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Skinny Jeans and Other Recession Indicators on The Viral List

Morgan Wallen’s post-SNL return to “God’s country,” ugly clothes as recession indicators, and ChatGPT Studio Ghibli AI edits are going viral this week…

Written and Edited by the YPulse Editorial Team

Apr 4 2025
North America

KEY TAKEAWAYS

From “sad beige fashion” to meal deals at Five Guys, Gen Z is turning everyday into recession signals
Gen Z is making memes about Morgan Wallen’s dramatic exit from SNL and his “Get me to God’s country” post on Insta afterwards, but he’s making merch
A new ChatGPT image generator update has users making Studio Ghibli-style art, but many are concerned about AI’s impact on art because of the trend

Young people are clocking #RecessionIndicators on TikTok Just last month, YPulse told you that 80% of 18-39-year-olds say inflation is impacting their spending. And while traditionally economists look at things like unemployment rates and consumer spending to gauge a recession, social media is buzzing with Gen Z’s own “recession indicators.” For them, everyday observations are warning signs of economic doom—but this is a gen who’s known little else besides economic doom. So of course, the internet being the internet, it’s taken a life of its own. A skincare brand suddenly selling eggs? A drop in demand for fake eyelashes? DoorDash...