For many high school students, the cost of merely having a social life can be upwards of 50 or 60 dollars a week. And with a lack of affordable options, it’s not uncommon for high schoolers to resort to “rotting” in their homes or rely on endless scrolling for the quick shot of dopamine that substitutes a social life.
Evidently, the era of teenagers joining friends for an afterschool movie or visit to the local mall, roller rink, or soda shoppe is coming to a close, and this may be having a more serious impact on Gen z than one might think.
National data suggests that teenagers today are more connected to their screens than ever before, with this connection often coinciding with changes in social activities. According to a 2024 survey by the Pew research Center, nearly all teens have access to a smartphone, with about 4 in ten teens saying they spend too much time on their phone.
Oftentimes, this behavior isn’t necessarily due to a lack of places to go, but to the fact that these places are not within a teenager-friendly budget. With limited affordable options, many teens say they default to doing nothing at all.
“We just sit in our car and just rot. It’s horrible,” said Chelsea Shady (11).
The cost of activities such as getting coffee, fast food, or other equally simple and seemingly cost-friendly activities can cost up to “40 to 50 bucks, Said Bode Francano (12). “With gas, it’d probably be like 80.”
For some students, this lack of options turns social time into isolation, boredom, or hours spent on their phones rather than meaningful in person interaction.
Many students also see this struggle as a distinction between Gen z and past generations.
“When our parents were teenagers, they had a lot more opportunities to go and do things, and it was just cheaper,” said Jaxon Akin (12).
Even fast food restaurants, where many teenagers now spend time with friends, seeking affordable food options, offer prices that are highly inflated from previous decades. According to the New York Post, “McDonald’s has jacked up its menu prices by more than 100% over the course of the last decade more than three times the rate of US inflation.”
Beyond fast food, other costs and social factors also made teenage life more accessible in the past. Gas was far less expensive, with a gallon costing only around $1.19 in the 1980s, allowing teens to travel to their friends, malls, and local hangout spots with a far more accessible cost. Parents also monitored less closely, without smartphones, as teens were free to spend time outside of the house without check-ins, and public spaces felt safer for young people.
“They didn’t have this parental pressure on them, and they didn’t have any phones or anything,” said Chealsea Shady in regards to the differences in generations.
For Gen Z, rising costs have changed how teenagers socialize. However, some students say connection can still happen in ways that don’t require money.
“I think maybe you have less of like, manufactured fun and more, authentic, real fun, that’s just, between the people, you know? You don’t have to pay to have fun,” said Amy Sun (12).
“Honestly, there’s a lot of other activities that are free, like the beach,” adds Bode Francano (12).
Regardless of the fact that gas and food prices make some outings expensive, teens can still find ways to spend meaningful time together without spending too much money. In a way, social life for Gen Z hasn’t vanished, it has just transformed. When money becomes an issue, it only provides an outlet for teenagers to find creative ways to stay connected and spend meaningful time together.
