Apr 20, 2025 at 5:57 pm
By JJ Staff
A new viral trend is sweeping social media this year: the “recession indicator.” But what is it, exactly? Well, it means a lot of things to a lot of people! The meme amusingly links certain behaviors and pop culture references/resurgences to signs of an impending economic downturn. From the return of certain trends, like flash mobs and ice bucket challenges, to nostalgic music moments, like Lady Gaga‘s recent return to pop with Mayhem, reminiscent of her 2008 debut, Kesha and Ed Sheeran coming back into popularity (which he himself has acknowledged!), users online have been making tongue-in-cheek observations about how certain cultural shifts might signal trouble for the economy. Keep reading to find out more… Is there any truth to a “recession indicator” in pop culture? Economists and analysts look at various data points to determine whether a recession is happening, including “consumer confidence,” or how individual consumers feel about the economy and the direction it’s heading, via KQED. Business research group Conference Board found that short-term expectations about the economy among Americans last month fell to their lowest levels in 12 years, with consumer confidence falling across all income brackets except for households earning more than $125,000 a year, per the report. See some of the many things people are dubbing a “recession indicator”… lady gaga IS a recession indicator plan accordingly I know we’ve been talking about recession indicators a lot here recently but this one is really really bad https://t.co/eStJ6xzOvv — machine yearning engineer (@confusionm8trix) April 7, 2025 why does ed sheeran himself know about the „finding ed sheeran hot is an indicator for recession“ joke, i‘m crashing out 😭 pic.twitter.com/niyqMFiwa3 — alice (@fairytalelights) March 30, 2025 American Girl bringing back Kit is a recession indicator https://t.co/qCeUUdbJDE pic.twitter.com/cQQwyvZIDb — Danielle (@DLVermeer) April 19, 2025 just saw someone genuinely do the ice bucket challenge on my feed…? is this a recession indicator — ian (@itsianraymond) April 19, 2025 i know “recession indicator” gets overused but i just opened hulu and it told me the #1 most watched show today was american idol — zou bisou bisou where are you (@lilgrapefruits) April 2, 2025 Opening a bar called Recession Indicator where all drinks are paid through Klarna but all the music is from the 2010s — Natalie Sportelli (@N_Sportelli) April 15, 2025 Recession indicator? #Survivor #SurvivorAUvsTheWorld pic.twitter.com/HevcSHHX6o — logan (@neologanism) April 16, 2025 bon iver putting out an incredible album is absolutely a recession indicator — j4k3 (@lordsteele) April 11, 2025 Pop stars being petty again…recession indicator! https://t.co/jbBFt0r4kH — Michael. (@yosoymichael) April 15, 2025
Photos: Getty
Posted to: Ed Sheeran, Internet, Kesha, Lady Gaga, Memes, Twitter, Viral
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