Death over money, and where to read about Gen Z
Americans are more likely to talk about death than money, and where do you turn to learn about Zs.
The Next Big Think! will send you one number, two insights, and three links weekly to keep you ahead of societal shifts.
#LongView
Roughly 9 in 10 Gen Zs / Millennials see the environment as personally important to them as opposed to 79% of Gen X and 73% of Boomers
Source: Harris Poll featured in AdAge
Why pay attention? Gen Z’s focus on the environment is ramping up. Last spring, roughly three-quarters of Gen Z said they were personally concerned about climate change; this year, their concern rose 14+ pts to 90%. Unlike Boomers, Gen Z isn’t thinking about the next 20 years; they are thinking about the next 60-80 years and expect businesses to do the same. In the book Long Path by Ari Wallach, Wallach advocates leaving an “empty seat at the board table for the next generation” so that leaders always consider the world they are passing on.
2 Insights
#1. Death over Money
What:
One of my favorite podcasts, Death, Sex + Money, covers the cultural taboos of our times. In our recent work with Empower, covered by Fast Company, we find that money continues to reign as a top cultural taboo, even over politics and death.
Let’s unpack that for a minute. Americans love and yearn for money; 6 in 10 want to become Billionaires, and Gen Z says they need to make $171,633 to feel financially healthy. Yet, Americans fear unchecked money; two-thirds of Americans say wealth inequality is a serious national issue, and 4 in 10 Americans report despising Billionaires.
Our theory is that although Americans love money, as wealth becomes harder to attain, they want to focus less on their financial situation (whether it’s healthy or not) and more on other focal points of discussion (e.g., lotteries and celebrities).
What the data tells us:
62% of Americans say they don’t talk about money, even though 66% believe more open conversations around it are key to achieving “financial freedom”
People are more likely to talk about politics and death vs. money:
While over (43%) of Americans talk about politics with other people and a third even (32%) discuss death, only a quarter (24%) said they talk about their finances with others.
People are more likely to bet on the unknown than talk to a financial advisor:
(71%) of Americans said they bought a lottery ticket, and a quarter (24%) of millennials said they've spoken to a fortune teller. Still, only one-third (33%) have talked to a financial planner.
People are as likely to know Elon Musk’s net worth as their family’s net worth
Roughly over half (58%) of Americans know their net worth, and even fewer understand their partner's (38%) or family's (28%). Meanwhile, (28%) said they knew Elon Musk's net worth.
What to think about:
It’s challenging to talk about money when there is so much at stake for people; money in America is often tied to feelings of self-worth, identity, relationships, and safety. However, there is no question that financial taboos are standing in the way of the kind of transparency needed to pursue a financially healthy future. This data shows us that a culture of open and candid discussions about finances will enable us to tackle financial issues proactively. Maybe we all need a bit more financial therapy talk in our lives. One solid recommendation is Ramit Sethi’s I’ll Teach You To Be Rich podcast, now a Netflix series.
#2. Where to read about Gen Z’s POV
What:
Where do you read about Gen Z? Every generation has its imprint and cultural voice; e.g., Ms., The Face, The Source, Dazed, NYMag, BlackBook, Vice etc. I remember in the late aughts when Vice built a whole business on the ‘you don’t understand Millennials’ framework. And I watched it work; marketing execs were spellbound by Vice’s founders, whose main message was that regardless of whether you agree with their provocative tactics, you will be launched into irrelevance if you don’t jump onto this boat.
Where does one turn now to dive into Gen Z’s POV? A generation born into fragmentized digital culture, their generational narrative seems to co-exist more in pockets than a central stream. There is obviously TikTok, Gen Z’s operating system. However, something about the written word continues to excel at wrestling with complexities of cultural nuances, depths, and generational differences.
A good place to start with Z is Substack. Similar to Z’s background, there isn’t one Substack to beat them all; instead, varieties cover the spectrum of Gen Z’s POV.
Here our some of our Z recommendations:
shit you should care about by luce
Embedded by Kate Lindsay and Nick Catucci
POV: The Gen Z Shake
after school by Casey Lewis
Mental Hellth by P.E. Moskowitz
The Up and Up by Rachel Janfaza
What to think about:
It’s worth immersing yourself in the Gen Z perspective, as they are fundamentally different from Millennials and more complex than Business Insider gives them credit for ;).
3 Links
Phil Knight gives $400M to benefit Black Portlanders (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
New Zealand is spending $4 million to help teens deal with breakups (Quartz)
Curiosity is contagious; if you like this newsletter, please share it!!
Penned by Libby Rodney and Abbey Lunney, founders of the Thought Leadership Group at The Harris Poll. To learn more about the Thought Leadership Practice, just contact one of us or find out more here.
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