Assessing YouTube Finance Influencers: Guidance or Hype for Generation Z?

Abstract

This study evaluates the content of YouTube finance influencers (finfluencers) to assess whether they provide overhyped advice or can help improve the low financial literacy of Generation Z. A total of 407 videos sampled using the nine knowledge areas tested in the TIAA Institute Personal Finance Index (P-Fin) were analyzed using Structural Topic Modeling. Eight topics were observed in the videos ranging from general literacy to emergency planning. Comparing the observed topics to the P-Fin categories showed that finfluencers address six of the nine key areas of financial literacy, with gaps in the coverage of long-term focused content, such as retirement fluency. The findings suggest that finfluencers provide accessible content focused on many key areas of financial literacy, making them a viable tool for financial education. However, because many finfluencers operate in a largely unregulated space and may lack required disclosures or credentials, efforts to promote accountability and transparency are essential to ensure their reliability as educational resources.