Gen Z can’t stop talking about their money worries on TikTok

• Gen Z is expressing their economic hardships on TikTok
• As a generation, they prioritize pay over traditional career advancement.
• TikTok offers support and community, but it’s also a breeding ground for scammers and unrealistic standards.

Abby Ferrell, a member of Gen Z, looks into the camera with tearful eyes and says her job is “miserable” and she can’t pay her bills.

In a live TikTok video, she says she spends her weekends in bed because she feels like she doesn’t have the money to do anything else and feels cheated after all the hard work she’s done to get where she is. he said.

“And they feel cheated because they thought that if they went to college and got a degree, they would be able to buy a house and like things that would make them happy,” she says. “Yet, I still can hardly afford to buy groceries, clothing, and literally anything that makes me happy.”

TikTok is full of videos like Ferrell’s, in which young people complain about sudden rent increases, exorbitant grocery bills, and minimal pay raises that make them feel trapped.

They’re shouting about their finances to anyone who will listen, and it can come at a price.

Zoomers are a generation obsessed with wealth. They follow the money and prioritize paychecks over career steps that were once considered aspirational, such as management positions or promotions.

For Gen Z, a job is just a job and doesn’t feel worth the squeeze of career advancement. They prefer vacations and an easy work life where they can “quietly succeed” in a lazy girl’s job or a side hustle, rather than outperforming their colleagues for little financial reward.

Still, more than previous generations, they feel that the financial security of an employee position is not enough to feel wealthy, and they feel more stressed about saving than any other age group.

Already in their short lives, they have had to contend with soaring rents, dire cost-of-living crises, and repeated economic downturns.

So it’s no wonder that TikTok, the platform many of them use to communicate, is where they turn for help.

Jareen Imam, a creator and media executive who creates content about money and work, told Business Insider that TikTok has normalized people talking openly about money, which is why these graphic revelations exist. He said it was the reason.

“There’s a great deal of vulnerability in sharing your money story online, especially through video,” she says. “In a way, I feel like I’m confessing.”

When audiences are interested in the story and discuss their experiences, people “feel valued,” she says.

“It’s also reassuring to see people in the same financial situation as you. It’s motivating and empowering to know you’re not alone,” she said.

Markia Brown, Certified Financial Counselor, Financial Educator, TikTok Creator Has over 200,000 followersBI said TikTok can also help you find others who may be experiencing the same financial hardships.

“It can be a very lonely journey if you don’t have people around you to physically support you, or if your family hasn’t had that experience,” she says. “So it helps create the sense of community that a lot of people need to make certain changes.”

However, Brown cautioned that not everyone you reach out to has your best interests at heart. She says TikTok is rife with scammers who may try to push products that will get you paid but don’t provide any benefit.

“The Internet is a wonderful place, but it’s also a dangerous place,” Brown says. “So you have to be really, really careful about the content that you’re consuming and the people that you’re trusting.”

Imam said social media has a tendency to distort reality, especially when it comes to money.

When you see wealthy influencers and people who claim to make a lot of money, it can be hard not to compare their lifestyles. This can lead to financial envy, financial anxiety, and even something called “financial dysmorphophobia,” Imam said.

“Financial dysmorphophobia is a really interesting issue because it gives some people a distorted view of their finances,” she says. “They may think they are richer or poorer than they really are.”

This can manifest as people using buy-now-pay-later apps for luxury goods they can’t afford to copy their favorite influencers. Or it could mean you’re worried about money and don’t spend it at all.

Imam said TikTok and other social media democratizes information and builds knowledge, such as how to optimize credit card use or find the best savings account.

But while this content can be aspirational, it can also make people feel uncomfortable, she added.

“When you see so many influencers portraying carefully selected lifestyles to flaunt their wealth, glamor and success, it’s easy to feel worse about your own financial situation,” she says. I did.

“To remind people that a lot of content on TikTok is aimed at selling something, whether it’s a physical product or a lifestyle or a brand, we needs to be tackled better.”

Brown agreed that there are pros and cons. But overall, she supports people to open up to the platform and crowdsource solutions to their problems.

“You never know what part of your story might be relevant to someone else’s story,” she says.