Social media is strongly present in our daily lives, and almost every one of us uses some platform daily or at least weekly.
Have you noticed that social media or, for example, Inderes’ discussion forum has offered you inspiration or even concretely influenced your investment decisions?
How significant do you consider social media’s role in modern investing – is it more beneficial or harmful?
Let’s start a factual and open discussion about how different platforms, social media channels, and discussion forums shape our thinking as investors.
I myself stumbled upon the Inderes forum with Bilot’s IPO in early 2020, as this seemed to be where the best discussion on the topic was.
I can frankly say that I would be a very different investor today (i.e., I would only save monthly into an index) if I hadn’t found my way to this forum. The forum has given a lot, and there’s an incredibly knowledgeable group of people here who share their knowledge and expertise for free with others. I have learned a lot through this, though I can’t say how well that shows compared to passive index saving.
I have mentioned this previously, that as the number of Inderes users grew, following the forum increasingly became more difficult, as messages and discussions came at a constantly faster pace. Because of this, I reduced my own activity, as I no longer had enough time alongside other life commitments to stay “up to date” with the forum. This was most evident in the fact that I cut down the number of discussions I followed and transitioned more into being just a reader rather than a participant.
The role of social media in modern investing is immense, and I hope that its overall impact is positive. Certainly, with social media, people’s excesses, both upwards and downwards, have increased.
I am writing my thesis on the effects of social media on Generation Z’s investment decisions. I am specifically researching how social media channels, influencers, and social media phenomena affect the investment behavior of those under 30.
If you are 18–30 years old, it would be great if you could take a moment to answer the survey. The survey is completely anonymous and answering it takes only a few minutes. You can answer the survey between April 10th and April 17th.
You can access the survey from the link below:
This forum, io-tech bbs, and Youtube are the best sources for investing. The Facebook investor group was an unpleasant experience. I get investment ideas regarding stocks especially from the Investing and Morningstar websites.
I don’t know if YouTube, Spotify, and other podcast content are actually considered social media, but for me, decisions to invest in funds have partly been formed based on interviews and other public statements by representatives of those funds.
For example, PYN elite started to interest me after I had listened to Petri Deryng’s interviews on Inderespod and later in other interviews.
Similarly, I would hardly have invested in Proprius Partners’ funds if I hadn’t listened to Heikkilä & Vilen’s discussions over the years and later Olli Viitikon’s interviews.
I also really like Sifter’s content and don’t consider it impossible that I would invest in it in the future. This includes both Sifter’s own content and interviews on Karon grilli, Inderes, etc.
When listening to interviews, one feels like they get better “inside the heads” of portfolio managers than by just reading investor letters. One quickly notices if the content resonates with their own way of thinking. Of course, the only investment decision criterion is not “the portfolio manager seems like a good person”, but it would be difficult for me to imagine entrusting my money to someone whose voice I have never even heard.
It might sound silly, but that’s how it is for me, at least.
Regarding social media, I mainly follow Inderes’ forums, but I have now learned not to let even good writings influence my investment decisions anymore. In the long run, I am sure it would negatively affect my expected returns due to erratic behavior.
Fabo, Kauppalehti, and Shareville are largely such dross that I steer clear of them.
Yeah, I’ve thought about that quite a lot. I’m 23 myself, and I notice that social media – especially TikTok and YouTube – sometimes influences how I approach investing even too much. Algorithms constantly bring up clips about how someone has “made millions with stocks” or gained “passive income at 20,” and even though you know it’s not all that simple, it definitely affects your thinking. I browse the Inderes forum almost daily, and sometimes the discussions there can offer good perspectives or spark ideas, but sometimes it gets perhaps a bit too speculative. So, social media has a lot of potential for learning and sharing information, but there’s also a risk of getting caught up in hype or comparing your own progress too much to others. So, it’s useful, yeah, as long as you stay critical and know how to filter what’s actually relevant to your own strategy.
Sometimes it feels like algorithms feed precisely the kind of content that makes you either overly enthusiastic or question your own work. I also notice that even with a clear plan, when watching certain videos or discussions, it’s easy to start wondering if one should after all “do something smarter” or faster. Perhaps that’s precisely why it’s important to keep your own strategy clear in mind and approach all content a bit like through a filter.