MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Both living in the Philippines in 2025: a single, child-free 49-year-old male who’s avidly into gaming and comics, and his 27-years-young cousin who has been in a serious relationship since college and plans to get married within the year. Generation Blur, thy time has come.
Dentsu Creative’s Global Trends 2025 Report Fragment Forward chronicles this blurring of values and attitudes across age groups as a key behavioral shift. To demonstrate, intergenerational living is undergoing a global transformation.
In the West, intergenerational living is on the rise.
Interestingly, the Philippines was singled out in the global report for demonstrating the opposite trend: more and more young adults are starting to “carve out their identity beyond the family unit.”
Representing the Philippines on Dentsu Creative’s global Strategy team, Melissa Torre, Executive Strategy Director and Gen X-er and Sofia Nagrampa, Jr. Brand Strategist and resident Gen Z-er share their local intergenerational takes on this trend and provide insights on how this impacts brands and businesses.
X Said: Individualism, Pinoy Style“Sino ba’ng nagsabing ‘pag breadwinner ka, dapat isa ka lang?,” Vice Ganda’s character wails in the recent movie Breadwinner.
Filipino family culture has long been built on an intergenerational model, perpetuating the long-suffering breadwinner character and giving rise to a lasting tension that has come up in many a young adult FGD: “Mahal ko ang pamilya, pero ano naman ang para sa akin?”
Perhaps things are about to take an interesting turn. Roki Ferrer, Dentsu Philippines’ Head of Data, shares, “Dentsu’s Consumer Connection System shows that young adults aged 22-35 over-indexed compared to other generations on ‘plan to buy a house’ and ‘plan to move out of their parents’ house’ within the next six months.”
Crystal ball time: how will this emerging independence impact our traditionally collective culture?
“Anak as investment” mentality: thrive or decline? Torre shares, ”The numbers don’t lie. Euromonitor forecasts that in 2028, the average number of children in a Filipino household will be… 1.3. A huge change from what I saw growing up when most families had 3-5 kids.”
Current signs indeed seem to validate this: the Philippines posts the highest rate of singles in SE Asia at 49%. The concept of SINKs / DINKs are gaining traction and appeal among several Gen Z FGDs.
As the child-free lifestyle emerges, the current crop of older millennials and Gen X-ers are making plans for a child-free retirement—not with dread, but with anticipation. Some are planning a joint living arrangement with long-time barkadas, some are looking forward to travel.
There is an emerging demand for an evolved form of retirement communities— more like a freer version of dorm living. Will we soon see our version of Taco Bell’s US pop-up community “The Cantinas,” billed as a place for “active living for the old at heart”? Fight you for the karaoke machines!
Rewrite the tita / tito trope. Torre further reports, ”In the Generations vs. COVID study that Dentsu Creative developed with our research partner QRIOUS , Gen X was said to be in ‘The Age of Reinvention. They… or should I say we… are upskilling, learning new tech and getting second degrees and online certifications.”
Whether younger early nesters, DINK / SINK early adopters, with or without kids…. Filipino Gen X-ers and elder millennials in their late 30’s to 50’s are flipping the script. Many recalibrate and pursue a second act: a career or business they’ve always been interested in or a pipe dream put on hold. With these changes often come a new set of friends.
Interest-based, non-familial friendships across generations. “At a recent meeting of my Book Club, we welcomed a new member. Turns out I had met him before… as a high school student from when I tried on being a teacher!,” Torre narrates.
As family living trends evolve, the concept of “barkada” changes too: from peer groups to people who are interested in the same pursuits. Tech is accelerating the trend. Platforms like MeetUp are bringing together people based on their interests, not their peer groups and ages. Oh the app TimeLeft, a new and emerging presence in the Manila scene, algorithms similar to those used on dating apps are used to meet potential friends.
Impact on brands and marketing:
Families redefined, grocery baskets redesigned. The mom has traditionally been the grocery gatekeeper for the Filipino household. With more young adults moving out and more types of households emerging, will we see products, services and solutions that cater to untapped consumer segments? Imagine how food brands can cater to cooking for one. Or how cleaning products can talk to a single male in his mid-30s. How will that evolve these categories?
Rise of the mid-life segment. With evolving behaviors in life stages, will we see new brands and products that cater to the evolving mid-life Filipino? Dentsu Creative US launched a new campaign and online space for women over 50 for the TV shopping channel QVC. What will the Filipino market design for this segment? For example, will financial planning brands evolve their offerings as retirement plans change? Will we see pharmaceutical companies develop more targeted offerings beyond vitamins for mid-life health needs? Will we see beauty brands empowering women beyond just physical beauty, in the same way
Interest-based rather than life-stage-based marketing. As we see the emergence of segments based on interests, will our definition of target market evolve? Perhaps we will see sports and athletic apparel brands investing more in partnerships with run communities like Afterparty Run Club and 5am Gang Run Club. Pet owner groups and communities abound in Metro Manila and other urban areas like Cebu City and Davao City. Will we see the plethora of supporting brands increase further as the petcare community grows? Will the pet food category develop more brands, especially in the affordable segment? Will we see more petcare services like the aggregator Petbacker, which offers pet sitting and transport providers?
Z Said: A Generation Moves On & Out
As Gen Z enters the workforce and gains more independence, we also see their influence in the emerging trends and lifestyles we see today. Moving on from the established “flowchart” of how we live our lives of graduating → finding a job → moving out when you get married, we see a shift towards these younger generations moving out of their parents’ homes much earlier to set out on their own.
On social media, people share their experiences of “solo living”. Featuring ASMRs, renter-friendly DIY tutorials, and vlogs of a quiet and independent life, these “living alone diaries” romanticize people’s day-to-day routines, their budgeting, and how this might differ from living with their family.
While these trends have glamorized the solace and independence that comes from solo living, it’s also worth noting how the motivations behind this new form of pagbubukod (i.e.: the act of moving out of your childhood home) varies.
“Like we’ve seen with the solo living trend, for some, the desire to live alone is driven by the need to run towards establishing your independence. This group of people want to remove the safety net of parental support. But for others, the desire to move out is driven by the need to run away from something,” Sofia Nagrampa says.
As groups like r/PanganaySupportGroup have shown us, there are many that seek to escape their role as the family’s breadwinner. Whereas in the past, panganays would keep their heads down and silently accept what was asked of them (“Mahal ko kasi ang pamilya ko,” they would justify), we now see them begin to resist this cultural norm. In the community, users would talk about their desire to flee their situation and would seek support in how to overcome these trying times. The response of those who have escaped their situation was resoundingly clear: mag-bukod ka na. Set out on your own.
Last year, conversations on this topic reached an all-time high when an Olympic gold medalist stopped financially supporting a parent. It was a choice he made in line with refusing to tolerate their toxic behavior. This sparked online conversations, with netizens and celebrities alike scrambling to answer the question: “what do we owe our parents?” The debate raged as people attempted to draw the lines between duty and self-neglect, love and dependence, and heroism and martyrdom. Celebrities like Dani Barreto expressed that parents should not expect their children to be their retirement plan, while others took to social media to talk about utang ng loob – giving back to those that supported you – as part of the child’s duty.
Beyond this, the movement towards solo living may be accelerated by other factors. People’s openness to mental health led to conversations on whether they should move out or stay and save. On the other hand, the ever-worsening traffic in Metro Manila prompts more teenagers and young adults to move into dormitories. The trend extends even to those from Metro Manila, not just those hailing from the provinces. In response, real estate developments near school campuses have increased. The Arton by Rockwell in Katipunan, Vista Residences, and CityLofts are some of the new establishments we’ve been seeing.
Those who have had a taste of independence at this early age sought to hold onto it after graduating. ”My friends and I miss the independence that came with being in college. Living close to one another made it easier to hang out when we wanted, and it was fun learning how to do things our own way. When we had to move back home after, a lot of us craved that feeling again and looked forward to saving up so we could have some semblance of that life again,” Sofia Nagrampa says.
What role can brands and businesses play?
Community balanced with independence. In the West, brands like D.R. Horton are beginning to explore multi-generational design home concepts. In the same vein, IKEA has also published intergenerational living guides as part of their brand content.
In contrast, we observe a greater number of young adults aspiring to live on their own in the Philippines. Can brands potentially explore new living solutions for them? New forms of living – from shared spaces, lofts, and condos converging around school campuses – are on the rise. As these younger generations crave independence and having their own space, can brands and businesses also create community amidst these spaces?
“While it’s natural for individuals at our life stage to crave independence, community and meaningful connections are also really important to us. I think we’ll be gravitating towards brands and businesses that can help us achieve that balance. Communal, but not suffocating. Independent, but not isolating,” Sofia adds.
A brand na may forever. The Philippines has some of the biggest hoarders in Asia. With our maximalist culture plus Gen Z’s inclination towards sustainability and nostalgia, brands and businesses that can be with them for life will be sure to gain their affinity. Can home solutions adapt to the dweller across their living spaces – from the family home, to the shared dorm, to their own small space?
Beyond furniture or new home financing solutions, perhaps brands will also start to explore how they can be with people on a forever basis—from empowering their independence to cultivating community among a new breed of solo dwellers.
Looking Forward
The trends mentioned here are emerging shifts: spikes we’re beginning to see. Nuclear families and the “flowchart” of when you get married, when you move out, and other life stages still dominate the culture.
As intergenerational living evolves in the Philippines, it will be interesting to see how this fragmentation may isolate, but also liberate. Allow us to be our own persons, yet avoid the pitfalls of loneliness and isolation that came with the Western version.
Our future may be more fragmented, but hopefully it will also be more empowered.
Fragment Forward was published as a collaboration between Dentsu Creative’s Strategy teams across the globe. The Philippines Strategy Team is proud to have collaborated and brought a voice to how global themes have manifested in Philippine culture.
For more insights on how the local market has adapted these global trends, Dentsu Creative is equipped with a portfolio of industry and proprietary data tools, and data and strategy teams for your brand and business challenges.
For more insights and foresights and how these can help your brand, contact elyse.bella@dentsu.com and pamy.hernandez@dentsu.com.
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