The Reddit-GameStop saga is part of a Gen Z movement to bully the rich

In an era of unrest and activism, members of Generation Z — roughly defined as those born in the mid-'90s or later — are using social media to push back against corporate elites they see as devouring the poor and working class.

A fresh example is the “Eat the Rich” campaign where TikTok users are encouraging friends to unfollow popular celebrities and big companies to hurt their profits.

Kalle Michelle, 20, said this movement is very necessary.

“The Eat the Rich movement is probably one of my top five movements. No one should be making millions every day while homeless rates are growing, and more people are on the streets, including children,” the Smyrna woman said. “Many of these wealthy people also find loopholes around taxes.”

David Haynes, 21, of Dover, has lent his support to Reddit activists who pumped up GameStop’s stock in an effort to defeat hedge fund managers.

A number of young people rebuked those managers, Haynes said, because they represent the ruling class.

“The rich are getting richer. The billionaires have profited billions more during the pandemic, while average Americans are more and more unemployed, losing their jobs and remaining in poverty," the University of Delaware junior said.

Stocks for GameStop skyrocketed last month after a group on Reddit organized and hyped up out-of-favor companies, including struggling retailer GameStop and theater chain AMC Entertainment.

Things got messy when trading app Robinhood began restricting its users from buying shares of GameStop, AMC and several other companies on Jan. 28, following sudden and sharp increases in the stocks' value. GameStop has been sinking since, with shares dropping as low as $53.

Elias Daniel, 17, of Magnolia, has been cheering for the Reddit army because he’s tired of seeing the elites gobble up the underclass.

He pointed to allegations that Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla aided and abetted the mistreatment and death of children working in cobalt mines from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“This is an issue we can all agree on, the people above make their living off the backs of people below, and the vile exploitation of these hedge fund bastards has gone on too long and has caused too many economic crises,” the Polytech High School senior said.

Haynes – who’s triple majoring in English, Spanish and political science – is frustrated stock market classes aren’t typically pushed in public education.

“They don’t teach you about stocks in high school or public schools. You don't learn about that sort of stuff and that's intentional,” he said. “[The elites] know the value drops if everyone gets in on it, and they'd like to keep their close-knit community. These huge hedge funds take advantage of all the little people and small businesses."

'Bullying' the rich

Caesar Rodney High School junior Mike Adams lost over $300 investing in GameStop (GME). The junior’s main goal, he said, wasn't to make money so much as to frustrate the rich.

“It makes the suits on Wall Street worried. They all shorted the stock and by investing in GME; I am contributing to bullying the people that have rigged the market for decades,” said Adams, 16, of Magnolia, adding he’s going to keep the stock for as long as possible.

"If it goes down, it’s most likely the suits trying to scare normal people into selling. But buying or holding doesn’t let go of our leverage,” the teen said.

'Double standard'

Daniel has become more curious about the stock market since GameStop began trending. Some of his peers, including Caesar Rodney junior Adams, have helped him understand why the game retailer has been buzzing.

He said it’s unfair Robinhood restricted working-class Americans from buying as many shares as they wanted.

“It shows the gross double standard in our economy, that those in power can do essentially anything they want without consequence, while anyone beneath them aren't allowed to do so much as turn the tables on them by manipulating the economy in just the same way,” the Magnolia resident said.

Bruce Weber, Lerner College of Business & Economics and professor of business administration at the University of Delaware, said it's rare for brokerage firms to restrict investors who have sufficient funds.

“It's a little bit of paternalism by Robinhood to come in and say, 'We know better than you, and we don't think you should buy any more shares of GameStop," Weber said. "Once you're an adult and you've got the funds to open a brokerage account, [you should be] subject to all the normal risk controls.”

Robinhood has said it wasn't trying to restrict people from buying stocks, but that it didn't have enough funds to cover the transactions. 

What's next?

Michelle thinks the Reddit army created a blueprint that future groups might use to draw attention to other activism causes such as climate change or the #MeToo movement.

“It is definitely a good idea,'' she said of the orchestrated social media campaigns. 

"We got managers and workers on Wall Street to be exposed for what they're really doing,” the Smyrna woman said. “Many of them were definitely uncomfortable and it’s what we need. If activists keep doing this, this will cause Wall Street to possibly change some rules.”

Weber, however, isn’t sure if other activists will be able to pump up another struggling company like what the world saw with GameStop.

“The stock market provides a consensus of the value of a company and people can express their opinion by buying or selling,” he said. “Even a large crowd of regular people, however, cannot suspend the economic fundamentals and turn a $500 million company into a $25 billion company without some phenomenal invention or business breakthrough.”

UD junior Haynes is confident we’ll see more groups weaponizing Wall Street for their own needs.

“More than ever, especially over the past year with the rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, there's been a heightened awareness from the American people about racism and oppression,” the 21-year-old said.

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Haynes said what the Reddit army accomplished on Wall Street shouldn't be undermined.

“You can really tell when what you're doing is making a difference when the oppressors, the people in power, are getting angry and they start putting more and more obstacles in front of you,” he said.

“In this case, they [restricted the] sharing of the stock. And they — rightfully so — got a lot of backlash."

USA Today's Nathan Bomey and Jessica Menton contributed to this report.