Johannesburg – Money is a perennially debated topic, especially for those entering adulthood with a unique set of financial challenges. And with social media platforms and experts offering advice, what will be their primary source of financial literacy?
A new study by Wall Street Zen found that in 2023, 76% Of Generation Z’s learn about personal finance from Tiktok and Youtube. The research by Tiktok is the most popular social media platform where Gen Z learns about personal finance.
The research from the stock research platform that provides stock analysis and information services to investors also discovered that 90% of Gen Z’s are interested in investing, but only 56% of those haven’t invested, because they don’t know where to start.
Meanwhile, the study also found that 83% of Gen Z have encountered misleading information about personal finance on social media and that 61% of Gen Z agree that learning personal finance on social media can create peer pressure and the fear of missing out (FOMO).
In addition, one in three Gen Z’s are more interested in investing because of the AI trend.
The Wall Street Zen researchers explained that social media platforms have shaped Gen Z, born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s.
“This tech-savvy generation uses the internet to learn about practically every element of life, including personal finance, empowering young people to take care of their financial futures in ways previous generations could not,” they said.
But they warned that there were negative effects too, such as misleading financial information, a lack of personal guidance, and a culture where peer pressure and FOMO are pervasive.