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Social media increases teenage interest in Wall Street: survey

A surprising number of teens are turning to social media for financial lessons

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Social media increases teenage interest in Wall Street: survey. Source: pexels.com

According to Wells Fargo, 57% of teens say they learned about handling finances from their parents. The Wells Fargo Parent-Teen Study included 318 teens between the ages of 13 and 17, and 304 parents.

Meanwhile, 47% learn financial lessons from school, 35% from social media while 34% learn from online websites and articles. Parents underestimate how much their kids are learning from social media. Only 12% of parents believe their teens use social media for financial education.

There is a bit of a disconnection between parents’ and kids’ perceptions around financial education. While 61% of parents polled say they’re talking to their kids about finances, only 43% of teens report they have had these conversations. It’s very important for families to discuss money — and for our next generation to understand how to handle their finances
Kathleen Malone, financial advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina

Almost all teens and parents (93% teens, 92% parents) agree that teens who learn about investing will be better off financially later in life. However, nearly half of the teens (49%) and nearly one in three parents (32%) give themselves a D or F grade in investment knowledge.

Teen girls (53%) rated themselves lower in investment knowledge than boys (42%).

Parents and kids are also in agreement on how well teens handle money. Nearly seven in ten (69%) teenagers believe they are good with money, and their parents (72%) agree. Four out of five (81%) parents believe they are good financial role models for their kids, and 84% of teens agree.

Almost half (45%) of teens said they were more interested in investing this year because of the GameStop social media situation. More teen boys than teen girls reported increased investing interest due to GameStop (53% vs. 40% teen girls).

When it comes to cryptocurrency, many parents admit that their teens are quite knowledgeable. Half of the parents (50%) said their teen knows more about Bitcoin than they do. And the teens agree. Almost half (45%) of teens feel they know more than their parents about Bitcoin. Teen boys are more likely to say they know more than their parents about Bitcoin (58% teen boys vs. 33% teen girls).

While 3 in 5 parents say they have had conversations with teens about handling finances, only 32% say they have talked much about investing. Nearly nine in ten parents (89%) wish their parents taught them more about investments growing up. Almost all parents (98%) and teens (95%) think it is important that high schools teach students about the basics of handling finances, including investing.

We’ve reported that less than half of businesses will embrace a full return-to-office model.

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