Survey Finds There’s One Thing 91% Of Gen Z Would Rather Have Than 100K TikTok Followers
When it comes to this one Gen Z stereotype, the real story is a lot more complicated.
Ivan Samkov | Pexels When it comes to Gen Z, there's no shortage of stereotypes about them. They're lazy and entitled. They're hypersensitive and too "soft." And, of course, the one even the more charitable probably share: Their only goal is to be TikTok famous.
But is it true? There's no doubt that Gen Z does pretty much everything differently from the generations that came before them, but a new survey sheds light on what the actual truth seems to be behind this social media-obsessed cohort. In short, their obsession with TikTok just might be a lot more about trying to get a leg up in the world than unfettered narcissism.
A survey found 91% of Gen Zers would rather be creditworthy than TikTok famous.
The survey was conducted by Step, a financial planning app geared towards Gen Z and backed by celebs like Will Smith, Steph Curry, and Gen Z queen Charli D'Amelio. They surveyed their Gen Z user base to find out what exactly their priorities are, and the results pretty soundly go against the conventional wisdom.
Because while they may seem obsessed with digital fame, a staggering 91% of respondents said they'd rather have an 800 credit score than 100,000 TikTok followers any day. And while that may sound surprising to some, it really shouldn't. They've inherited a brutal economy, and Step's survey got the data to show just how much it's impacting the age group.
As Step CEO CJ MacDonald put it, "This generation has been told that financial literacy is the key to success, but it’s hard to budget your way out of a broken system." And he said it's time for us all to turn the "nobody wants to work anymore" stereotypes on their head.
The survey found that most Gen Zers are barely getting by, even with full employment.
There's no way around it, the picture Step's survey paints is a grim one. More than 4 in 10 respondents said they run out of money every single month. Even more bracing, 78% said they are financially unstable, and 25% reported having gone more than a week without being able to afford essential items like rent, food, or bills.
That's not just living paycheck to paycheck. It's living in a deficit, which is not exactly surprising given that the Gen Z unemployment rate is more than double that of the rest of the country, even for those with advanced degrees.
Mizuno K | Pexels | Canva Pro
And accordingly, high numbers of Gen Zers told Step they are one false move away from ruin: 20% said they would need to borrow money if their paycheck were delayed by even a single day, and more than 1 in 4 said they're already relying on help from family and friends to get by.
All this struggle is eroding their mental health, too, as poverty tends to do. Financial shame seems to be rampant among this age group: 27% said they'd be too embarrassed to show a loved one their bank account balance.
Their financial woes have also eroded Gen Z's trust in financial institutions and systems.
Distrust in the financial system isn't exactly unique. Most of us who were old enough when the Great Recession hit in 2008 will likely never have anything but a dismal view of an industry predicated on predatory lending, extortionate debt, and usurious fees and policies.
But it's not hard to imagine that for Gen Z, most of whom were just kids in 2008, this all hits a bit different, even if they grew up comfortably, they have essentially never known a normal economy, job market, or housing market.
Accordingly, Step found that Gen Zers don't trust the banking industry. Only a small minority said they trust a banking institution to actually grow their money and help them manage it, versus 35% who said they trust financial influencers on social media far more to guide them toward financial stability.
Which brings us back to that social media obsession of Gen Z. Sure, good old fashioned narcissism may be part of it, but is it really surprising that platforms that regularly turn nobodies into overnight millionaires have become such a fixation for a generation who faces not only financial insecurity, but increasing age-based discrimination in the job market?
As MacDonald put it, "they’re not failing at adulthood — adulthood is failing them." So perhaps the obsession with becoming influencers isn't so much about self-aggrandizement as it is about having a modicum of hope that virality will free them from the broken systems grinding them to dust. Given that they had no part in breaking it in the first place, can you really blame them?
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
