"What happens when a generation is raised on economic promises that never materialize? Gen Z may want to ask their older siblings, the millennials, how that turned out, as the Great Recession of 2008-and the ensuing "jobless recovery"-left millions of altered lives, if not dashed dreams, in its wake. But as the oldest Gen Zers approach the 30-year-old benchmark, the economic habits of a generation"
"The zoomers double as the so-called " doom spenders," dishing out hundreds of dollars on concert tickets or international travel, entrenching the "YOLO economy" that emerged in 2021 amid the meme-stock craze. Gen Zers average $94,101 in personal debt, the highest of any generation and far more than millennials ($59,181) and Gen X ($53,255). This could be easily written off as the financial mismanagement of youth, but taken as a whole,"
Gen Z grew up amid the Great Recession and a prolonged jobless recovery, producing economic habits distinct from previous generations. Many Zoomers prioritize experiential spending while carrying the largest average personal debt—roughly $94,101 versus $59,181 for millennials and $53,255 for Gen X. The generation's behavior blends rejection of conventional financial wisdom with an almost subconscious acceptance of commodification and short-term consumption. Economist Alice Lassman, a British Gen Zer, coined the term "disillusionomics" after a rescinded USAID offer following a Columbia stint, describing a coping strategy for an uncertain and mystifying financial future.
Read at Fortune
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