EDITIOn 1 EDITION A One Minute to Midnight Publication
HUMAN FUTURES
THE MONEY ISSUE
Money’s value in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness New perspectives in understanding young Americans’ relationships with money
Human Futures Magazine / Edition 1
Kill the cliches and take a new perspective on young Americans and money
Simultaneously, young Americans find themselves immersed in style trends like the "old-money" aesthetic, social media feeds constantly showcasing enticing consumer products, rebrands, and product launches, and not to mention social lives stoked by subscriptions to entertainment platforms, fitness studios, and wellness spaces. It has been argued (often by older generations) that subsequently the young generation are financially uninvolved, entitled, fickle, spend thrifts who may even be a little bit lazy with their quiet quitting, their brunches and their constant shopping.
It’s time to kill these prejudices and explore what is really going on with young Americans and Money and how deeply they think, feel, and approach it as a means to the most American of ends, Happiness. Pursuing the American dream of health, wealth and happiness is as present in our culture as its ever been. Yet, young Americans have entered the realm of adulthood amidst historically high inflation, amplified socio-political turbulence, and a landscape where the traditional aspirations of owning a house, a car, and enjoying an improved quality of life from previous generations seem tantalizingly out of reach.
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In this edition of Human Futures, we will shed new light on the financial orientations of young Americans, uncovering their feelings about money, their belief systems, how they acquire financial knowledge, and their spending preferences and priorities. Our mixed methods research challenges the intergenerational stereotypes that have labeled this generation as entitled, irrational, and financially irresponsible.
What may surprise you is that young Americans tend to be to similar to previous generations in how they recognize money’s importance, commit to financial learning, and thoughtfully approach earning and spending. They just differ in their approaches due to the ever changing, volatile, and high-pressure world they inhabit. The world is different than it has been before. It requires different philosophies, actions and arguably values to navigate it and to fulfill our needs for success, security, pleasure, and a life well lived. Our upcoming series takes insight from our longitudinal qualitative work with a diverse group of Gen Z and Millennials around the US, validated and supported by quantiative surveys.
Putting the human at the heart of research
This series of articles will take you deep into their worlds and culminate in a magazine that offers insights to challenge prejudices and reframe your teams’ understanding of this generation. So, prepare for a fresh perspective on young Americans, Money, and the pursuit of happiness as we bust 5 enduring Money Myths:
The One Minute to Midnight Human Futures Team
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Human Futures Magazine / Edition 1
CONTRIBUTORS Paul Laver
Co-founder of One Minute to Midnight, Paul has conducted inspiring research for many of the world’s leading brands. In his career he has been in over 50 countries across continents and numerous categories. Paul loves to tread the golden mean between Wellness and Mezcal, and is powered by the Human Values of Self-Direction, Hedonism & Stimulation. His Philosophy for life: Epicureans rule, stoics suck! Amalia Webber
Amalia is a Senior Research Manager who also leads OMTM’s communication team. With a passion and background in Anthropology, she’s always looking for the unspoken forces that influence human emotion and behavior. Since her dreams of becoming Lara Croft fell through, she’s enjoying the next best thing- helping brands stay culturally relevant and connected to emerging generations!
Jessica Miller
Jessica is a Research Manager at OMTM Americas who leverages her background in Behavioral and Decision sciences to moderate challenging projects across diverse cultures and topics. She is fascinated by the dynamic relationship between innovation, aspiration, and human expression, and as a creative artist and actor, is always looking to add a dash of originality to her work.
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5 Financial Fictions, BUSTED By investigating a series of money myths we’ll uncover the real essence of how young Americans think about money, how they want to earn it, how they spend it, and consequently how they form relationships with the stuff they buy.
MYTH 1
They don’t know how to manage their money and don’t care to find out how to do it better, and yet...
Behind the scenes, young Americans prioritorize “essentials” first. Happiness is something they invest in ‘in the now’ and ‘for the future’— they approach treating themselves consciously, not lacking responsibility. They engage with financial information in ways comfortable and digestible to them, ignoring the more traditional media. Young Americans deal with tough times with humor and satire which gets misconstrued as lacking care.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE Young Americans do care and engage with money but they do it in different ways — ways that are relevant to them and the times they live in. This is not ignorance it’s relevance. 5
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MYTH 2 Young Americans are entitled and don’t understand the value of a dollar or the importance of hard work, and yet... Having seen older Millennials play into a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality that fueled them through a recession, Gen Z appreciate a happy work life balance, actually realizing the importance of money in this equation. Indeed they have a more complex value equation for work: they want to do something that’s purposeful, amps up their self worth, and pays them well. They like living easy and not overworking themselves to burnout, but this doesn’t mean they’re all looking for their next ‘get rich quick’ scheme. It’s about side hustles that don’t feel like ‘work’.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE Young Americans are taking conscious approaches to earning. They seek a fulfilling workplace that allows them time, space, and enough money to do other things — from spending time with friends to earning more money through a passion project. Where it looks like they’re being lazy, their sources of fulfillment are more diversified, and work and money take up a smaller slice of the pie than before. 6
Young Americans are superficial, investing in fleeting material interests that have little meaning or long term value, and yet...
MYTH 3
Young Americans make highly conscious decisions about how they spend money, undertaking a continuous curation of their personal stories and identity. They invest significant time and money in meaningful social connections, which provide them with fulfillment and happiness. “Experiential vs. Material” is a false binary to them, as they find deep value in spending on both.
Images courtesy of @h
anelizabetx on TikTok
A NEW PERSPECTIVE Young Americans spend to gain Social Currency and, thus, empowerment and happiness, transcending the current moment. They understand that these gains can come from material items as well as experiences. Their spending accordingly isn’t inherently superficial; it’s highly conscious and future-focused. 7
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MYTH 4
Young Americans are brand victims, following and spending money on the latest fads blindly, and yet...
Dupe culture is alive and kicking, as they demonstrate their smarts in gaining social currency ‘cost effectively.’ Their long-lasting brand loyalty and expenditure comes from engaged, involved connections with a brand that go way beyond a purchase. Young Americans lean into brands that enable them to tell their own stories — they feel it gives them far bang for their buck.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE Brands are a critical part of young Americans’ social ecosystems. They engage with them consciously, in search of value across many dimensions. This isn’t victimhood; it is considered engagement as they seek a real value add to their lives, future goals, and identities. 8
MYTH 5 Young Americans prioritize wokeness — and if it’s green, and they’ll give their green, and yet... Causes are important to Young Americans, but they’re not everything, relevant everywhere, or necessary to win loyalty in some categories. Talk is cheap to them — they see through greenwashing and inauthentic social stances quickly. But when a brand authentically stands for something they believe in, they can go all in.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE Young Americans are not into wokeness for the sake of it. Instead they engage strongly with brands that have principles they feel are relevant and authentic.
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Human Futures Magazine / Edition 1
. . . n o o S Co m i n g Let us show you our receipts… Over the next several months, we will provide evidence supporting the new perspectives and debunking each of the myths. This evidence will be from our deep qualitative research, conducted with a sample of young American respondents, and with dedicated data from One Minute To Minute’s Quantitative Quarterly Global Values report — The Heartbeat. Some of the narrative forthcoming may well be things you know, or at least some things you think you know, but some of it will undoubtedly surprise you. It is sure to make you stop and think, provide the 'why’ behind your hunches, shatter prejudices, and shine a new perspective on an often misunderstood group of human beings. Look out for the next chapter where we will explore how young Americans are managing their money.
Coming soon...
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Human Futures Magazine / Edition 1
FROM Discover the Power of Human Values for your brand through The HeartbeatTM the Quarterly Global Values Survey The HeartbeatTM is an inspiring, on-going and ground breaking global study that is decoding the energies of our times and the Human Values that are shaping our world so that your brands, communications, products and services can be their most relevant. It may well change your world view.
Human Research for Brands and Communications for a World in Revolution Contact us to see how The HeartbeatTM can benefit your brand
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