Social media is an undeniable part of Gen Z culture; 54% report using it for four or more hours daily, and 6% say social media is integral to their daily lives. Our smartphones and social media apps foster joy, humor, and connection, and it’s easy to become absorbed quickly. But, these platforms and devices also influence our financial behaviors in ways that aren’t always healthy—driving online shopping as a result of a culture steeped in comparison and overconsumption.
When I got my first smartphone in middle school, I was thrilled. Like any other kid my age, I found myself absorbed by the world of social media—engrossed in the latest trends, viral challenges, and hashtags. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and my digital devices quickly became the only way to socialize. My screen time skyrocketed. When schools reopened, I was surprised to notice that my friends’ and my behaviors didn’t change substantially. In the midst of a lively park or bustling school cafeteria, most of us were still glued to our phones.
Beyond the excessive screen time, I observed another worrying trend: our financial behaviors were being influenced by our time online. From purchasing Pokémon cards to the latest streetwear trends, I watched peers spend money they didn’t have because “TikTok made me buy it.”
For Gen Z, our phones are more than a distraction; they’re shaping our financial behaviors, driving overconsumption, and clouding our understanding of personal finances. We need resources to make better financial decisions—but it doesn’t work to simply tell young people to get off their phones. Instead, we must create opportunities for Gen Z to learn about financial literacy, through the very digital devices older generations sometimes demonize.
Gen Z is already flocking to TikTok, or “FinTok,” for financial advice, where young content creators and social media influencers share their personal finance journeys and sell tools followers can use to build their own budgets. So far, the hashtag #stocktok has been used over 1.4 billion times, and #PersonalFinance has garnered over 4.4 billion views.
FinTok’s success lies in its format and messaging: the platform is familiar, the creators are relatable, and the content is easily digestible. In engaging with FinTok, my generation is demonstrating a desire to become more financially literate, but they’re also sending a clear message that they want these lessons to come from peers who can make the information relevant and accessible. While FinTok presents opportunities, it also has limitations. As with most social media platforms, misinformation can spread rapidly. As the founder of a financial literacy platform by and for teenagers, I believe we need more ways to share verifiable information while still retaining relatability and access.
There’s a precedent for this. In 1982, the computer game, Gazillionaire, helped young people learn about finances through an addictive and relatable game that made business acumen seem appealing. Gazillionaire was popular because it was fun, but also because the game’s creator, Steve Hoffman, uniquely understood what his audience wanted. Hoffman was only a teenager when he made Gazillionaire, yet his game won numerous awards and has been used by hundreds of schools all over the world. As I’ve learned working with Hoffman to help a new generation learn about finances, tools designed to educate young people must be created by those with firsthand experience of younger generations’ consumption habits, financial perspectives, and learning preferences.
Too often, apps designed by older adults fail to fully grasp the unique challenges and experiences that people my age face—either oversimplifying financial concepts without providing substantial, practical knowledge, or overwhelming users with technical jargon. Most also neglect to address the socio-political factors that impact Gen Z’s financial reality. People my age are growing up in an era of skyrocketing student debt, post-pandemic inflation, and a looming climate crisis. Traditional financial advice often falls short in the face of these unique challenges.
In order to truly reach Gen Z users, financial literacy apps must hit several benchmarks. First, these platforms can’t presume that users have any prior financial knowledge. Instead, financial advice must address our differing relationships to money, and the vastly different resources we each have at our disposal. If these apps are going to help level the playing field, they must explicitly recognize that financial literacy and education are not merely tools for personal wealth creation, but are also crucial levers for bridging the wealth gap.
Financial literacy-focused digital tools must also offer advice that acknowledges the unique socio-political factors facing Gen Z. Young people today are stepping into adulthood at a time of dramatic wealth disparity, with the top 1% of households owning significantly more wealth than the lower 50% combined. These apps must acknowledge the limitations of advice in the context of current economic policies and structures while still empowering Gen Z to navigate the current financial landscape.
Platforms promoting financial literacy should also offer forums for Gen Z users to engage in conversations about economic justice, creating spaces where financial literacy can meet social awareness. By embedding this systemic perspective into our financial education approach, we can cultivate a generation of financially literate individuals who are not only equipped to navigate their own personal financial landscape, but are also poised to advocate for wider economic justice and systemic changes.
When the pandemic hit, we experienced a shift in how we communicate, interact, consume, and learn. While this increase in parasocial relationships and virtual connection has not been entirely positive, it’s not a door we can simply close—and it’s the world many of us are coming of age in. It’s time we accepted this reality and began learning from those who truly understand it.
Teens today need ways to cut through the noise and start making smart financial decisions before it’s too late to reverse negative spending habits. Entrepreneurs in the financial literacy space need to start taking cues from our youngest generations and creators, and working with—not against—the digital tools that have thus far encouraged unwise spending habits. The digital world is an integral part of Gen Z’s life; rather than fighting it, we need to harness it to provide potent financial learning tools.
Aadi Gujral is a youth entrepreneur, advocate, aspiring financial changemaker, and the founder of the Foundation for Financial Literacy.
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