A new survey by TD Bank uncovers the pressures and impacts the digital age is having on financial literacy among young people. According to the survey, 61 per cent of Canadian parents are concerned with how social media is shaping their children’s attitudes towards money. “With tap to pay, with online shopping fraud risks, financial literacy really is a life skill that parents are concerned that their children might not have, and a large portion of those parents don’t really feel confident teaching those money basics,” says Alex Keough, a TD branch manager in Sydney, N.S. The study found 99 per cent of Canadian parents plan to discuss digital money habits with their children, with 58 per cent saying they will do so by the time their children turn 13. “We’ve changed from actual physical money and dollar bills and change and passing that back and forth…now it’s all swipes. Swipe right, swipe left. We’re doing it all digitally. So, kids today don’t view finances in the same way the older adults view it today,” says digital anthropologist Giles Crouch. The study shows the addition of social media, viral trends and influencer culture also has an impact on how young people interpret financial literacy. Amanda Smith, a Halifax mother, says social media has influenced what and how much she buys for her children. “It’s like every time they see something new or that’s just come out that everybody’s buying, they’ve got to have it,” says Smith. “It makes it really a real strain on the wallet.” When asked what they most want their children to learn about money, 75 per cent of respondents said fraud and scam prevention, 71 per cent found budgeting a priority and 70 per cent believe saving and planning is most important. “I’d like to see it in schools. I’d like to see it taught…teaching them about money and how to save and the different ways to put money away and where it should go and that kind of stuff,” says Smith. Keough says parents should start by having open conversations with their kids about money. “Whether that’s their decisions around money, the mistakes, the lessons that they’ve learned, it really is going to help their kids understand using money without the stigma. Eighty-two per cent of the parents that we pulled are already having these conversations,” says Keough.
