to Ukraine and more likely to approve of President Donald Trump. Fifty-one percent of younger Gen Zers view him favorably, compared to 46 percent of older Gen Z.
That split might seem surprising, but it’s only the latest example of an emerging dynamic I’ve noticed developing over the last few years: It’s increasingly clear that there are actually two different Gen Z’s, each with a particular political worldview.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/26/two-gen-zs-young-conservative-polling-00307375