How TikTok is wiring Gen Z’s money brain

livemint.com:

Americans under 30 get much of their news on TikTok. They hear about money there, too, and that’s shaping the way they save, spend and view their financial prospects, young adults and economists say. Caitlyn Sprinkle, 27 years old, describes her TikTok feed as a mix of economic gloom and consumerism gone wild.

There are Dave Ramsey TikToks that warn of the evils of debt, followed by influencers showing off their shopping hauls of skin-care products and handbags. Sprinkle, a financial analyst at an asset-management firm in Nashville, Tenn., uses a budgeting app and has been cooking at home lately to save money—and to be able to afford the things she feels she has to buy, like Lululemon leggings. “Between TikTok and having your friends around you, you’re pressured to buy the things because you want to fit in," she says.

“That’s always been the case, but with TikTok it’s more prominent." Rallying stocks, rising wages and a tight labor market suggest the economy is stronger than it has been in years. The youngest, lowest-earning professionals don’t feel that way—partly because a large share are carrying consumer debt, and partly because of what they’re seeing on TikTok. Even as the platform faces a potential ban in the U.S., it remains a massive cultural force that shapes young adults’ decisions and views.

More than half of all U.S. adults ages 18 to 34 use it, according to Pew Research Center, while about a third of those 29 and under say they regularly get news on TikTok, up from less than 10% in 2020. So, what happens when your main source of news tells you that no one in your generation will be able to buy a house, food prices are spinning out of control and credit-card debt is unavoidable—but also that $2,500 Louis