Financial Education is Only a Scroll Away. But Who is Teaching the Young Generation About Money?
Here’s a question: How do you feel about your kids learning about financial management through social media platforms?
Social media continues to grow as the years pass, and it is becoming an increasingly trusted source of information for younger generations. Many young people use platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X to engage with others and doomscroll. The constant use of social media has evolved the platforms from pure entertainment to a source of education and information for young people.
Now the question is: What does learning from social media mean for young people?
The way social media is used has slowly transitioned into young people using these platforms as education tools, particularly when it comes to finance. Wall Street Zen, for example, conducted a study which found that in 2023, 76% of Generation Z (those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s) used the internet to learn about practically every aspect of life; personal finance, product research and consuming news.
It is apparent that the internet is empowering this generation with access to information in ways previous generations could not.
But access to information does not necessarily mean access to the right information.
The Dangers of Using Social Media as a First Choice for Financial Education
As useful as this may be, there are also negative effects to this method. With so much financial information available online, it can be difficult for young people to differentiate between what is true, misleading, or simply someone’s personal opinion. This is where digital literacy becomes important, as young people need to be able to question, assess and verify the information they come across before relying on it.
The internet is a very broad networking space and not everything said happens to be true. Some content creators generate content for the purpose of getting views, generating money, publicity and recruiting. This is where Gen Z needs to exercise more skepticism when it comes to money.
Social media can contain misleading financial information, lack of personal guidance, and a culture where peer pressure and FOMO are persuasive. This is a rising concern regarding the reliability and suitability of financial guidance on social media.
The Wall Street Zen study notes that 82% of the Gen Z respondents acknowledge that: “Personal finance advice on social media, particularly on platforms like TikTok, tends to oversimplify personal finance due to the short format of these videos.”
This gives reason to believe that many young people turn to using the information gathered from these posts to make investment decisions, without fully understanding or researching the nitty-gritty of what they are doing.
The problem, then, is not necessarily that young people are learning about money online. It is whether they know how to assess what they are learning.
Understanding Digital Literacy and Its Significance
Let’s start by defining digital literacy: It is the ability to utilise digital tools, communication devices and networks in a way that is safe, effective, and responsible. Essentially, it is the knowledge of how to use information.
So, how does this tie into financial education on social media?
Digital literacy plays a crucial role in helping consumers navigate and process the vast amount of information they encounter online. Being digitally literate can teach the young generation skills that allow them to spot the difference between what is real or what is not, as well as what works and what doesn’t.
This enables them to assess whether the information they are consuming is credible, identify misinformation, recognise potential scams and understand the motivations behind the content they see.
When it comes to financial education, these skills become even more important. Being digitally literate can help young people distinguish between genuine financial education and content that may be designed primarily to generate views, promote a product or influence their financial decisions.
It encourages them to question what they see, verify information from credible sources and understand that what works for one person may not necessarily work for them.
In a world where financial advice is only a scroll away, knowing how to evaluate information can be just as important as having access to it.
The Role of Financial Services Businesses
This also emphasises the point made in a piece written by our CEO, Marc Ashton, titledWhy Video Content Should Form Part of Your Marketing Strategy as a Financial Services Business inSouth Africa. He quoted Emma Montocchio in saying:
“Today, YouTube has become a core communications channel. It is increasingly where people go to understand complex issues. Not to skim headlines or scroll soundbites, but to properly understand what is happening, why it matters and how to think about it.”
As much as this is directed to YouTube, it speaks to other social media platforms as well.
This means that financial services businesses have a huge role to play in informing these young generations by generating content their audiences can rely on, instead of leaving them to fall for the general trends and marketing schemes.
It is not enough for financial businesses to have good information, they need to communicate it effectively.
They need to:
- make complex financial concepts easy to understand without losing their meaning
- create educational content for different audiences
- establish credible voices through thought leadership
- use video and social media strategically
- communicate consistently across channels
- build trust with customers and stakeholders
The opportunity is not simply to create more content. It is to create content that is credible and helps audiences understand complex financial topics and make more informed decisions.
Resources You Can Use to Verify Information
The problem is not that the younger generation uses social media, it is their inability to utilise publicly available information to verify what is factual and what is simply a marketing strategy.
A simple example is Absa. Absa has a Financial Literacy and Education platform that focuses on instilling financial literacy in consumers to enable better financial decision-making. Their education system is delivered nationwide through classroom learning and Absa’s ReadytoWork and Digital Hub platforms.
This type of initiative shows how financial services businesses can become part of the solution by making financial education more accessible while giving consumers credible resources to learn from.
But there is an opportunity to take this further.
If young people are already turning to social media to understand money, financial services businesses need to consider whether they are communicating on the platforms where their audiences are already looking for answers.
Is Learning About Financial Education From Social Media Harmful for Young People?
As previously stated, social media is not necessarily the problem. In fact, it can be a valuable and accessible starting point for young people who want to learn more about money.
The real concern is relying on it as the only source of financial education.
Financial content should encourage young people to ask questions, do their own research and seek information from credible sources before making financial decisions. Financial services businesses and parents also have a role to play in helping young people build these skills.
The next time your child shows you a financial tip they found on TikTok, do not just ask, “Is that true?”, ask them, “How do you know?”
That simple question could be the first step towards raising a generation that does not just consume financial information, but knows how to understand and use it responsibly.
For financial services businesses, the question is slightly different: Are you providing the information they can trust?
Financial education starts with access to credible information. Your audience is already looking for financial information online. The question is: Are you part of the conversation?
The information above highlights an important point for financial services businesses: being present on social media is no longer enough. While social media can help businesses reach younger audiences and educate them, building a sustainable and credible brand requires more than simply being visible online.
Financial services businesses need to establish themselves as trusted voices beyond their own social media platforms. This can include building credible executive profiles, sharing thought leadership on relevant industry topics, and securing meaningful coverage on credible third-party platforms. These efforts help businesses build authority, strengthen their reputation and give audiences more reasons to trust the information they provide.
This is where strategic communications become important. At Decusatio, we help businesses turn their expertise into credible communications that extend beyond social media, from executive profiling and thought leadership to media engagement and strategic content.
Your audience is already looking for information. The question is whether your business is giving them a reason to trust what they find.
See how Decusatio can help you build credibility beyond the feed.