The rise of stock and cryptocurrency trading amongst young people in Kilkenny

In recent years, there’s been a significant rise in young people using stock market and cryptocurrency apps in a bid to make a quick buck.

I’ve seen it myself and I know many people from their teens through to their thirties and beyond who engage in it.

In essence, it’s gambling, but gambling that can be explained away as ‘investing’.

I’m not here to condemn it but I wanted to point out that it exists, it’s widespread and while some people have done well out of it, there’s also huge risks attached.

In the past, investing in the stock market was often seen as being reserved for wealthy individuals and institutional investors, often conjuring images of men in suits clambering around Wall Street.

This has changed in recent years as online trading apps have made it possible for anyone with an internet connection to start investing.

Apps such as Plus500 and eToro have become particularly popular amongst young people here.

These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and low fees, making it easy for inexperienced investors to get started.

Additionally, many of these apps are now offering the ability to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Social media has also played a huge role in popularising investing among young people.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter have become hubs for discussions about investing.

Young people are also being reached out to on social media to become promoters for investment apps, working on commission if they can get their followers to sign up.

To make it tempting, the young people picked to be promoters often post screenshots of them making a profit on an investment, simply to secure a sign-up.

They might not be thinking deeply about how it could go on to impact the life of a friend who is an inexperienced investor, and they might well be hiding their losses.

With rising inflation, utility bills and general cost of living, it’s easy for young people to see investment apps as a way to take control of their finances.

Tales of successful young investors have created a mythos around stock trading as a potential means to get rich.

I remember lads in my class in secondary school being enamoured with The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) when it came out.

The film followed a self-made Wall Street investor who came up with various schemes to manipulate the stock markets and now young people can attempt to do the same, from the safety of their own home.

It’s possible that some young people might look up to Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in the film because of his wealth, power, and persona.

He was portrayed as a charismatic and successful businessman who was able to make huge amounts of money through his aggressive and unscrupulous tactics.

For some young people, this might be an attractive image, especially if they aspire to be wealthy and powerful themselves.

He engaged in fraudulent activities such as pump and dump schemes, which involved artificially inflating the price of stocks and then selling them off.

This particular trading tactic made the headlines in early 2021 when a huge group of individual investors organised on social media platforms like Reddit and decided to buy and hold shares in GameStop, a struggling video game retailer, in order to drive up the stock price and make a profit.

The GameStop trading revolt sparked a larger conversation about the power dynamics of the stock market and the role of individual investors in the financial system.

It also caught the imagination of the next generation of potential young investors and generated a renewed interest in stock trading apps.

Whether this trend is ultimately positive or negative remains to be seen.

There is always a risk that inexperienced investors could make poor decisions or fall prey to scams and fraud.

Those who choose to invest should take the time to educate themselves about the financial markets and make informed decisions.