Americans get flashbacks in 2008 as tariffs fear a recession

A few weeks ago, Kiki Laf felt increasingly worried about the state of the economy, so she began to think about the previous financial difficulties.

A rough idea of ​​the skills she has learned about growing food in the tough times that followed the economic recession of the past. Faced with similar feelings of uncertainty about the country’s economic future, she began making a video guide to cookbook recipes published during the previous recession, dect, and wartimes.

The 28-year-old told her followers that she is not a professional chef, but she has earned stripes by learning to cook with food stamps instead. From the yellow and black kitchen of Rough outside Chicago, she teaches viewers how to make cheap meals and home alternatives for items like breakfast strudels and donuts. She often reminds people to replace the ingredients with alternatives they already have in their pantry.

“I’ve been watching this joke over and over again, an old poem teaching new poems,” Raff told CNBC. “Everyone is scared, so we need to share knowledge right now, and learning is trying to give people the security to navigate these situations.”

Video of a self-employed consultant quickly found an audience at Tiktok Instagram. Between both platforms, she has gained 350,000 followers and about 21 million viewers on the video last month.

President Donald Trump’s broad and sudden tariffs announced in early April has reinforced fears that the US economy will be in a recession in recent weeks. As Americans, becoming rougher, increasingly worried about the path ahead, they are troubled by the tips and tricks they employed to adopt in dark financial chapters like the 2008 global financial crisis.

Google is forecasting a surge in search volume this month for conditions related to the recession that came to define the late 2000s. Searches for the “global financial crisis” are expected to hit levels not seen since 2010, but inquiries about the Great Recession are expected to be at the highest rate since the start of the symbiotic pandemic.

Tiktok has the millennial and Gen Xers gags step into the role of older siblings, offering flashbacks and advice to young people on how to pinch pennies. Some Zers called on the elders for insight into how the recession feels at this stage.

“This is the first time that millennials have been able to become “experts” in any way, at least on a large scale,” said Scott Sills, a 33-year-old Louisiana marketer. “We are experts in pulling rugs from under us.”

Those who are off advice are heading down the memory lane to the two-end of the toilet end. A cheap vacation to Florida was the norm instead of lush overseas trips. They had a folder for receipts in case a large purchase was sold later. Business casual attire was common in social events as they couldn’t afford multiple styles of clothing.

Pork chops are a classic dinner given their relative affordability, leading one creator to declare that they would “savour” like the Great Recession. They sipped “jungle juice” at a house party, a mix of various cheap liquors and mixers instead of cocktails at the bar.

“We’ve been working hard to get into the world,” said Ma Lakewood, an upstate New York author and professional fundraiser. “Now you can see it coming from ten miles away.”

Certainly, some of the discourse centers around the way inflationary pressures have made these hacks a handful. Some content creators have pointed out that, since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been sitting at $7.25 an hour despite the spike in the cost of living.

Kimberly Cassament recently launched the Tiktok series, which roams viewers with recipes from cookbooks focusing on affordable meals, released in 2009. In addition to sharing price changes, the 33-year-old gives viewers some tips on how to keep costs down.

“Every aspect of life is so expensive, it’s difficult for everyone to survive,” Casamenmo said. “If we can cut the cost of food by $5, that’s a win.”

This type of joint knowledge sharing is common when tightening the economic belt, according to Megan Way, an associate professor at Babson University who studies family and intergenerational economics. Conversations about how to cut costs and how to grow meals were usually between neighbors in the late 2000s, but he said it makes sense to unfold in digital plazas with the rise of social media.

“It’s very human to reach out to others and try to get their experience when things feel uncertain,” Wei said. “It can really make a difference to feel like you’re a little prepared. One of the worst things about the economy is absolute fear.”

Way said Americans would soon look back on the Great Recession for the Guide. However, she said there are important differences between the economic situation and what they are facing today, including the lack of bad debts that caused the crash in the housing market.

Still, she said there is a sense of widespread uncertainty in some aspects today. It relates to economic, geopolitics, or domestic policy priorities such as federal workforce reductions and immigration restrictions. It can rekindle a sense of unpredictability as to what the future, which was most important during the Great Recession, Way said.

It is clear that economic trust among the average Americans is rapidly becoming sour in 2025. The University of Michigan Consumer Sensation Index recorded one of the worst measurements this month for over 70 years.

Its negative economic outlook is increasingly stressful. When Lucas’ Battle made the satirical tiktok about feeling like a divorce during the Great Recession, the 27-year-old’s comment was Buzzed with people talking about his recent split between parents. (Divorce is considered a cultural feature of the financial crisis, but data show rates that actually declined during this period.)

“As we speak, there’s a second round of divorce going on,” Battle said.

This is one of several similarities that social media users have drawn between late augs and today. When a video of the group dancing to Doechii’s hit “Anxiety,” several commenters of X reported that they felt Déjà Vu when Flashmob’s performance was common.

DisneyThe reboot of the animation show “Phineas and Ferb,” ​​which originally premiered in the late 2000s, similarly brought the minds of the times to the top.

“Recession pop” is a phrase that refers to the subgenre of trendy music that fell primarily during the global financial crisis, and has won a second wave in the past year, as Americans compete with inflation and high interest rates.

Now, in 2025, as the chorus of voices projecting the recession grows, pop music has a familiar sound.

In 2008, artists such as Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry appeared regularly on the music charts. Both Cyrus and Gaga have released new songs this year. Perry began his world tour this week.

“Whether it’s a song or something, it’s pretty much allowed to feel better,” said Sills, a Louisiana marketer. “We’re not necessarily ignoring the issues here, but we might find some joy or fun within everything.”