THE MATH BEHIND:

More teens have investment accounts than TikTok accounts.

Overview

In our world, teens scroll, like, and share — but only a fraction ever learn how money works.Financial literacy arrives too late, and wealth creation starts too early for too few.

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But in the sheconomy timeline, that story changes completely.When women gained equal economic power in 1925, the financial system evolved to serve families — not just financiers. Women economists designed savings tools for children. Mothers and fathers opened accounts the moment their kids were born. Schools taught investing as fluently as reading.

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By the 1960s, index funds and custodial accounts were as normal as savings bonds.By the 1990s, a generation of teens had already become investors.And by the turn of the century, the number of teenagers with investment accounts officially surpassed those with TikTok-style social profiles.

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A financial culture once built for speculation became a system built for shared security — one where growing wealth was just part of growing up.

Reality data points that informed the research

67

%
In 2022, 67% of U.S. teens used TikTok.

22.8

%
Only 22.8% of U.S. minors have dedicated college or investment savings accounts.

24

%
Women are 24% more likely than men to invest for long-term security goals.

25

yrs
It took 25 years for the first index fund (launched 1976) to reach mainstream use — a delay that gender-balanced financial leadership could have halved.

23

%
According to a 2023 study by Fidelity Investments, fewer than 1‐in‐4 teens (23%) ages 13-17 “have actually started” investing, despite 75% believing investing is important.

51

%
Over half of U.S. teenagers (51%) report spending at least four hours per day on a variety of social media apps.

Events that led up to it

1925

Alternate reality begins

In this experiment, we went back 100 years and made women and men equal in the economy. Key changes included making women 50% of company executives, 50% of stock market investors, 50% of the startup founders getting funded, and 50% of financial decision makers at home.

1925

Financial equality begins

Women gain equal influence in banks, investment firms, and household finances, reshaping how families save.

1951

The low-cost investing revolution

Female economists champion John Bogle’s thesis on index funds, accelerating innovation in accessible investment products.

1964

Custodial accounts launched

Gender-balanced financial institutions introduce child investment accounts two decades earlier than in our reality.

1970s

Financial education reforms

Investing becomes part of school curricula worldwide, closing the gap between literacy and financial independence.

1999

Teen investors outnumber TikTok users

Mass adoption of family investment accounts makes saving and investing universal among youth.

Where economic equality isn’t the finish line, it’s the starting point.

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