'Girl math': Gen Z women urged to be careful amid TikTok spending splurge

When it comes to TikTok-related spending, there is one demographic that blows the rest out of the water – Gen Z women.

Not only do under-26 women spend more time on the app than their male peers, they are also spending vast quantities of cash, according to experts.

Ellen Briggs, a brands analyst at Morning Consult, told CNBC: “TikTok is a Gen Z women-centric app, and it is setting the tone and the narrative for what is ‘hot’ online.”

As girls and young women spend more time on TikTok, they get ever-more connected to influencers and their “haul” videos, Briggs said.

“The bigger conversation is just how impactful our digital lives are on our real lives. TikTok is driving consumption patterns in a very real way.”

It has led to warnings that Gen Zers might be getting themselves into financial trouble because of the influence of the app.

Tori Dunlap, the founder and CEO of Her First 100K, a money and career platform for women, told The Independent about the recent trend for justifying spending on TikTok with the phrase "girl math".

She said: “It’s obviously a trend that has some seriousness to it. This is what people do in terms of their mindset around certain purchases, but it’s also like everything on the internet –clearly satirical, supposed to be funny and comedic.”

In one viral TikTok, a college student called Marley Brown tried to explain the “girl math” trend to her father, who seemed confused by his daughter’s so-called mental gymnastics.

“If I buy concert tickets for two people, and those people pay me back, the money they pay me back for is free,” she jokingly told her dad.

Since the money for the concert tickets had already left her bank account and was later refunded by her friends, that meant the money they returned to her was “free money”.

However, debt among Gen Zers roughly doubled between March 2021 and the first quarter of 2023, according to LendingTree.

Experts say it is important to remember that influencers showing off their shiny new products may not have much money in the bank as a result.

“When you see signs of wealth, that is not someone who’s wealthy: It’s spent, it’s gone,” added Denver-based financial planner Shaun Williams.

And while social media can encourage people to spend beyond their means, women should be especially careful because they face more hurdles, such as the gender wage gap, said experts.

On average working women take home £574 a month less than men – or £6,888 a year – according to the Equal Pay Day report.

The best thing someone in their 20s can do for themselves is to “stay out of credit card debt,” said Sophia Bera Daigle, founder Gen Y Planning in Austin, Texas.

“It’s so much easier to get started on the other things if you’re not starting in a hole.”

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