Gen Z is romanticizing just being able to afford rent and groceries
A viral X post about affording rent and groceries is highlighting just how cooked younger generations of Americans are in the modern economy.
In early August, @Mycosy_life__ reposted an image of groceries in a shopping cart with the text overlay "one day you'll be buying groceries to cook dinner in the small apartment you rent." It was soon reposted by another X user with additional commentary:
"i love that being able to afford rent n groceries is being romanticized by gen z," they wrote, "like we've literally reached an economic point of no return."
This post and quote retweet has actually happened several times over the past year from different users, albeit usually without the inexplicable addition of Diddy in a Duel.com t-shirt.
And every time, the response is similar—some people insist that the original post is being misunderstood, and that it's totally normal to romanticize independence, especially for teens or young people still living at home. Other folks respond by pointing out that may be true, but dreams used to be a lot bigger, and being able to buy groceries and rent an apartment were considered more of a given.
Why are young people romanticizing paying rent?
As of 2024, only 26% of Gen Z adults owned a home, a number that has essentially remained stagnant since 2022. The same report points out that 40% of boomers had purchased a home by age 27, compared to 33% of Gen Zers.
But the graphic in question isn't even about home ownership—it's literally just about renting an apartment. And that makes sense, considering roughly a third of Gen Z adults still live with their parents or other family members. Other surveys make the numbers look even more bleak. A 2023 survey reported that 45% of adults under the age of 30 still lived at home, and that 60% of Gen Zers and millennials alike reported moving back home, overwhelmingly because of financial concerns.
Last year, Zillow reported that nearly 59% of Gen Z renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent, compared to over 60% of millennials at the same age. Meanwhile, a large chunk of people under the age of 35 are increasingly using Buy Now, Pay Later services like Klarna and Afterpay for essentials like groceries and household goods.
Young people often start out with lower pay and little money to their name, but there's no denying that things overall are more difficult for modern generations.
Social media reacts
Despite there being people who continue to insist everything is fine, or that the original post is about something else, it's clear that the general bleakness of romanticizing being able to afford rent and groceries is extremely relatable to people.
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