Kidults!

In this episode of "More Than You Think!" we discuss how Gen Z is bringing Toys R Us back into business, and what that means for the economy and the future of society.

Sound effects used:

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/driken5482-45721595/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=236786">Driken Stan</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=236786">Pixabay</a>

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/freesound_community-46691455/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=105105">freesound_community</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=105105">Pixabay</a>

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/apebble-45160680/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=228244">aPebble</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=228244">Pixabay</a>

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/apebble-45160680/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=228244">aPebble</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=228244">Pixabay</a>

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/u_byub5wd934-32145216/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=129698">u_byub5wd934</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=129698">Pixabay</a>

Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/benkirb-8692052/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=268907">Benjamin Adams</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=268907">Pixabay</a>

More Than You Think! is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

Creators and Guests

Host

Valerie Gorham

WKNC Podcast Content Creator

What is More Than You Think!?

“More Than You Think!" is a podcast that explores the deeper layers of pop culture, uncovering how today’s trends connect with the political, economic, and social climate shaping our world. Each episode dives into the ways music, media, and cultural moments reflect — and influence — the society we live in. "More Than You Think!" is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

00:24
Valerie Gorham
Welcome back to another episode of More than you think. I am your host, Valerie, the queen of podcasts of the whole world. Just kidding. And this is a podcast about how political, economic and social events interact with pop culture. Today we are going to be talking about how Toys R Us is back on the rise. As I said I would talk about last week, Toys R Us is about the rise after a rise in adults buying children's toys. And who are the new adults that are causing this rise? Well, none other than your favorite generation, Gen Z, that I am also part of. And yeah, this Christmas, I'm asking for Legos. Oh, is that too woke? Is that too woke? Is the woke left trying to cancel Christmas? Let's talk about it.

01:19
Valerie Gorham
So let's talk about this whole rise in a adults buying children's toys and how the toy industry is coming back, specifically Toys R Us. So recent retail data shows that adults now account for a staggering 55% of toy industry receipts. And if you watch a lot of influencers or a lot of content creators on TikTok or YouTube, you might see a lot of like grown awe people buying like the, or the blind boxes or like a real rise in like Pokemon card on unboxing. It's not opening. Like, Joe Jonas is very big on opening Pokemon card packs, which I opened a few recently. I got like two. And it was like the greatest day of my life. And I love it. And I think that everyone should keep doing that. I think that everyone should keep doing that. Yes, let's keep doing that.

02:25
Valerie Gorham
Now I've talked a bunch, annoying amount about how Gen Z cannot afford houses, but I have to bring it up again because we are a generation that is experiencing the highest cost of ever, of all time, of everything. Everything is more expensive than it has ever been in the history of existence, which is not fun. And so we have to bring a little fun into our lives. So it's actually a little bit of a psychological thing. What is something that could bring an immediate sense of joy? What is something that could bring back old memories? Toys, Toys, and specifically childhood favorites, like, for example, Pokemon or something like that. Nintendo Switch. Like a lot of these streamers that you see online now are not 16, 15, they're not children.

03:24
Valerie Gorham
These people are usually early 20s to early 30s, which is also on the cusp of like millennials. But millennials are also like, the younger millennials are also in on this sort of thing. And that's something that I actually wanted to talk about with the pop culture side of this podcast, which is The Big Bang Theory. So that was like a very millennial type show because it was more Gen X, I guess, but millennials were the ones watching it. And it frames this sort of nerdy, dorky, losery friend group as these guys who love Star Trek and like comic books and they like those kitty things and they also lead these super successful work lives and careers. Obviously we all know the character of Sheldon Cooper. He's like a genius. He, he's just really weird and awkward.

04:28
Valerie Gorham
But he ends up, I think at the end of the show or somewhere along the show. I haven't actually watched it, but everybody knows how that show is. You see all the clips on TikTok, you know those like videos on TikTok, that's like just a clip from a show. There's like a line going down the middle of the frame. Yeah, everybody knows the Big Bang Theory. And basically Sheldon at some point I think wins Nobel Prize, which is like really an honor. And meanwhile he also, and his friends, they enjoyed that comic book roleplay, dorky nerdy crap, geek stuff. And so I feel like that being a millennial show kind of helped shift the attitude towards adults being into their same hobbies from childhood or their same interests from childhood. Action figures, comic books, toys, cartoons.

05:25
Valerie Gorham
Because now you see Gen Z and it's not weird for anyone to be interested in Pokemon, hello Kitty, SpongeBob, Disney. You've got your Disney adults, you've got your streamers, video games. People watch the streamers, they like Roblox, we're 20, whatever and we're playing Roblox and we're playing with our friends and it's like, it's fun. And these are things that bring an immediate sense of joy because everything else is really expensive. It's expensive to invest in like a long term thing, like a house. People in our 20s, we aren't getting married anymore. I mean actually, I mean they are. But again, like I've already talked about this. The rate is rapidly decreasing of marriage in the 20s or children in your 20s. And so there's more time in that way to be a kid.

06:24
Valerie Gorham
And obviously there's the work life balance issue that Gen Z is trying to shift away from like our lives revolving around our jobs. The issue there being that if you're not working 24 7, then you can't make as much money. But if you're not making as much money, you can at least buy some toys and have fun that way. So that's sort of the first thing that I want to Talk about is just like the affordableness of it all. Now, does that mean that toys are inexpensive? No. A LEGO set usually is no less than $50, but $50 is a lot less than a down payment on a house or having to save up for a house. You know, it's just quicker. It's instant gratification. And the thing about instant gratification is a lot of people say you shouldn't do that, right?

07:20
Valerie Gorham
But when you have no other choice because you can't even afford a house either way, well, then the instant gratification is kind of the best option. And you don't really have to worry about whether or not it was a bad decision because it was your only decision. Yay. And then you also got the limited edition Dubai Chocolate Erewhon smoothie. Hailey Bieber, Brat Summer Sabrina Carpenter, man's best friend Labu Boo from the Labubu store. Like, that's amazing. There's really this big cultural shift in Gen Z and younger millennials of the whole cringe thing. To be cringe is to be free is the new saying. And it's been actually around for a few years now. But to be cringe is to be free. And yeah, you know what? A few years ago, or was it last year?

08:20
Valerie Gorham
I think it was maybe a year and a half ago or so, my friend got me a shirt with the bacon hair girl from Roblox on it. And I wear it all the time. I wear it out on the street, I wear it to school, I wear it to the store. Like I wear it to the gym. And I don't care. Can I say that? Can I say that on the radio? Or is the woke left gonna cancel me? I wear my Roblox shirt out and proud. I am a proud Roblox player. I am a proud Minecraft player. I have been since I was a child. And I have not given up on these pastimes because they bring me joy.

09:07
Valerie Gorham
And when I have nothing else to do, I'm on my phone with my cousins or with my friends and we are playing Roblox and who cares? Like, at the end of the day, does that make me a worse person than someone who doesn't play Roblox? Like, that's the logic, I think that a lot of us in Gen Z are realizing is like, if I like to play Roblox, for example, if I like to build Legos, if I like to open blind boxes, if I like to collect action figures or posters or watch Marvel movies the day they come out and I spend my money on this and another person my age is spending money on a trip to, I don't know, a different country. If we're getting the same amount of joy out of it, then how is one activity better than the other?

10:00
Valerie Gorham
Or superior or socially more acceptable? It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. But the thing is, people say, oh, well, that's a children's activity. But no, like, happiness is for everyone. Like, I don't understand why, like, older people try to bring younger people down in that way. And saying, like, oh, well, that activity that you do or that thing that you like is really childish. Maybe they don't understand that we know how to separate our personal life from our work life. And I think that's something that is really important. Here is the separation, as I said before, of like the work life balance. You go home and you're a completely different person than you are at work or in your professional life or whatever. You don't have to like hello Kitty at your job.

10:51
Valerie Gorham
Although I have, you know, heard, you know, of some really awesome companies that allow people to bring more of their personality into their job and they embrace that and they think that it's what makes them better at their job. And that's something that's also shifting in company culture now. But if you have a job where that's not acceptable, something more professional, like extremely professional, then you can go to your job, do your job, come home and play your Fortnite, and it's not a big deal because 26 year olds these days don't have children. So, like, who cares? Oh, feed your kids. What kids? We don't have any. Dang. And personally, I'm actually excited to see this shift continue. And a lot of people might be thinking, oh, you want every single adult in the world to.

11:44
Valerie Gorham
To be focused on their, like, little stupid little kid hobbies? No. But I do think that this shift is indicative of a generation that cares about creativity and happiness and innovation. Because a lot of kids toys and just overall, like, theme of being a child is, when I grow up, I want to do this. I can do this. I still have my whole life ahead of me. And as a generation is so focused and so locked in on like, mental health and the importance of that, we see the value in goofiness and silliness because despite how unproductive other generations find it all to be, there is value in slacking off and goofing off and just doing random stuff and trying new crap and enjoying things that make you happy? Because that's when you lock in or hone in on that childlike joy and creativity.

12:48
Valerie Gorham
And that's where the greatest innovation comes from, like, believing that you are still capable and that everything is still possible. That is when people make amazing things happen. And that's not even me, like, trying to cope or, like, trying to make excuses. That's just how it is. Children are the ones who are dreaming, who are imagining, and. And who are still believing that the future. That their futures can be whatever they want. And if we keep those beliefs as adults, then the possibilities continue to be endless, even into adulthood, which is murky and sad for most people. It's always, you know, when you get older, life isn't fun anymore when you get older, when you're. When you have a job, when you have to pay for everything sucks, you know? But not if you maintain that kitty joy.

13:45
Valerie Gorham
And the thing is, something that I really wanted touch on real quick was when I was in high school. I started noticing this way back in high school when a bunch of the kids in my grade pulled up on the first day of school with. With backpacks that had, like, cartoons on them, like. Like Paw Patrol and SpongeBob and Dora and stuff like that. And I just thought, that's hilarious because those. Those backpacks still serve the same exact function. You know, it's not like it's taking away the functionality. It might be a little distracting for those who don't know how to lock in. But that ended up being a normal year. Everyone was fine. Like, this group of kids decided to do that thing together. The teachers loved it, the students loved it. Everyone was happier. It was amazing.

14:35
Valerie Gorham
And so that's sort of what Gen Z's on right now. And, of course, thank you to the younger millennials. You know, Gen Z talks about you guys like, you're cringe, and, yeah, you are a little cringe. You are. And that's okay. But this, y' all cooked on this, starting that, like, movement towards allowing ourselves to do things that just make us happy, no matter how stupid we may look. And that's great. By the way, if you hear a lisp, I'm trying not to do it now, but if you hear a lisp in this episode, I'm sorry. I have been developing a lisp, and I don't know how to stop it. It's something that just kind of happens. I've been noticing it now for a few years, and I. I think. I think I just have to accept my fate at this point.

15:22
Valerie Gorham
That it's kind of just there. I don't know. I also need to get my wisdom teeth removed and I have been putting that off for like five years. So I think that might be affecting. Oh look, the sun came out. It was raining all morning. Okay, so that's the episode for today. Go buy toys. By the way, last time I went to Target, toy section empty. Must have been a bunch of 25 year olds freakin buying up the freaking toys at Target. But yeah, go buy your toys, go to Barnes and Noble and try not to poop challenge at Barnes and Noble. Like Barnes and Noble try not to poop challenge. Try try not to poop your pants challenge. And then like go to the Lego section at Barnes and Noble and then look at the prices and be like crap.

16:07
Valerie Gorham
And then like go buy it online for cheaper. Yes. Okay, everyone, have a wonderful day. I will. Or you will hear me next time on More than you think. Thank you for listening. Love you. Bye.
Transcribed by https://fireflies.ai/
pod 21 - 10:12:26, 9.53�PM.mp3
Meeting created at: 12th Oct, 2026 - 9:57 PM