Economic Nihilism - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46150160 - December 2025

The housing crisis is pushing Gen Z into crypto and economic nihilism - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46079617 - November 2025

”Giving Up": The Impact of Decreasing Housing Affordability on Consumption, Work Effort, and Investment - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5770722 - November 19, 2025

Key points:

- Overall, 59 percent said they regard AI as a threat to their future job prospects, far more than immigration (31 percent).

- 43 percent said they were already struggling financially or had limited financial security.

- Fifty seven percent felt the country is headed down the wrong path. During the 2009 recession, that number was only 37 percent.

- When asked about political violence, 28 percent said they view it as “acceptable when the government violates individual rights.”

> Overall, 59 percent said they regard AI as a threat to their future job prospects, far more than immigration (31 percent).

This is in line with my observation, unlike what many older folks think, Gen Z are more skeptical of new tech. Many who were the first generation to grow up with social media are the first ones quitting social apps like Facebook, Instagram etc.

On the physical/hardware side, old tech is making a massive comeback among Gen Z. Film cameras, 2000s digicams etc.

The above is the official report from Harvard IOP.

Article below

Discuss article here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46153770