Bruno Pugh
Gen Z has grown up scrolling, swiping, and sharing—so it’s no surprise a few half-truths slipped through the feed. Some of these myths sound convincing until you pause and dig deeper. Curious which beliefs don’t hold up under the facts? Let’s bust a few bubbles together.
Owning A Home Is Impossible
Scroll through TikTok and you’ll hear Gen Z say buying a house is a lost cause. Not quite. Redfin data shows about 26% already own, and that number hasn’t slipped in years. Some are even closing deals younger than Millennials or Gen X did back then.
College Degrees Don’t Matter Anymore
Think a degree no longer matters? The evidence says otherwise. Most Fortune 500 CEOs still hold bachelor’s degrees. Higher education also links directly to stronger lifetime earnings and lower unemployment rates—advantages that alternative credentials haven’t matched. That’s a reality worth keeping in mind.
Boomers Had It Easy Financially
It’s easy to assume boomers simply lucked into wealth. The truth is more complicated. In 1991, most property was held by the Silent Generation, not the Boomers. Boomers built equity by buying when housing costs were better aligned with incomes, eventually amassing nearly half of today’s real estate assets.
Side Hustles Guarantee Wealth
You’ve probably heard “side hustle” tossed around in recent years. The term gained popularity in the 2010s, though the idea is old. In reality, most Americans only bring in $200–$500 monthly from such efforts, with only select fields, like freelance writing, that can become full-scale businesses.
Office Jobs Are Obsolete
Despite all the talk about remote work, most U.S. employees still spend at least part of the week in a physical workplace. Hybrid arrangements are increasingly common, while industries such as healthcare and education require a physical presence. And open-plan offices, popularized in the 2000s, still continue sparking debate about their effectiveness.
Marriage Is A Dying Institution
Traditional marriage patterns are shifting, not disappearing. Since the 1970s, marriage rates have decreased as cohabitation rises. However, married couples still dominated the 2025 housing market at 62%, according to the National Association of Realtors. Plus, most Americans eventually marry, just later than before.
Cash Will Soon Be Worthless
The U.S. hasn’t abandoned cash. Federal Reserve data shows 14% of consumer payments still use it, making cash the nation’s third most common payment method. Small businesses rely especially on physical currency. Each year, the Treasury prints billions, and unlike Sweden, American consumers maintain strong cash usage.
Landlines Never Existed In Normal Homes
Some Gen Zers assume landlines never played a role in everyday life. In reality, telephones became common after the first exchange was launched in 1878. By the 1920s, rotary phones were standard fixtures, and by the 1970s, nearly every home had one. Today, fewer than a quarter of U.S. adults still use them.
Millennials And Gen X Are Basically The Same
The experiences of Gen X and Millennials aren’t interchangeable. Gen X entered adulthood as the 1990s technology wave surged, while Millennials grew up with the internet already woven into daily life. Now, Gen X balances caregiving for parents and children, as Millennials confront heightened housing hurdles extending into 2025.
You Can Always Trust The Algorithm
Long before Al-Khwarizmi gave algorithms their name, ancient civilizations built systematic methods to solve problems. However, trust remains elusive. People often resist algorithmic advice, even when accurate. Social media further complicates things, as engagement-driven algorithms fuel misinformation, and biased data continues producing harmful, discriminatory outcomes.