Peak nostalgia

HALF of Gen Z adults want to live in the past.

Gen Z isn’t just romanticizing an era they never lived through, they’re using the past as a proxy for certainty and stability. This kind of nostalgia is not new. We’ve seen it in our tech habits, fashion trends, pop culture (Love Story, anyone?), mall obsessions, frozen yogurt fixations — and even our politics.

But now there’s data showing just how pervasive this feeling really is: according to an NBC News Decision Desk Poll, almost half (yes — HALF) of Gen Z adults want to live in the past. This isn’t so much about aesthetics, though, as it is about emotions.

I joined NBC News Now with Morgan Radford and Vicky Nguyen today to talk about it. You can watch it here:

By the numbers, NBC poll:

• 47% of adults 18-29 said they’d live in the past if they had the option

• One-third would go back less than 50 years; 14% would go back more than 50

• 62% said they expect life for their generation to be “worse than previous generations” 🤯

Data from NBC Decision Desk poll.

This tracks with the latest Harvard IOP youth poll which shows a generation weighed down by economic anxiety — and increasingly convinced the future will offer less than the past did.

By the numbers, Harvard IOP poll:

• Just 13% of young Americans say the country’s on the right track

• Half of of young adults say they are personally affected “a lot” by inflation

• 45% are “struggling to make ends meet” or “getting by with little financial security”

• And in the past five years, young adults’ belief that they’ll be “better off” than their parents has shrunk

• In 2021, there was a “+21-point gap between those who expected to be better off (38%) and worse off (17%),” but that’s now narrowed to “just +3 points, with 29% saying they will be better off and 26% expecting to be worse off”

Young Americans are supposed to be more optimistic, idealistic, angsty but hopeful. Not anymore.

When it comes to the future 🔮, both the NBC and Harvard IOP polls asked young adults what they’re looking for from national leaders. The findings offer insight into how to turn generational anxiety about the present around.

What they’re looking for…

• 37% in the Harvard IOP poll want a congressional “candidate who shares their values”

• 33% in the NBC news poll are looking for a 2028 presidential candidate who “will bring needed change”

The Up and Up’s take: Gen Z’s longing for the past is a critique of the present. A life lived in chaos — political and economic — and live-streamed in real-time has left our generation yearning for a time before that felt more calm, less toxic, and perhaps, even more kind.

Noteworthy reads:

• Why Are So Many Influencers Speaking at Harvard Business School?, Madeline Schulz for Vogue Business

• There’s Another Reason Gen Z Can’t Find Work, Jessica Grose for The New York Times

• The internet made us archive our lives – now we want out, Laura Pitcher for Dazed

• Gen Z Men Stress About Fertility Way More Than You’d Expect, Nicole Pasulka for Cosmo

I was in DC for events around the White House Correspondents Dinner, which took a terrifying and surreal turn when a shooting occurred at the dinner, and later, charges were brought against the suspect for trying to assassinate the president.

In the aftermath, Deja Foxx wrote a powerful piece on the cognitive dissonance that occurred after the shooting. I encourage you to read it, and watch my friend Dylan Wells behind the scenes report of covering the night from outside the dinner. I watched Dylan spring into action from the Substack party just across the street from the White House, focused and fully in reporter mode. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

Tune in

On Thursday at 7pm ET, I’m moderating a conversation with former White House Chief of Staff and US ambassador Rahm Emanuel for Big Tent USA. You can RSVP here. Hope to see you there. Send any questions for him my way!