NEWSJenna Bush Hager Warns Gen Z Is Losing 'Life Experiences' by Staying in on Friday Nights: 'You're Missing Out on Sweating Next to Some Stranger'
Jenna Bush Hager scolded Gen Z for not going out enough.
Oct. 23 2026, Published 3:57 p.m. ET
Jenna Bush Hager had stern advice for those younger than her.
The anchor was appalled to learn on the October 23 episode of TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle that young adults in their 20s and 30s are choosing to stay in on Friday nights
Bush Hager and her co-host, Sheinelle Jones, reacted to a survey showing that 73 percent of Gen Z participants found it normal to stay home at the end of a long work week.
Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones were shocked that Gen Z stays in on Fridays.
Both women, who are each mothers to three children, admitted to being "wiped" by the end of the week themselves but encouraged young people to embrace their open schedules and lack of responsibilities.
"When you're our age, by the time Friday rolls around I'm like exhausted and thrilled to like cozy in with the kids," Bush Hager shared. "But we're talking Gen Z."
Jones and Bush Hager theorized that young people were spending time on their phones or watching television, rather than dancing in clubs or socializing at bars.
"You're missing out on sweating next to some stranger," Bush Hager exclaimed.
'Let's Party'
Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones encouraged viewers to call up their friends.
"In your 20s, it's like Friday night, let's party," Jones added.
Bush Hager, 44, and Jones, 48, emphasized that they both practiced what they preached when they were free of responsibility some 20-odd years ago.
"In my 20s I was a teacher, so when Friday would hit? Friday at 3:30 pm, I would be like, 'Yes!'" Bush Hager reminisced. "Because then I'd get to, like, go out."
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Jenna Bush Hager told young people to 'get out there.'
Bush Hager even went as far as to encourage her viewers in a younger age bracket to "take a little time" to leave the house on Friday night and do anything.
"Can we take a little time if you're young, if you're, I would say starting in high school, even 8th grade, like get out there," she gushed.
"And it doesn't have to be some crazy rager," Jones agreed.
The women appeared wrapped up in nostalgia as they pleaded with audience members to "call your girls" and go see a movie or go to a party or even just to dinner.
'That's Where Life Experiences Happen'
Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones admitted to being retired party girls.
"Those are the spaces where life experience happens," Jones pointed out, with Bush Hager adding, "You learn how to talk to humans, get off your phone. Listen to the songs of yesteryear and fall in love."
Despite their emotional plea for people to make plans, Bush Hager and Jones admitted they certainly wouldn't be going anywhere on their Friday night.
"But do as we say, not as we do," Jones laughed, with Bush Hager noting, "But we did for years."
