Young people need to learn about economic responsibility and being safe while playing the stock market online.
These days it seems like no matter where you look online, you will find an advertisement of a young person who has made a career out of the stock market by selling stocks online. According to these fresh-faced, smiling young people, you can quit your job and start living the high life simply by making the right investments at the right time.
The type of trading that a lot of young people like is called buying momentum stocks. This entails a very specific strategy in which a trader needs to scan the stocks and wait until he or she is able to identify a fast-moving stock. Then, the trader needs to jump onto the particular stock’s bandwagon and, crucially, get off the bandwagon before the stock falls down once again.
Gen Z trading practices and trends
This practice of momentum buying is inherently risky because the value of a particular stock is in a constant state of fluctuation. This means that if a trader jumps on a stock which is increasing in value, they may not be able to jump off in time to avoid the devaluation arc. While this may not sound like a crucially important aspect to non-traders, it can be financially devastating.
Many Gen Z individuals will have first become familiar with the stock market last year during the GameStop debacle. The entire GameStop and AMC saga saw young, fairly inexperienced traders defeat and actually destroy a hedge fund — and have fun while doing it. While most of the traders lost money, they came away with a sense of community and unified purpose — that of putting the hedge funds, investors, and financial service companies in their place.
Although the GameStop saga proved successful for the young traders, some have also sounded the alarm over this largely unregulated space. In addition to being unregulated, many young traders have not learned about traditional trading skills such as profit and loss analysis and balance sheets.
That said, journalists and analysts now regularly scour through Reddit pages, forums and message boards in search of a new clue as to what is next on the traders’ agenda. One thing is for certain, these traders are planning on continuing to trade and play with the market for as long as possible.
Other thrills for Gen Z
If nothing else, the penchant Gen Z individuals have for high-risk stock trading shows that they enjoy a bit of fun, excitement and thrills. It follows naturally that Gen Z has also taken to the world of online g******g with enthusiasm. Online g******g started out incredibly small and awkward in 1994 with the first-ever video poker game. Since then, online g******g has become increasingly popular and technologically advanced.
For a number of years, the g******g industry was concerned because the average age of gamblers continued to steadily climb skyward. It seemed like younger people were turning away from g******g and casinos completely.
However, the rise of online casinos has helped to turn the tide. Many young people use their phones all day long for communication, news and entertainment. Apps for g******g and sports b*****g have made g******g easily accessible for younger generations and have really increased what the online g******g industry is capable of.
Future prospects of Gen Z trading
Although no one can tell what the future holds — especially when it comes to the stock market — a number of trends and long-term shifts can be hinted at. It appears that the dizzying heights of the GameStop and AMC days have left their mark, and many Gen Z traders are looking to include stock trading as a part of their daily lives. Regardless of whether or not they can make a profit from trading, many young traders find stock trading online to be a great source of entertainment, thrills and fun.
As the popularity of online stock trading continues to increase, it is also likely that the prevalence of scam and extremely risky trading platforms will increase as well. This is why it is important for young people to learn about economic responsibility and being safe while playing the stock market online.