Every third youngster says that their purchasing is influenced by the social media – no trust in the financial advice of influencers

Every third youngster says that their purchasing is influenced by the social media - no trust in the financial advice of influencers

About a third of 15-19-year-olds say that their purchases are influenced by the social media. Girls are more susceptible to this than boys. Researchers attribute more influence than youngsters to the social media. Our financial literacy barometer also shows that social media channels for the young are buzzing with financial advice from influencers. Youths trust influencers much less than lessons learned at home and school.

A better tomorrow - the financial literacy barometer for young people - is the first survey of its type in Finland. It assesses the financial literacy of youths (aged 15-19). In 2026, the barometer's themes include how the social media influence young people.

According to the barometer, one-third (31%) of youngsters feel that their purchases are influenced by social media content. This varies by gender: 20% of girls, but only 10% of boys, say that they have made an impulse purchase due to the social media. Girls buy relatively often in response to social media recommendations, and experience more social media-induced status pressure than boys.

"It's worth noting that the result reflects only youngsters' own opinions of social media impacts. In reality, social media probably influence them much more than they realise," points out Eija Juntunen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki.

45% of respondents said that they admire people who have expensive homes, cars and clothes. 27% disagreed with this statement.

"The study suggests that social media intensify pressure to consume, especially for young people whose finances are already weak. Status pressure and impulse buying are most common among those in the weakest financial position," Juntunen adds.

Youngsters do not trust the financial advice of "finfluencers"

The barometer also reveals where young people go for reliable financial advice. They receive most information about finances from their family and close contacts (66%) and from school (50%). The next most-used channel is social media influencers (40%).

Trust does not grow in line with the amount of information provided. Trust is high (over 80%) in financial information provided by families and school. However, there is little trust in financial information from social media influencers (17%) - which is as low as the score for AI (18%). Finfluencers, or social media financial influencers, have become a major platform phenomenon.

"Young people have learned to be critical of financial content on the social media, but it still might influence their behaviour," says Terhi-Anna Wilska, Professor of Sociology at the University of Jyväskylä.

"Many social media influencers produce high-quality financial content in collaboration with public authorities and banks, for example. On the other hand, trust can be undermined by unrealistic investment tips and get-rich-quick expectations spread on the social media. Trust is also weakened by unqualified people posing as experts. A large audience of youngsters may be exposed to tempting content of this kind."

The genders are strongly divided in their use of AI to gain financial information. Whereas 21% of boys actively seek financial information from AI, only 10% of girls do so.

Financial literacy protects youngsters against social media influences

Young people with strong financial literacy make significantly fewer impulse buys through social media. The barometer set exam-like tasks to measure financial literacy.

"The logic of social media platforms favours strong inducements to shop. However, financial literacy appears to protect youngsters from impulsive consumption," says Satu Kuoppamäki, Head of ESG, Retail Banking at OP Pohjola.

This shows that concrete financial knowledge matters: as well the right attitude, youngsters need to be taught about saving, interest rates, inflation and the basics of investing.

"Differences were found between young people in terms of their financial literacy and management - not everyone is up to speed. Research therefore helps us to plan our financial coaching. There is room for growth in the financial literacy of late teens - improving this is a collective task for families and schools, and researchers and companies," Kuoppamäki continues.

The entire barometer will be published on 9 September. "A better tomorrow - the financial literacy barometer for young people" surveys the financial skills of youths aged between 15 and 19. The survey was performed in 2026, based on collaboration between OP Pohjola, the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä. A total of 61 schools across Finland participated in - and 2,346 participants responded to - the barometer survey in early 2026. The study was performed for the first time in 2024.

In collaboration with member banks and partners, OP Pohjola provided financial literacy coaching for a record 100,000 children and youngsters in 2025.

Media enquiries:

OP Pohjola Communications, tel. +358 10 252 8719, [email protected]