Is the Gen Z Backlash Justified?
By Steven Tripp
“I cannot stand how the news has been dogging Gen Z and calling them lazy for not wanting to work a 9 to 5 for the rest of their lives.”
This is how a random American Tik Tok user named ‘Chailyn’ started her rant, which has now been seen by 6.7 million people, including attracting 1.4 million likes, 38,800 comments and 12,900 shares.
“Let me put it in perspective, for everybody who’s a little confused here”, she continued, waving her finger and speaking with an animated exuberance that is synonymous with a Tik Tok rant.
“I work five days out of the week, 40 hours a week, okay? I do not make enough to live on my own. I would not make enough to pay rent, water, electric, and eat all by myself. I would not be capable of doing that.”
Chailyn has been dubbed ‘the Walmart Girl’, due to the rant. She is evidence of an attitude that many Gen Z people, those born between 1997 and 2012, have been accused of. That attitude is, Gen Z fail to see the virtue in hard work.
Restoring to the ‘us versus them’ tactic, Chailyn levelled her horns at the preceding generations as she fired back against the accusations of laziness that target Gen Z.
“20 years ago, when you were getting started, you could live on your own. 20 years ago, when you first started, you were able to do everything that I'm now struggling to do.”
“You can sit here and you can call Gen Z lazy all you want, but I've been working my tail-end off, just to barely make it by. And respectfully, I don't wanna do that for the rest of my life.”
Unfortunately for Chailyn, complaining about hard work will not likely attract sympathy.
Preceding generations are familiar with hard work and long hours. No generation has been able to escape hard work to advance themselves in life.
However, in her defence, there is some validity in what Chailyn is saying.
In recent years, Western society has been preoccupied with climate alarmism, political correctness, wokeism, and many other issues led by the left side of politics. The consequence is that it has taken our focus off the issues that are most important to the everyday prosperity of the population.
Why is it, that a few decades ago, a husband could afford to buy a modest home for his family, on a single wage, while his wife stayed at home to raise the children?
Whereas now, a couple with no children, that are both employed fulltime and earning decent incomes, have trouble merely renting, let alone saving for a deposit to purchase a home.
Why is this stark contrast not addressed?
Here in Australia, the pressures of cost-of-living, housing affordability and inflation have been exacerbated by mass migration that exceeds housing supplies and unrestrained State and Federal Government spending.
This is despite a sustained mining boom and decades of seemingly unrestrained economic growth, which should have seen our standard of living improve.
Yet, for young people, the Australian dream of buying a home is an impossibility.
Despite Chailyn living in America, the financial pressures and frustrations that she faces no doubt parallels and resonates with the youth of Australia, the United Kingdom and other Western countries.
“I don't wanna work my tail end off, wasting all of my life working, just to barely be able to pay my bills,” she continued. “And that is what you created, not Gen Z. We're just here getting started.”
“You tell me how it got ruined. We can sit here and we can call Gen Z lazy all you want, but you let the economy turn into what it did. You let it all run to hell.”
John Howard and Peter Costello called it intergenerational theft – present generations spending beyond their means, only for the following generations to suffer in the process of paying it back.
Not only does unrestrained spending raise debt, but it fuels inflation, which consequently drives up property prices. It also keeps taxation high.
Meanwhile, median incomes have not enjoyed similar growth.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on March 12, 2024, the mean price of an Australian residential dwelling rose to $933,800. New South Wales led the way with a mean price of $1,184,500, followed by ACT at $948,500 and Victoria at $895,000.
Yet, the ABS recorded Australian’s median income during 2020-21 as $54,890.
This is the reality that Gen Z face.
So where is their incentive to work?
Is it little wonder that Gen Z now values travel and experiences as a commodity, instead of aspiring to own a home. The reality is that travel is all they can afford.
Recent research from travel insurance provider ‘InsureandGo’ has revealed that 71% of under-30s would rather travel than buy a house over the next 12 months.
InsureandGo chief commercial officer, Jonathan Etkind said of the findings, “When forced to choose between an eyewatering mortgage and a travel experience, Millennials and Gen Z Australians are opting for the latter, and this is largely in response to the housing crisis. This trend is fuelled by the ‘experience culture’ that erupted over the past decade and saw young Aussies eschew spending money on ‘stuff’ to making memories instead.”
Of course, hard work is a pathway to success. But that success needs to be attainable.
If only Governments in the Western World budgeted within their means, instead of the unrestricted, inflationary spending we have seen.
If only Governments had led immigration programs that were preceded by adequate planning with new housing and infrastructure, instead of the unsustainable levels of migration that we have seen.
If only our youth believed in a future where housing affordability was not such a concern. Instead, they could value the success that hard work brings and as a result, were filled with hope and aspiration for their futures.
Instead, they are resorting to Tik Tok and nihilistic rants to vent their frustrations.
Chailyn did not miss.
“You tell me how it got ruined. We can sit here and we can call Gen Z lazy all you want, but you let the economy turn into what it did. You let it all run to hell. And now it's Gen Z's fault because we don't wanna work to fix your mistakes?”
By Steven Tripp