Plain English with Derek Thompson Plain English BEST OF: How Gen Z Sees the World
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Dec 23, 2025 
Kyla Scanlon, a keen financial commentator and writer focused on Gen Z, offers insights into how this generation views the world. She breaks down Gen Z into three cohorts shaped by technology and the pandemic. The conversation dives into concepts like FAFOnomics, which embraces high-risk investing amidst uncertainty, and how attention economics fuels trends like meme stocks. They also explore institutional distrust, new work norms prioritizing outcomes over hours, and the impact of these factors on mental health and dating trends among young people.
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Three Gen Z Cohorts Explain Divergent Behaviors
- Gen Z is best seen as three cohorts: Gen Z 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 based on tech and COVID timing.
- Each cohort treats smartphones and institutions differently, shaping trust and identity.
Tool Versus Environment Changes Everything
- Gen Z 1.0 views tech as a tool; Gen Z 2.0 experiences tech as an environment and can't separate online from offline.
- That difference changes optionality, mental health, and social trust among cohorts.
Fafonomics: Chaos As A Financial Strategy
- 'Fafonomics' describes a strategy of chaos: try risky, attention-driven bets because traditional paths feel unreliable.
- Young people use meme coins, meme stocks, and gambling to capture returns from attention rather than fundamentals.