In a rapidly changing financial environment, the importance of financial literacy is increasing; however, a significant number of people still lack even basic financial knowledge. Adolescents, in particular, must prepare for an independent financial l...
In a rapidly changing financial environment, the importance of financial literacy is increasing; however, a significant number of people still lack even basic financial knowledge. Adolescents, in particular, must prepare for an independent financial life as they enter adulthood. Although they already engage in practical financial activities, they often show lower levels of financial literacy compared to adults. While school financial education in South Korea remains insufficient due to a college entrance exam-oriented environment and an absolute lack of instructional hours, so-called “digital native” adolescents are already highly familiar with mobile financial systems and acquire financial information through various channels. Notably, social media stands out as a key channel. Social media is deeply embedded in the daily lives of adolescents with its simple and intuitive content. With the recent emergence of “finfluencers” and the active utilization of social media by financial institutions—such as opening official channels—the influx of adolescents into financial social media content is further accelerating. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the impact of financial social media content use on adolescents’ financial literacy, and thereby explore strategies for its educational utilization. To achieve this, the following research question was established: “Does financial social media content use have a significant effect on adolescents’ financial literacy?” Based on Social Cognitive Theory, the independent variable—financial social media content use—was conceptualized in terms of usage time, usage motivation (cognitive motivation and non-cognitive motivation), and interaction during usage. The dependent variable consisted of financial literacy and its sub-factors: financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial attitude. Accordingly, four hypotheses were formulated: that longer usage time, higher cognitive motivation, and more active interaction would have a positive effect on financial literacy, whereas higher non-cognitive motivation would have a negative effect. To test these hypotheses, a survey was conducted targeting adolescents aged 15 to under 19 attending middle and high schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, and the collected data were analyzed using multiple regression. The major findings of this study are as follows. First, the usage time of financial social media content showed a significant positive (+) effect on financial literacy, specifically on financial behavior and financial attitude among the sub-factors. This suggests that as adolescents spend more time using this content, they imitate rational financial behaviors through the modeling process and internalize future-oriented and savings-oriented attitudes. Second, cognitive usage motivation showed a significant positive (+) effect on financial literacy, and specifically on financial behavior among its sub-factors. This demonstrates that using content with a clear sense of purpose, such as information acquisition or problem-solving, is highly likely to lead to financial practice. Third, non-cognitive usage motivation showed a significant negative (-) effect on financial literacy and all its sub-factors. Using content merely for pleasure or passing time hinders attention to financial information, preventing the acquisition of financial knowledge or the practice of desirable financial behaviors, while also stimulating conspicuous consumption or speculative mentality, leading to negative outcomes in financial attitude. Fourth, interaction during usage showed a significant negative (-) effect on financial knowledge and financial attitude. This may be attributed to the fact that online and offline interactions mainly occur with anonymous users or peers, which can lead to unverified information exchange or uncritical conformity. In light of these findings, this study proposes the following implications for financial education. First, as the accumulation of usage time of financial social media content has been confirmed to be a positive factor driving adolescents’ financial behavior practice and attitude change, such content needs to be actively adopted as an educational tool. Second, given the finding that cognitive usage motivation for financial social media content leads to rational financial behavior, content tailored to the specific needs and situations of learners should be provided to promote such motivation. Furthermore, considering the negative effect of non-cognitive usage motivation on financial literacy and its sub-factors, opportunities should be offered to critically review existing content—which has been consumed without a cognitive purpose—by utilizing it as a teaching resource. This is to ensure that content usage does not merely end at the level of emotional satisfaction or entertainment. Third, educational intervention is required to help students verify, select, and internalize financial information shared through interaction based on objective grounds. In other words, teachers need to design sophisticated instructional processes to transform non-professional communication into a meaningful learning process.