- China’s Gen Z is broke, and they have the receipts to prove it.
- Hundreds of 26-year-olds took to social media to share screenshots of their bank accounts.
- Some saved less than $1, others crossed the $1,000 mark. But something they all have in common is: They’re angry.
The Chinese dream of being collectively prosperous — and living lives with precocious children, luxe cars, and cozy homes — is dead, and Gen Z has the receipts to show for it.
To date, more than 300 million Chinese people have viewed a forum thread titled “My real savings at 26” on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. Insider saw hundreds of posts in which people shared screenshots of their bank statements, claiming to be 26 and flat broke.
At press time, more than 12,000 people had posted on the viral Weibo forum, which is akin to a subreddit.
One Weibo user in the southwestern Sichuan province confessed to having $0.14 in savings.
Another Weibo user in Anhui, eastern China, said they had $21.29 in their bank account — and that was the paycheck they had just received for a day’s work.
“My savings at 26. What a joke,” one Weibo user in Guangdong wrote, posting on Weibo a record of some $1,890 in savings.
“I’m 26 this year too. Savings? What savings?” a Weibo user in Jiangsu wrote, showing a screenshot of $67 in savings in their bank account. “Doesn’t everyone just live paycheck to paycheck and spend their entire salary?”
By Cheryl Teh
