Teen spirit: GameStop frenzy inspires new generation of investors

While traders were flocking to GameStop earlier this year, the stock was also capturing the imagination of United States teenagers, according to a survey from Wells Fargo.

A third of teens say they are learning financial lessons from the internet and social media, according to the survey of 13- to 17-year-olds and parents of teenagers.

And almost half of the teens say they are more interested in investing thanks to GameStop, whose shares have surged due to its popularity among members of online investor forums.

The survey follows Fidelity Investments’ launch earlier this month of a commission-free brokerage account for 13- to 17-year-olds that allows stock trading on a mobile app, as it looks to attract the next generation of investors.

The survey of 318 teens and 304 parents of teens, conducted between April 20 and May 3, found that while 57 percent of teens say they are learning about finances from their parents and 47 percent say they are learning from school, 35 percent cite social media and 34 percent cite websites.

But parents had a different take, with only 12 percent saying their teens use social media for financial education.

About 45 percent of teens said “the GameStop social media situation” boosted their interest in investing, with 53 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls claiming increased interest, according to Wells Fargo.

As for cryptocurrency, 50 percent of parents say their teen knows more about Bitcoin than them. However, while 58 percent of teen boys say they know more about Bitcoin than their parents, only 33 percent of teen girls claimed to be more knowledgeable.

Still, actual investing rates seemed much smaller, with 17 percent of parents saying they opened custodial accounts to invest on their teen’s behalf.

About 13 percent encouraged their teen to play a simulated stock game. About 7 percent gave their teen stocks for educational purposes. However, only 20 percent of teens say their parents engaged with them on these activities, Wells Fargo said.