What a thrill to learn more! Generation Z spends time to spend better

“People are the economy.” This is a phrase Kyla Scanlon often repeats in her video content and interviews when explaining why she decided to turn TikTok, newsletters, and podcasts into tools for economic education. It is not a slogan but a methodological statement. This thirty-year-old, born in Louisville in 1997, has an extraordinary story. A graduate of Western Kentucky University with triple majors in finance, economics, and data analytics, she represents a new model of economic communication: accessible, narrative, and understandable for the elusive Generation Z.
Today she is considered one of the most influential economic commentators among young people because she translates complex topics— inflation, rates, markets—into short, visual social content. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Scanlon is very clear about her mission, reaffirming the passion that guides her. “My goal is economic education. Social media is simply the medium I use to do it.” Not an influencer in the traditional sense, but an economic educator. Not financial promotion, but literacy.
Before becoming a full‑time communicator, she worked in asset management and observed firsthand a systemic problem: the limited understanding of basic financial concepts among ordinary people. That experience pushed her to dedicate herself to financial education, after realizing how little people understood about finance and budgeting.
Her breakthrough came during the slow-paced time of the pandemic. That’s when she built a community by explaining markets and economic policies through skits, whiteboards, and metaphors, winning over Zoomers. She coined the term “vibecession,” which went viral in international economic discussions to describe the gap between positive macroeconomic data and widespread perceptions of crisis. Because the economy is also perception.
Bloomberg highlighted how she built a massive following by explaining the Federal Reserve, inflation, and markets through short videos designed for young digital users. According to Scanlon, economic disillusionment and distrust in the future are influencing concrete behaviors such as rising debt and low saving propensity. Her approach is radically simple: making the economy understandable to reduce economic anxiety.
And Kyla Scanlon is not alone: she is part of a new generation of educational finfluencers. Alongside her, a wave of financial educators is emerging—people who don’t sell products but knowledge.

Money as empowerment
Taylor Price, founder of Fifecta and known as PricelessTay, has become one of the most followed educational voices among young people on saving and financial independence. Her focus is not speculation but everyday financial life: budgets, goals, awareness. The first thing that stands out in Price’s content is not the charts or the numbers, but the tone: calm, direct, almost pedagogical. Short videos, simple language, concrete examples: how to save, how to plan, why money is not just consumption but personal freedom.
In an environment dominated by overstimulation and instant gratification, her audience—mainly very young—does not look for speculative shortcuts. They look for orientation. Price has become one of the emerging voices of digital financial literacy precisely because she overturned the traditional logic of financial content: no more promises of quick wealth, but education toward everyday economic awareness.
In several interviews she has emphasized how personal finance is “a form of empowerment,” not a distant discipline but a life skill. An approach consistent with academic literature, which highlights that financial literacy is not only technical knowledge but also civic and behavioral competence. That is why figures like PricelessTay do not sell financial products: they build decision-making ability. They do not fuel impulsiveness; they strengthen autonomy.
From America to India—an emerging economy and one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world, especially among young people—this dynamic is global. Here, Sakchi Jain, recognized among emerging financial educators, uses Instagram and YouTube to explain concepts like inflation, saving, and credit with a visual and inclusive language. Her work reaches audiences who often never received formal financial education, demonstrating how financial literacy is now moving from classrooms to social feeds.
Her mission is to make finance accessible and understandable to everyone, especially those without formal training. This is not a minor detail—it’s a structural signal: today, financial literacy increasingly originates outside institutions, in digital spaces frequented by the young.
And here emerges a key tension of our time: on one side educational finfluencers, and on the other, emotional hyper-consumption.

The “moving target”
Three different stories, one common thread: simplifying finance for a generation that lives inside the digital economy without necessarily understanding it. A historical phase marked by uncertainty, anxiety, and recurring individual and collective fears.
It is the era of doom spending—compulsive shopping as a form of stress relief. When the future feels frightening—climate crises, job insecurity, geopolitical tensions—the digital shopping cart becomes a psychological refuge. It is not merely consumption; it is an emotional response to systemic uncertainty.
According to OECD analyses and academic studies on financial behavior, lack of financial literacy increases vulnerability to impulsive decisions and inefficient money management, with long-term effects on individual well-being and social stability.
The data is clear: over two-thirds of students already use financial tools, but only 11% reach advanced levels of financial literacy. Those with solid financial skills are up to 72% more likely to save and make conscious purchasing decisions.
Research also shows that financially literate students behave more responsibly, think long-term, and are more inclined to save. The crucial point is that financial competence directly influences economic behavior.
“Financial literacy is an essential skill for making smart financial decisions, understanding the world around us, and being a good citizen,” says scholar Annamaria Lusardi, one of the world’s leading experts on financial literacy. This is also highlighted in the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing.
And the digital context amplifies everything: invisible payments, automatic subscriptions, fragmented micro‑expenses. The result? A daily financial life that is often unconscious.
International media confirms this. The Financial Times has highlighted that many teenagers, even with bank accounts and access to digital tools, struggle to understand basic financial concepts and solve complex economic problems—an alarming gap for their future independence.
Paradoxically, Generation Z is the most financially connected in history yet among the most vulnerable in financial literacy. Carmine Di Noia (OECD) notes that financial literacy skills are a “moving target,” constantly evolving with financial and digital innovation.
Academic literature converges on one key point: financial literacy is not only an individual skill but a social infrastructure. It is a behavioral enabler essential for building economic resilience among young generations.