Meme mania pushed Gen Z into the stock market – and now they're learning investing fundamentals from TikTok and Instagram

• 41% of Gen-Z investors use social media to educate themselves on investing, Fidelity said.
• People in Gen Z who are interested in investing often turn to TikTok and Instagram first before going to family and friends.
• Many Gen Z individuals were prompted by recent meme-stock mania to start learning about investing.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Gen Z was "awakened" to investing amid the meme-stock mania this year, and now they're turning to social media for advice.

A new report from Fidelity showed more than half of Gen Z-aged people surveyed made a trade in the first three months of 2021 when the meme-stock craze took hold, with GameStop leading the way. Now, the generation of young adults aged 18-24 is wanting to educate themselves, and they're turning to social media sites like TikTok and Instagram for help.

About 41% of Gen-Z investors use social media to educate themselves on investing, the survey showed. That's more than their older counterparts, with 38% of Millennials and 25% of Generation X using the platforms for advice.

Kelly Lannan, Fidelity's vice president of young investors, said social media is the most likely place Gen-Z investors turn to first when seeking advice. After that, they most likely seek advice from people close to them before going to financial services platforms.

"Good or bad people are still turning to social media," Lannan told Insider in an interview.

Whether it's TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, "We want to be there, so we can make sure that we are doing our part in ensuring that Gen Z is getting the right information, and they're not just listening to someone who wants to be famous on these platforms," she said.

Nearly half of Gen Zs surveyed said they're feeling more educated to motivate themselves on trading and investing. "That's a really good thing if people are starting to ask questions and engage more with their finances," Lannan said.

The investing side of TikTok, better known as "StockTok," is blowing up, and the hashtag "#investing" has garnered more than 2.8 billion views. Many of the videos are centered around advice and education. Some provide useful tips while others miss the mark.

For young investors, stocks are the most popular, with growth and dividend stocks being the most popular, and meme stocks closer to the bottom of the pool, according to a recent survey from the Motley Fool.

Even so, many Gen Zs started learning more about the stock market when an army of retail traders mobilized on Reddit's Wall Street Bets poured into GameStop along with other so-called meme stocks to drive a short squeeze. About 58% of the young group said it was "more excited" to learn about the stock market following the meme-stock market volatility, the survey showed.