They may have wealth but they cannot run a business.
Experts claim that Gen Z suffers from a pattern of financial insecurity known as money dysmorphia.
Financial therapist Amanda Klayman defines the illness as “a negative and unrealistic perception of one’s financial health and position.”
Furthermore, it is a “pervasive sense of anxiety, wariness, like anxiety about money.” she told Business Insider..
Young people — who coined the phrase “exaggerated budgeting” to brag openly about their frugality — may indeed be getting out of hand, but experts say people who are prone to anxiety “find money an easy thing to worry about.”
This theory is emerging because a full half of Gen Zers say they rely on financial help from their parents to save for things like marriage, starting a family or buying a home.
Kleiman argues there was a “different environmental context” for older generations to do this, long before the era of cyberpayments and social media pressures.
She says it’s common to take just a quick scroll through Instagram and assume that everyone around you is living a lavish lifestyle.
“We don’t know all the details of an individual’s financial situation or background,” she said.
“We’re creating patterns that tell a story based on the incomplete information we collect.”
Plus, young people have a lot of financial unknowns to deal with, as opposed to older people who have already experienced financial problems.
“Later in life, you have access to a little bit more information,” Klayman says.
Meanwhile, old ways of getting by in retirement, such as relying on pensions, are now becoming outdated, as the rising cost of living and inflation are digging the hole deeper.
Klayman said the pressure this puts on young people to save excessively could be “an attempt to feel better and calm the levels of anxiety we’re all experiencing.”
