UVA Research Report Shows How Social Media, Finfluencers, and the “Digital Hustle” Are Reshaping Young Adults’ Financial Lives

Newswise — The report, Financial Lives in the Networked Generation, outlines how young people are increasingly turning to a mix of digitally mediated income streams—including gig work, content creation, and platform-based entrepreneurship—alongside new modes of borrowing, investing, and learning about money through social networks. The research is supported by UVA’s Thriving Youth in a Digital Economy institutional initiative.

“These shifts are not incremental—they represent a categorical transformation in how young people experience and understand money,” the authors note. “Traditional financial education models were not designed for this environment.”

Key Findings:

• A fundamentally new financial environment: Young adults’ financial lives are increasingly shaped by social media and digital platforms rather than traditional institutions.
• The rise of “finfluencers”: Social media has become a primary source of financial advice, with influencers wielding significant power despite lacking fiduciary responsibility.
• The emergence of the “digital hustle”: Many young people are supplementing or replacing traditional employment with platform-based, often unstable income streams.
• Blurring of finance and identity: Online financial spaces are not just informational—they are central to identity formation, community, and even political engagement.
• Earlier and riskier financial behavior: Young adults are investing and taking financial risks at younger ages, often learning from peers and online communities rather than formal education.
• Gamification of money: Financial decision-making is increasingly intertwined with entertainment, driven by platforms designed to encourage frequent engagement and impulsive choices.

The report also highlights how economic precarity is shaping behavior. Many young adults face high housing costs, student debt, and wage stagnation—conditions that contribute to declining trust in traditional financial institutions and a growing belief that conventional paths to stability may be out of reach. At the same time, U.S. consumers are investing at much earlier ages than prior generations – The average age of first investment has dropped dramatically—for Boomers, the average was 35 years old; for Gen Z, it was 19.

As a result, some younger Americans are turning to high-risk financial strategies or “digital hustle” income streams, while others become targets for scams and exploitative financial products. The report identifies this dynamic as part of a broader pattern of “predatory inclusion,” in which new financial technologies expand access while simultaneously introducing new risks.

Crucially, the report finds that traditional financial literacy approaches have not kept pace with these changes. Designed for a more stable, institution-centered financial system, existing education models often fail to address the complexity of today’s digitally mediated, socially
networked financial environment—leaving many young people to learn instead from peers, influencers, and online communities. While there is bipartisan consensus about offering financial literacy to adolescents, there is no prevailing agreement or standard as to what that curriculum
should teach, or how.

The report calls for updated approaches to financial literacy and policy that reflect the realities of a digitally mediated financial system, where information, risk, and opportunity are increasingly shaped by platforms and online communities.

Key questions for policymakers and educators:

• How can personal finance curriculum address the financial tools and platforms young people are using (BNPL, investing apps, crypto, gambling/prediction markets) without legitimizing their most harmful features?

• How can financial education address the competing (and often more compelling) financial narratives on social media?

• How should financial education address the role of algorithms, platform incentives, and influencer economies in shaping financial behavior?

• How can financial education make space for conversations about loss, debt, shame, and anxiety around money?

• As more states mandate financial education, how can policymakers ensure that curricula reflect contemporary digital financial practices?

• How can policy move beyond fraud prevention to address the normalization of risky and extractive financial participation? 

The report was authored by Lana Swartz, Maximilian Brichta, and Kate Larson.

For more information or to connect with the researchers, contact UVA Media Relations or visit Dr.  Swartz’s Newswise profile: 

About TYDE

Access to social media and digital technology has transformed the experience of childhood and adolescence around the world. At the same time, there is an alarming rise in rates of mental and behavioral health difficulties among young people. Public health authorities argue that there is a causal relationship between these two dynamics–yet despite widespread concern, the reality is that there is little rigorous research on the precise dynamics of youth technology use. UVA’s TYDE, which is an institutional and cross-disciplinary initiative, meets this public health challenge by mobilizing and expanding significant research expertise across UVA to address the youth mental health crisis and understand its relationship to technology.

Subscribe to UVA media advisories here.