Generation Z, which was born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, has a unique economic, political, and cultural identity. In the 2024 election, Gen Z shifted strongly to the right. They are less likely than any previous generation to expect they’ll achieve the American Dream. Most of Gen Z graduated into a pandemic economy or entered high school during the school shutdown years.They have record-high rates of anxiety. They use their phone ... a lot. Defined by the forces of scarcity, phone-driven media, and global crisis, they are different. And their differences will drive the future of U.S. economics, politics, and culture. Today’s guest Kyla Scanlon is 27 years old, making her an older Gen Z representative. As a financial commentator on TikTok, Instagram, and Substack, she’s coined several terms—like the vibecession—that have made their way into the New York Times and federal economic reports. For a long time, I wanted to have a conversation about young people that doesn’t make me subject to a bunch of Reddit memes of Steve Buscemi holding the skateboard asking, “how do you do, fellow kids?” I wanted to get somebody smart, who was a member of Gen Z, and who also had conducted their own surveys of Gen Z. I’m very honored to have Kyla tell me about how young people today think and what they want. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Kyla Scanlon Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hey, it's Bill Simmons letting you know that we are covering the White Lotus on the Prestige TV podcast and the Ringer TV YouTube channel every Sunday night this season with Mally Rubin and Joanna Robinson.
Also on Wednesdays, Rob Mahoney and I will be sort of diving deep into theories and listener questions. So you can watch that on the Ringer YouTube channel and also on the Spotify app.
Subscribe to the Prestige podcast feed. Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel. And don't forget, you can also watch these podcasts on Spotify.
White Lotus, let's go. Today.
What does Gen Z want? In December of last year, The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Wolf published a wonderful essay that was entitled, What Happens When a Whole Generation Never Grows Up? Wolf reported that American 20-somethings and 30-somethings today are bypassing the traditional milestones of adulthood. Dating, marrying, having a kid, buying a home.
They're less likely in many cases to be doing any of this. This delay of adulthood, or the delay of these adulthood markers, let's say, begins quite early. Teens in the 2020s are now less likely to date than previous generations. 20-somethings are more likely to live with their parents. 30-somethings are less likely to be married, and 40-somethings less likely to have kids.
Something seems to be happening that is pushing off what we've historically thought of as the definition of this state that we call adulthood. I think understanding this phenomenon of delayed adulthood requires us first understanding the shifting realities and psychological preferences of America's young people. Generation Z.
which was born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, are less likely than previous generations to say they'll achieve the American dream. They have record high rates of anxiety. They often graduated into a pandemic economy or entered high school during the school shutdown years. Defined by forces of scarcity and phone-driven media and global crisis, this generation is different.
And for a long time, I've wanted to understand how different, Today's guest is Kyla Scanlon. She's 27 years old, but that's the least important thing about her. As an older Gen Z representative, she is also quite brilliant.
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