Young consumers are flocking to Cracker Barrel (because of, if I’m understanding this correctly, their wine and beer program?); Fenty Beauty launched a TikTok contest to find its 2023 campaign star; suddenly, every fictional character is a podcaster; and a week with the BTS Tamagotchi.
GENERATION COVID: RECORD NUMBERS OF YOUTH OPT OUT OF COLLEGE AND WORK, newsweek
This headline isn’t great — if they’re opting out of college and work, what exactly are they doing with their time? — but it’s still worth recognizing these two trends happening in tandem: Fewer young people are going to college and, yes, more young people are opting out of the traditional workforce.
ECONOMISTS SAY INFLATION IS EASIER ON GEN Z, TIKTOK DISAGREES, npr
Economists believe younger adults are better off when it comes to weathering inflation, but the #inflation hashtag on TikTok — which has 2.5 billion views — tells another story.
CHINA’S MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z ARE FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH CONSUMERISM AND FUELING A NEW ‘FRUGAL LIVING’ SOCIAL MEDIA MOVEMENT AS REALITY BITES, fortune
During and prior to the pandemic, 25-year-old Shanghai resident Daphne felt empowered to spend a quarter of her income on shopping, dining out, and other activities like karaoke and travel. Now, “at least a handful” of closest friends can’t find a job or have taken a pay cut, while her manager at work says “it’s not the time for a salary review,” she said.
TIKTOK’S REPORTEDLY STILL PLANNING TO LAUNCH LIVE SHOPPING IN THE US, theverge
The company is partnering with TalkShopLive — a huge get for the seed stage (?!) start-up — to launch live shopping in North America. Through the partnership (which is apparently not official yet, but the Financial Times is thoroughly reporting on it, it’s probably as good as done…), TikTok would leverage TSL’s tech “to allow creators to host live shopping sessions on TikTok, while also giving brands the option to simultaneously broadcast the stream to their own websites.”
A HOUSE FRESHMAN CLASS LIKE NO OTHER, axios
A group of 147 non-incumbent House candidates who are either set to win safe open seats or running in competitive elections is, on average, younger and more diverse across racial and gender lines than the House as a whole. Roughly three out of 10 candidates are non-white, just over a third are women and eight are openly LGBTQ+.
AMERICANS WANT DIFFERENT KINDS OF SEX, ACCORDING TO HIMS, mediapost
Gen Z women are the most open and exploratory; 42% do not identify as heterosexual, and 75% say they are intrigued by one or more emerging sexual trends, which is two times as curious as older women.
One last thought: