In the house group chat, usually a scroll of memes, reminders and dinner plans, one of Jack Kankiewicz’s roommates dropped a screenshot of an article about President Trump’s tariffs to global trading partners announced on April 2.

Mr. Kankiewicz and his roommates debated the tariffs’ possible effects, and then returned to their usual discussions, with one roommate confirming that they would indeed be getting McDonald’s before seeing “A Minecraft Movie.”

Previously, tariffs were something Mr. Kankiewicz might only expect to hear from his friends majoring in political science. But since Mr. Trump’s announcement, he said, it has entered his everyday lexicon.

“My roommates and I have been tapping in a little more,” said Mr. Kankiewicz, 22. He realized he didn’t have a full understanding of tariffs, so he did some internet research to figure out how they might affect him, finding speculation on the rising prices of goods and a worsening job market.

People in their 20s viscerally understand that an economy is not solid matter on which to stand. They saw their families go through the 2008 financial crisis in elementary and middle school, then the Covid pandemic in high school and college.

Over the last two weeks, with tariffs announced, then suspended, the stock market swinging with each announcement’s wake, many young adults have begun considering changing their habits around spending and saving to prepare for an uncertain economy.