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If your weekend plans involve anything more expensive than a stroll around a National Trust park, chances are your Gen Z chums will mentally run the numbers the second you pop up in the group chat. ‘Will I still be a reasonable level of skint come Monday?’
Given the cohort is synonymous with moderation on just about everything, whether it’s sex, alcohol, or nights out – anything but loneliness maxxing for TikTok – it won’t come as a surprise to hear that the traditional, uber-social weekend isn’t as popular as it once was with millennials.
However, while getting ‘on it’ may have had its day as a generational habit, Gen Z are generally still quite sociable. They just don’t want to spread themselves too thin, which is where the media comes in with exaggerated ragebait on ‘optimisation’. Basically, they like Strava and don’t want to wake up covered in chunder with a mouth like an ashtray on Sunday afternoon.
Shit as they may be on the phone, they still value mates, gossip, eye contact, and a reason to put on outdoor shoes. The specific routine of hitting the town for a boozy boogie just doesn’t have the same allure for them as their elders. Perhaps they would be more down if everything wasn’t so horrendously expensive, but that’s pure fantasy in 2026.
Harris Poll research of 4,100 adults, including 603 Gen Zers, showed that 62% of 18-to-29-year-olds actively avoid making weekend plans because they don’t want to feel financial regret afterwards. This is in complete contrast to their predecessors, who would gleefully buy rounds of shots for mutuals purely to keep a night going into the early hours.
The company’s chief strategy officer, Libby Rodney, summed it up by saying ‘hard socialising is over. Instead, Gen Z are apparently leaning into “soft socialising”’: less kebabs, heartache, penicillin for undisclosed indiscretions, and shitty lopsided blow-up beds.
Call them square, look down your nose, but the truth is their accounts are looking healthier for it. The same research cites that Gen Z workers aged 24-to-28 are the most likely age group to be on track to retire comfortably. Three quarters are also saving for a down payment on a home. Needs must, and they’re serious about the must.
Social pressure will always be there for every generation, but there’s no longer an unspoken requirement to pretend spending £200 on watered down Jäger (for nowt beyond a shit snog and a migraine) is ‘legend’ behaviour.
Here’s to the soldiers who, like me, had to pretend.
not tonight babe
Is Gen Z fucking? – i-D
i-D has taken a deep dive (huhyeah) into what’s going on with Gen Z’s apparent lack of shaggin’. Is the generation too tired, scared, broke, queer, chronically online, emotionally stable, and Hinge-poisoned to crack on like our elders did? The piece cites a 2024 report showing only 56% of Gen Z adults, and 54% of men, were involved in a romantic relationship at any point during their teenage years. It also references a 2025 DatingAdvice.com and Kinsey Institute study claiming half of Gen Z haven’t popped their cherries. On the scale of incel to fiend there’s plenty of nuance, apparently. Go and get stuck in, unlike Gen Z. Read more
Gen Z say they ‘perform’ even during self-pleasure – thred
This is what happens when coitus starts to feel inaccessible. Apart from the health-obsessed minority who don’t want to waste testosterone, Gen Z have no qualms with gooning. Our own Charlie has looked into recent figures from HUD and found that roughly 50% of Gen Z ‘perform’ even during masturbation – that doesn’t mean jackin’ it on Omegle. There’s a consensus among experts that the need to give and receive validation during intimacy has led us here, which gives a sad tinge to an amusing read. 73% said that concerns around their appearance make sex harder to genuinely enjoy, while 80% said they want more sex than they’re currently having. Read more
logging off
Ariana Grande quits public life over ‘endless scrutiny’ – the telegraph
Ariana Grande has announced she is withdrawing from public life for an indefinite period. Having already been the subject of fervent noise for over a year in the media and online over her appearance, weight loss, ‘post-Wicked’ mannerisms, and relationships, the artist’s release of new album Petal, and the eponymous track’s music video has brought the noise to fever-pitch. Fame has always brought scrutiny, but in the case of Grande it has been incessant. Between all the online diagnosing, projecting, attacking, and defending, it’s no wonder the 33-year-old has seemingly reached her tipping point. Grande’s team announced she will finish the Eternal Sunshine tour and then take a break from all ‘public facing’ work. Read more
Stop getting ‘UK Poo’ wrong: a guide to Britain’s newest (and worst?) music genre – vice
UK Poo was all the rage in our last newsletter, and it’s nice to see others are discovering the genre and spreading the word. Though in its infancy, the genre of music is still absolutely mesmerising… in that it’s so innately shit. If you’re not native to the UK, it’ll be hard to explain the scene within this preview, but I can promise the potential rabbit hole is every bit worth your time. All you need to knowspotl is that both Vice and I have cited the absolute banger that is ‘Glad U Came’ by Liilz as the Bohemian Rhapsody of the genre. What other wonders UK Poo has for you lie in wait. Don’t be a wasteman. Read more
@michelin.lz I AINT REALLY BEEN HOME LATELYYYY 🫶🏻 Lately – Michelin Lz Music video on the wayyyy #dblockeurope #london #wavemusic #blowthisupforme #michelinlz
