Twitter financial community getting younger, smarter about investments; desire for life change a spur: Birdseye report

• A Twitter user from the financial community is 36% more likely to share a tweet than an average user.
  
• In Asia, 35% of the Twitter users joining the conversation on finance from August 2021 to August 2022 were 18 to 24-year-olds.
  
• The financial community is moving away from traditional finance and looking more towards a decentralised finance model.
  

The financial community on Twitter, aka the #FinTwit community is getting younger and smarter about investments, says The Birdseye report produced by consumer intelligence company Talkwalker in partnership with social media microblogging platform Twitter.

The report stated that the #FinTwits community was active on Twitter, with a Twitter user from the financial community 36% more likely to share a tweet than an average Twitter user.

“The #FinTwit community understands the minutia of the financial industry. If there’s a monetary issue bubbling— one that could have global consequences — #FinTwit’s is talking about it,” the report said.

It also added that the discussion among the financial twitter community was primarily split between three key trends - modern investments (NFTs and crypto), traditional financial investments (stocks, bonds, etc) and broader financial topics (savings, mortgages, etc).

What is buzzing among Twitter’s financial community?

While investments still dominated the conversation among the financial community on Twitter, cryptocurrency and NFTs are gaining in relevance – with a 139% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase as a topic of discussion, the report said.

The report also stated that there was a 37% YoY increase in discussions on traditional financial investments like stocks, bonds and commodities, while broader financial topics including money savings, mortgages, etc, witnessed a 23% increase.

The report also shared that a section of the financial twitter community wanted to move away from traditional finance models and “towards a decentralised finance model”.

This was reflected in the data sourced from Twitter that showed there were negative conversations around traditional financial models, such as central banks (3.3K mentions) and financial institutions (500+ mentions), the report stated.

Financial Twitter community getting younger and desire financial freedom

Behind the financial advice and investments chatter on Twitter is a rise in the number of Gen Z and millennial users desiring a life change.

The report shared that in Asia, 35% of the users joining the conversation from August 2021 to August 2022 were 18 to 24-year-olds. According to the report, much of this was driven by the cryptocurrency boost.

In India, tech-savvy millennials are helping grow the popularity of crypto, while Southeast Asia is seeing a vibrant Web3 scene, the report highlighted.

“Globally, cryptocurrency is the topic for younger investors; some believe it can provide significant return on investment over time, “ the report said.

As of January 2022, fIve Asian countries are among the top 10 Twitter users in the world -Japan (58.9 million), India (23.6 million), Indonesia (18.4 million), Saudi Arabia (14.1 million) and Thailand (11.4 million), as per Statista.


With 2.9K mentions, financial freedom is a growing positive driver, according to the report.


“For millennials and Gen Z, who are often faced with more financial hindrances and are harder hit by inflation, financial freedom is an area of interest. The #FinTwit community has the same aspirations as many regular Twitter users — to find a way to live life without relying on traditional 9-5 work,” stated the report.


GRAPHIC ON UNDERSTANDING EMOTION BEHIND FINANCIAL TWITTER (PAGE 10)


Twitter and Talkwalker analysed data of the financial Twitter community from August 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022.