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- As GameStop’s shares surged, teens across the country turned to TikTok to learn more about the stock market.
- Hundreds of TikTok users posted videos on the app talking about GameStop and AMC shares.
- The GameStop frenzy could draw more of the younger generation into investing in the stock market.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The GameStop frenzy has taken over TikTok.
As GameStop’s shares hit a record high this week, capturing the public’s attention, teens across the country turned to TikTok to learn more about the stock market.
Viral posts are popping up all over the social-media app, explaining the situation to people who have likely never interacted with the stock market before.
Hundreds of TikTok users posted videos on the app explaining the GameStop surge using graphs, analogies, and personal anecdotes.
It’s clear many of TikTok’s users are anxious to learn more about the saga that has generated countless headlines. One of the top videos on GameStop has over 1.7 million views and climbing in less than 24 hours since it was published.
As of publication, #investing had 1.5 billion views and #gamestop has over 380 million views, while the even more recent hashtag - #buyinggamestop - had over a quarter million on the TikTok app.
One TikToker, a high school student who runs the account @assetgrowth, has seen views and followers climb as news of GameStop stocks spread over the past week.
"Engagement on TikTok has been insane," the user told Insider. "I've been getting messages on Instagram and TikTok of people asking me to help them start investing."
As GameStop's stock value surged from $35 to $325 per share between January 20 to 27, people have been finding creative ways to explain on social media how amateur traders buoyed a struggling company to an 8,000% stock value increase from previous months.
The classic tale of wall street hedge fund investors versus an army of traders, some from forums like Reddit or Discord, has made for a compelling narrative for the younger generation.
—Nomad Capital (@nomad_capital) January 28, 2021
As Gen-Z begins to enter the workforce they will drastically change the future of the stock market, according to a group of Bank of America analysts, which call the generation "the most disruptive ever."
"The Gen Z revolution is starting, as the first generation born into an online world is now entering the workforce and compelling other generations to adapt to them, not vice versa," strategists led by Haim Israel said.
According to BofA, the younger generations will push the stock market away from more classical institutions to focus on new technology, sustainability, and climate change efforts.
Applications like Robinhood - used heavily in the GameStop trading - have already made investing more accessible for younger generations. Millennials have been more reluctant than other generations to invest in the past, according to financial market company, Seeking Alpha.
"Many Millennials, some of whom experienced the devastation of the Financial Crisis, are cautious about the stock market," the 2020 report said. "Gen-Z's were essentially too young to have experienced the direct impact and pain of the Financial Crisis."
Seeking Alpha wonders if Gen-Z will be more willing to invest than their millennial counterparts. Though, whether the younger generation will be able to participate in the stock market depends on the future of student loans.
"Even if Gen-Z wants to save money and potentially invest in the stock market, their available cash (after student debt) is somewhat limited," Seeking Alpha reports.
The GameStop frenzy could be a sign that times are changing in Wall Street, reminiscent of the similar sentiments like Occupy Wall Street, which protested against economic inequality.
In a TikTok video, one user points out the irony of GameStop investors using the stock market against wealthy hedge fund managers.