“Do your nails at home instead of going to a manicurist, prepare shopping lists, both for everyday and larger ones, and live a life that pleases you, not your followers” – this is the advice that millennials give to their followers on social media on how to survive a recession similar to the one they have already experienced in 2008.
“This is the second recession in my lifetime, including both global ones,” millennials might say, having entered adulthood in the shadow of the 2008 crash. They are watching with interest and concern the dramatic statements on social media by their younger colleagues from Generation Z, who are clearly reeling from fear of the crisis.
They should not be surprised – after all, the unpredictability of Trump's policies and his administration has caused everyone – from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to Goldman Sachs analysts – to warn of serious consequences for the US economy. JP Mogran clearly wrote in one of his messages: “the escalation of the trade war could lead to a recession in both the US and the world”. This means that people in their 20s who earn little, have a lot of debt (including killer student loans) and are barely getting back on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, are starting to chase their own economic tail.
“We Not Only Survived, We Partied”
The TikToks shared by the Zetas are filled with a sense of frustration, anguish, and a hopeless future. They also look at their peers who share on their profiles foreign trips, purchases of luxury items, or reels from another Taylor Swift concert. “It's a completely different experience of recession than what I had,” says Saha Whitney, quoted by CNN News. The 37-year-old came of age during the Great Recession, when Barack Obama based his presidential campaign on the concept of hope.
@thesashawhitney How the vast majority of millennials survived the great recession is actually quite simple and may help some Gen Z. #millennialsoftiktok #millennial #greatrecession #recession #survivingtherecession #forthegirls #your20s ♬ original sound – Sasha W✨follow on YouTube & IG
– Yes, we were broke and had problems – Whitney points out. – At the same time, we didn't try to keep up with anyone on social media – she adds. Others of her generation echo this: “You want to know how we survived? We were too partying and too high to notice anything” – jokes another. “We slept in hotel rooms after 10, we didn't need clothes for discos because we came straight from low-paid jobs, and we used drugstore testers for makeup. We didn't pretend to be rich, we just celebrated our poverty. The future seemed so messed up that we didn't pay attention to it. And we still don't, because most of us are still poor”.
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Some TikTok Tips from Millennials
Whitney emphasizes that the first thing to do is cut expenses, even if that means moving back in with your parents. What else? You should:
- take on extra work if it comes up,
- remove payment platforms such as After Pay. Give up the “buy now, pay later” option,
- cancel your subscriptions and those that can be shared, share them with your friends,
- live according to needs, not trends,
- don't compare yourself to others on social media.
And above all – limit spending . The hardest thing, as CNN News suggests, for Zs is “cutting pleasures”, i.e. going to a restaurant, a beautician or a hairdresser. Instead, you should order tips on Amazon and ask for a less demanding hairstyle.
Such fear of recession may be a good moment for self-reflection: what do I really need and do I have a sufficient cushion of savings – emphasizes Professor Simon Blachard from Georgetown University. – People tend to cut entire categories of expenses, although it can be replaced by a reduction in the level of financing of every part of life – he adds. As the expert explains, the financial problems of 2008 are fundamentally different from those of today. As he explains, the cost of living has gone up significantly, and the two-month Covid recession does not correspond to what may be coming.
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