TikTok is teaching young people more about investing than school ever did

Hands up if you've learned more about shares, ETFs and compound interest from a 60-second video than you ever did in a classroom? For most young Australians, formal financial education basically doesn't exist. A few lessons on basic tax and GST in Year 9 and that's about it.

So people are going where the information is. And right now, that's Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Why FinTok actually works

The best financial creators on social media do something schools almost never do: they explain money in simple terms, with real examples, in under two minutes. It doesn’t matter if you have a bit of investing experience before or if you only just learned what an interest rate is, FinTok is accessible for everyone.

That accessibility matters. If the barrier to understanding investing is wading through a 40-page PDS, most people are never going to start. If it's watching a video while you eat lunch, a lot more people will.

There's also something to be said for the community aspect. Seeing Gen Zs talk openly about money, discussing what they're investing in, what mistakes they've made and what they've learned normalises the conversation in a way that stuffy financial advice never hits.

Where it can go wrong

Short-form content and financial nuance aren’t exactly a match made in heaven. A 60-second video can explain what an ETF is, but it can't properly explain risk, diversification, tax implications, or why following a trend into a volatile asset can wipe out months of gains overnight. That’s already too much jargon for this paragraph, let alone break down in a short-form video.

The creators who went all-in on crypto hype a few years ago had massive followings. So did the ones promoting meme stocks. A lot of people lost real money following advice that sounded confident but was missing crucial context.
 

How to use it well

Treat social media as the starting point, not the whole education. Use it to get curious about concepts, then put that curiosity into practice. Micro-investing is a great way to start, and it gives you the opportunity to learn as you go.


Platforms like Raiz Invest are built for this exact moment, when you've watched enough videos to know you want to start, but you're not quite sure how. You can begin with a few dollars and invest in ready-made, diversified portfolios, meaning you don’t need to pick individual stocks. Going from FinTok viewer to real-life investor has never been easier, and it could do more for your money than anything you learned in school.

*This information is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consider seeking independent tax advice if needed