Generation Z, made up of young people born from 1997 onwards, spend proportionately a smaller share of their income on entertainment than older people – a phenomenon that may be linked to more time spent on free internet activities.
It is, on the other hand, the one that loses a greater part of the total that it gains from the most basic expenses: housing, transport and food.
This is what a survey released by the World Economic Forum, carried out by data analyst Preethi Lodha, based on official figures from the US Bureau of Labor and Income Statistics shows.
In 2021, these young people spent US$41,636 (R$214,930) – less than all other age groups.
The biggest budget was that of Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1980), who spent US$ 62,203 (R$320,680) to pay for everything they consumed in goods and services last year.
“Their consumption habits are still expected to increase, especially considering that the oldest person in Generation Z is only 25 years old and still at the beginning of their career”, points out the World Economic Forum in its publication.
Of the total spent by the “Z”, US$ 1,693 was for entertainment activities, or the equivalent of 4.1%. Millennials, the generation immediately before them, born between 1981 and 1996, left 5% of their budget for fun.
Generations X (1965-80) and the “boomers” (1946-64) each spent 5.6%, and among those over 77 (born 1945 onwards), called the “silent generation, the share for entertainment was 4.5%.
“Gen Z spends the least on entertainment, which may have to do with the types of entertainment that this generation typically consumes,” analyzes the publication.
“One study found, for example, that 51% of respondents aged 13-19 watch Instagram videos weekly, while only 15% watch cable TV.”
The biggest expense, for all groups, remains housing, which takes about a third of income for all of them. It is for the younger generation, Z, and the oldest, the silent one, that spending on housing weighs the most, taking up 37% of the total.
At the other end, Gen X spends 31% of their budget on the house where they live.
It is also for Generation Z that the most essential expenses have the greatest weight: housing, transport and food, together, take up 69% of their income. For Gen X, it’s a package that costs 60.9% of what they have.
In Brazil, more spending on food
In Brazil, the share of the budget that goes to housing is similar, also around a third of income.
According to the most recent data from the Household Budget Survey (POF), carried out every ten years by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Brazilians spent, on average, 36.6% of their budget on housing in 2017 and 2018.
It is in food, however, that the big difference lies: 17.5% of all available money for Brazilian families goes to take food home.
In the US market data, this group does not take more than 13% of the income, which is how much the young generation Z spends today to feed themselves in the United States.
As a result, Brazilians still end up having a greater part of their disposable income committed to the most essential expenses: housing, food and transport represent 72.2% of the total.
In 1975, this proportion was even higher, at 75.5%, according to the National Study of Family Expenditure that was being carried out at the time.
Spending on entertainment and culture, in turn, is even lower: 2.6% of what Brazilians earn, on average, currently goes to these activities.
“All the changing consumption trends that are presented in the American market should also appear in the Brazilian market”, says the coordinator of the ESPM administration course, Frederike Mette.
“But the similarities must be greater from the generation of millennials onwards, because the social difference in Brazil is very large and, five or six decades ago, it was even greater.
According to her, as the income level advances in Brazil, the differences in consumption habits here and in more developed countries should reduce.
“We have had a very large rise of the lower classes in the last two decades. Today, Gen Z should be much more similar; with the internet, our teenager’s taste is very similar to that of the United States or Japan,” said Mette.
Source: CNN Brasil
Joe Jameson, a technology journalist with over 2 years of experience, writes for top online news websites. Specializing in the field of technology, Joe provides insights into the latest advancements in the industry. Currently, he contributes to covering the world stock market.
