Current Trends - Social Media Advice: Proceed with Caution - Episode 221

Hey there, Legal Tea Listeners – This is your host, Jenny Rozelle. Welcome back for another episode, which is a “current trends” topic where we talk about things going on currently that are relevant and pertinent to my estate and elder law world, and/or maybe things I’ve seen on the news or stumbled across on social media. Well today’s episode is going to be about something I recently saw on Twitter / X that was a post showing that social media is the primary source of financial content for younger people – and it showed a graph showing two age groups – 1) age group of 21-43 years old and 2) age group of 44+. In the 44+ age group, only 6% of them shared that social media was their preference for financial content. But you go to the 21-43 age group, it shows 48% of them prefer social media to get their financial content. That is … just wow! So, I’m not going to pick on either age group, but what I want to talk about is getting financial advice from social media … and my concerns / my advice on taking this content with a grain of salt. So let’s dive in…

Let's be real here, when you're scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, whatever social media platform … and you see some person in a fancy car telling you they can teach you how to make six figures in crypto trading -or how they save 9 bazillion dollars in taxes (okay, that’s a bit dramatic!), doesn't something just feel... off? So, the biggest concern I have – and this should be your biggest concern too – is that many of these so-called financial gurus have zero qualifications. And half the time, they can't even spell "diversification" correctly in their captions, which should be a red flag on its own.

But here's where it gets really scary. These platforms are designed to be addictive, right? We know this. They are built to keep you scrolling, to keep you engaged, and financial content creators know this. They are not sitting there thinking, "How can I give the most responsible, boring, long-term wealth-building advice?" No, they are thinking, "What's going to get me the most views, the most shares, the most engagement?" And unfortunately, what gets engagement in the financial space is often the most outrageous, the most risky, the most "get rich quick" content you can imagine. It is kind of like the difference between a responsible driving instructor who teaches you to check your mirrors and follow speed limits, versus someone who's teaching you how to street race – guess which one would get more views on TikTok or YouTube?

Another massive red flag is the complete lack of personalization in social media financial advice. And yes, I just said financial advice in air quotes. Think about it – a real financial advisor sits down with you, looks at your income, your debts, your family situation, your risk tolerance, your timeline, your goals. They spend hours getting to know your unique financial picture before making any recommendations. But these social media influencers? They are giving blanket advice to hundreds, thousands, or sometimes millions of followers who could be anywhere from 18 to 80 years old, with all sorts of different income amounts, asset amounts, etc., with completely different life situations. It is like a doctor prescribing medication without ever meeting the patient or knowing their medical history – it is potentially dangerous.

And let's also talk about the psychological manipulation that is happening here. These creators are masters at making you feel like you are missing out, like there is some secret formula that "they" don't want you to know about. They use phrases like "the banks hate this one trick" or "Wall Street doesn't want you to see this." They prey on people's insecurities about money, their frustrations with traditional financial institutions, their desire for quick solutions to complex problems. They make investing sound like a video game where you just need to know the right cheat codes, when in reality, building wealth is more like training for a marathon – it requires discipline, patience, and a well-thought-out strategy. Hear me loud and clear – I’m not a financial professional. I am an attorney. I have absolutely no dog in this fight.

Now, here's where things get really interesting, and frankly, really disturbing. There is a fundamental difference between getting financial information from a book, a reputable online article, or even a traditional financial website, versus getting it from social media. And that difference comes down to one thing: the business model. When you buy a book from a respected financial author, or when you read an article from a reputable or magazine, the author's primary goal is to provide valuable, accurate information. They are being paid for the quality and reliability of their content, not for how many eyeballs they can capture in the first three seconds.

But social media? Oh boy, that is a completely different beast. These platforms literally pay creators based on views, likes, shares, and comments. The algorithm does NOT care if the advice is good or bad – it only cares if it's engaging. So what happens? Creators start optimizing for engagement rather than accuracy. They start making increasingly bold claims, increasingly risky recommendations, because that is what the algorithm rewards. The creators who get the most attention aren't the ones shelling out steady eddy boring advice. The creators who blow up are the ones saying "I turned $1,000 into $100,000 in three months and this is how I did it.” They are incentivized to be extreme, to be controversial, to promise unrealistic returns, because that is what gets shared and goes viral.

And here's another element some may not know – some of these creators are being paid by the very products they are recommending. They will casually mention an app, a product, a-whatever … and MAYBE buried somewhere in the comments or description is a tiny disclaimer about affiliate links or sponsorships. So not only are they being paid by the platform for views, they are also being paid by companies for recommendations.

The traditional financial content world also has something social media largely lacks: accountability and consequences. If a respected financial author gives terrible advice that loses people money, their career may be over or as the kids say nowadays, they may get “cancelled.” If a financial publication publishes misleading information, they may face lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny. But a TikTok creator? They can delete their account, start a new one, and be back to shelling out advice next week under a different username. There is virtually no accountability, no professional licensing requirements, no oversight whatsoever. That’s a bit scary, huh.

So here's where we need to get really practical about this whole situation. Even if you find financial advice that sounds reasonable – whether it's from social media, a book, a podcast, ANYWHERE – you absolutely cannot just take it and run with it. I do not care if the advice is coming from someone like Warren Buffett himself; you need to verify it with qualified professionals who know your specific situation. And I'm talking about real professionals here – credible and qualified financial planners, tax advisors, estate planning attorneys – not your cousin who made some money in GameStop or your barber who's "really good with stocks."

Why is this important? Well … First, back to the personalization factor I mentioned earlier. A financial planner should not just go look at an investment strategy and say "yeah, that sounds good." They should examine how it fits into your overall financial picture. They should consider your current debt situation, your emergency fund status, your insurance coverage, your tax situation, your retirement timeline, your family obligations, etc. They might tell you that even though that investment sounds great in theory, you are not super financially ready for it because you do not have enough emergency savings. Or they might point out various tax implications.  Speaking of taxes…

Tax considerations alone are enough to make your head spin, and they are something that social media creators rarely address properly or adequately. A qualified tax professional can walk you through these implications and help you understand the real tax issues (and pros/cons) or even risk of various strategies.

Then there's the legal side of things, which is where an attorney becomes invaluable. Estate planning, business structures, tax shelters, various types of trusts – these all have significant legal implications that really cannot be properly and adequately covered in a 30-second video. Relying on quick clips or catchy posts for something as complex as the LAW can leave you with an incomplete or even dangerous understanding. The law is nuanced, and what applies to one person’s situation may be totally different for yours. That’s why professional, personalized advice is critical when it comes to protecting yourself, your family, and your assets.

The bottom line is this: your financial future is too important to go off of content that was created primarily to get views and engagement. Social media can be a great place to get introduced to financial concepts, to spark your curiosity, to start your learning journey. But it should never be where your learning journey ends. Think of social media financial content like a movie trailer – it might get you interested in the topic, but you wouldn't make major life decisions based solely on a two-minute preview. Your financial decisions deserve the same level of scrutiny and professional guidance. Because unlike a bad movie, bad financial decisions can affect your life for years or decades to come. So while you are welcome to use social media for inspiration and education, but always always always always verify everything with professionals who have a duty to act in your best interests.

Alrighty, let’s wrap this episode up, shall we? Next week, we’re back to the “celebrity estate planning” type of episode – so, for this episode, I’m thinking about doing an episode on the estate of fashion icon, Giorgio Armani. I have not dove in too much to see if there’s enough content there for a full episode, so … yeah, next week may be on him, so tune in next week to see, Legal Tea Listeners. Talk to you then!

Sources:

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