A generation that thinks a 401(k) is a postal code has discovered the stock market, and the results are exactly as chaotic as you’d expect.
Young investors are pouring money into technology stocks with the strategic rigor of someone choosing a Netflix show—which is to say, almost none. They’ve watched a few TikTok videos about “stonks,” noticed that the Magnificent Seven have gone up a lot, and concluded that this is both how markets work and how they’ll stay working forever. The risk-reward calculation appears to be: “Tech go up, I make money. Tech go down, I panic-sell at the bottom.” Rinse, repeat, blame the algorithm.
The irony is sharp. These are people who can optimize their Spotify playlists but cannot explain what a price-to-earnings ratio is. They understand volatility in the abstract—they’ve lived through crypto winters and meme stock summers—yet treat individual tech stocks like lottery tickets where they’ve done their “research” by reading a Reddit thread at 2 a.m.
Here’s what actually matters: concentration risk. If your entire portfolio is three mega-cap tech stocks because they “always bounce back,” you are not investing. You are gambling with the deposit for your first apartment. Markets correct. Sectors rotate. The companies that dominate today often do not dominate tomorrow. Nvidia looked invincible in 2000 too—except it did not, and many investors who went all-in learned that lesson the hard way.
The move: diversify. Own boring stuff. Index funds. Bonds. International exposure. Build a portfolio that does not require you to check your phone every seventeen seconds. Your future self will thank you—assuming you still have a future to fund.