Pop Songs And Press-On Nails: Social Media Clocks Subtle Recession Indicators

The posts are jokes, but the current economic uncertainty is all too real, an economist told HuffPost.

When Lady Gaga released her latest album, “Mayhem,” it was immediately clear it was pop gold. Fans were thrilled, but more than one pointed out an unsettling bit of context: Lady Gaga hasn’t released this kind of music since the United States was in the middle of a housing crisis.

For weeks, social media users have been declaring different recession indicators that have nothing to do with actual economic measures but just feel right. There’s Lady Gaga writing “weird pop songs again,” a skin care brand selling eggs, and actor Adam Driver starring on a TV show again. The criteria for a recession indicator, according to people on social media, is rather broad: It can be a sign Americans are pinching pennies, a resurgence of a ’00s trend, or simply something that the poster dislikes. Ed Sheeran joined the discourse, responding to a TikTok comment declaring that the British singer-songwriter was “kinda cool now.”

“A recession indicator,” Sheeran responded.

Kelly Deschaine, a 24-year-old who lives in Baltimore, listened to Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” the morning it came out and immediately wrote on X: “i’ve heard enough lady gaga’s newest album is the biggest recession indicator we could possibly receive.”

″[The album] felt very nostalgic,” Deschaine told HuffPost. “I was like, Oh, the crazy Lady Gaga pop is back. I mean, it’s kind of been back, but, like, really back.”