Are we going to bail out our kids who now seem to think gambling is investment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its more than the allure of gambling.

For Gen Z men, they have a strong streak of nihilism in everything but especially finances.

They have fallen behind women in education, they dont see ways to build wealth, housing is mind numbing expensive, and women wont date men who make less than them so they are involuntarily celibate.

Gambling, crypto, its the only path they see to improve their lot. Working hard at their stalled careers will not move the needle.

WSJ just had an article, but it's not exclusive to men.

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/financial-nihilism-gen-z-gambling-meme-stocks-options-kyla-scanlon-7ae4f2aa?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqe_NXTRbCm4-39EgcpG2jradO-EhgCuFlYxyo36j3E98VZSHAXeIimu7Jq2zxc%3D&gaa_ts=696a63e4&gaa_sig=mzMn5Ct0sVeL_VudYzEg71si0s5LMTyF1skfeq_mnOOqYqv3338A43PeHIFgnhtd47nk2rv6RDYsDIktTKGD0w%3D%3D

Millennials and Gen Z are accused of treating finance like a game. They trade options, buy meme coins, play prediction markets and bet on sports as if the entire economy were a casino. The criticism usually ends there, with a finger wag and a head shake.

Baby boomers and members of Gen X say this is reckless, solid proof that social media has gamified money. But this misunderstands the mindsets of today’s young people. What seems like recklessness to parents and grandparents is actually a worrisome form of economic adaptation.

It’s known as financial nihilism, a term coined by podcaster Demetri Kofinas several years ago, and it describes the sense that the economic system no longer rewards prudence or long-term planning.

When every conventional path narrows, people start to look for alternatives. And in practice, that has meant turning toward the few places where a real upside still appears possible, even if the risks are high. In this environment, prediction markets, sports betting and cryptocurrency start to look like some of the only levers they have left. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials think that the only way to build wealth today is through alternative methods like gambling and crypto, according to the Harris Poll.

Why aren't we teaching kids to focus on financial viability as opposed to wealth? I realize WSJ isn't a good representation of the majority of the country. However as Millennial who supposedly wasn't going to be able to afford anything (but of course now it's quietly being admitted that financially we're doing just fine), I never focused on getting wealthy. I focused on affording my life.

Because the older generations destroyed the possibility of affording life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The legalization of sports betting is a boon to these betting middle-men and a poison to young men. This should not be so simple and the level of advertisements that go on is insane. Why do we insist on this kind of immoral legalization? I put it right up there with cannabis legalization. Devastating to young men.

Because legislating morality is rarely a good idea.

Any other questions?

More and more I am coming to see that legislating morality is a great idea and something we should be doing more of.

Morality is the only thing worth legislating! Name one law that isn’t legislating morality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
More and more I am coming to see that legislating morality is a great idea and something we should be doing more of.

Yeah that worked really well with prohibition.

I know right? It was so dumb when we had laws prohibiting murder.

[Anonymous]

Guys, DCUM’s context sensitive advertising is flooding this thread with gambling ads. Remember not to click on ads you don’t intend to purchase, because that violated ad network stuffing policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the same story for all of the base vices: gambling, alcohol, drugs, p0rn, even devices and junk food.

Yes anyone can become addicted and ruin their life, but it predominantly impacts the low IQ, mentally ill, victims of childhood abuse, and impulsive/low impulse control.

Liberal/liberatarian social policy benefits cognitive elites on average.

And what sort of moral legislating would you propose society implement to counter these vices? I’m curious.

ChatGPT can help you avoid embarrassing yourself.

Windfall Taxation on purveyors, advertising restrictions, limits on amount spent via mutual advance agreement with cooldown periods, mandatory disclosures and acknowledgement of risks in plain language, are a good start. These are all things that exist in some form in existing laws.

[Anonymous]

My Gen Z son loves to earn money and add to his newly opened Roth IRA.

[Anonymous]

Where do these boys get the money to gamble? I doubt my son will come home from his part-job where he earns minimum wage and blow his paycheck on gambling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ve been trained to seek the quick dopamine hits

This is the reality. It becomes an addiction and as hard to break as alcoholism and smoking.

Some have less dopamine naturally than others and are prone to riskier behaviors. Can't babysit them forever.

No we can’t. But let’s not pretend this is all about “willpower”. The goal was to make gambling seamless and frictionless - so they could take advantage of every single time a person would be inclined to let their guard down at any point in their day to day life.

Forget hopping on a plane to Vegas or Atlantic City. You don’t even need to get in the car or go call your bookie. You can literally gamble while taking a crap in your home toilet, while nursing your baby to sleep, or laying in bed at 3 am.

I personally have zero inclination to piss away my hard earned money but I do have a problem with overeating under stress, which I manage by keeping my trigger foods out of the house. How exactly does one self-manage an online gambling issue? Trading in the iPhone and cutting the home internet connection? Go full Amish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:. The goal was to make gambling seamless and frictionless - so they could take advantage of every single time a person would be inclined to let their guard down at any point in their day to day life.

This. The ease of on-line betting and the aggressive marketing, specifically to young men, is doing exactly what it is designed to do. It has very little to do with "financial nihilism" and more to do with legalized corporate manipulation of addiction. There is a reason that opiates are tightly controlled substances. Gambling won't kill you directly in the same way, but will lead to financial ruin. I don't think we will see the full societal impact of online gambling for a couple more years, when current teens and twenty-somethings reach the life stage where they should be starting to become more financially stable and they aren't. It's going to tank the economy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that Gen Z boys love to gamble. What's the reason behind this? Is it because they are not aas hopeful about the future and are hoping for a quick "fortune"?

Yours like to gamble. Don’t stereotype.

Studies say 58% of college aged men are betting online, and that is from 2023. It's likely way higher now. This isn't a one off parenting issue, this is a societal trend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the same story for all of the base vices: gambling, alcohol, drugs, p0rn, even devices and junk food.

Yes anyone can become addicted and ruin their life, but it predominantly impacts the low IQ, mentally ill, victims of childhood abuse, and impulsive/low impulse control.

Liberal/liberatarian social policy benefits cognitive elites on average.

And what sort of moral legislating would you propose society implement to counter these vices? I’m curious.

They already exist.

Alcohol: No one under X age can purchase, Cannot be served while under the influence, cannot operate motor vehicle under the influence, cannot purchase after X time, govt regulations on the alcohol itself (abv%, sizes, where it can be purchased)

Junk food: tons of taxes to make it less appealing, big labels noting if its high in sugar or fat

Think about all the random laws the govt has set out. A lot of these are to protect us from ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that Gen Z boys love to gamble. What's the reason behind this? Is it because they are not aas hopeful about the future and are hoping for a quick "fortune"?

Yours like to gamble. Don’t stereotype.

Studies say 58% of college aged men are betting online, and that is from 2023. It's likely way higher now. This isn't a one off parenting issue, this is a societal trend.

For a lot of people it’s a hobby where they don’t bet more than they can afford. My husband loves sports and to make it more fun he puts in $20 bets. I don’t think it’s a “new generation” problem. All ages do this betting and all ages will have a small percentage who think they can make money this way and end up losing tons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that Gen Z boys love to gamble. What's the reason behind this? Is it because they are not aas hopeful about the future and are hoping for a quick "fortune"?

Yours like to gamble. Don’t stereotype.

Studies say 58% of college aged men are betting online, and that is from 2023. It's likely way higher now. This isn't a one off parenting issue, this is a societal trend.

For a lot of people it’s a hobby where they don’t bet more than they can afford. My husband loves sports and to make it more fun he puts in $20 bets. I don’t think it’s a “new generation” problem. All ages do this betting and all ages will have a small percentage who think they can make money this way and end up losing tons

As a major major I always laugh when people gamble. It's fun watching them making sense of odds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that Gen Z boys love to gamble. What's the reason behind this? Is it because they are not aas hopeful about the future and are hoping for a quick "fortune"?

Yours like to gamble. Don’t stereotype.

Studies say 58% of college aged men are betting online, and that is from 2023. It's likely way higher now. This isn't a one off parenting issue, this is a societal trend.

For a lot of people it’s a hobby where they don’t bet more than they can afford. My husband loves sports and to make it more fun he puts in $20 bets. I don’t think it’s a “new generation” problem. All ages do this betting and all ages will have a small percentage who think they can make money this way and end up losing tons

Sure, but it's so much incredibly easier now. It's so much easier to click a few buttons on your phone vs the betting days of yore. You are comparing apples and car washes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I know right? It was so dumb when we had laws prohibiting murder.

Great MAGA logic there.