> Now, with surveys like this, you always have to worry about wording. It’s possible that terminology has changed, so that the phrase “financially successful” connotes “rich” to Gen Z, while it means “upper middle class” to older generations. But it’s also possible that Gen Z folks really do think they’re losers if they don’t make $588k. And this impression might come from TikTok and Instagram — many of the influencers I listed above look like they probably make in the ballpark of that amount.1

One might also ask how much of that is specific to the cohort's culture, and how much is a consequence of their current age.