How consumers acquire financial literacy? An information acquisition model of human capital

Abstract

Thispaper describesthe Reddit online platform as a medium for financial literacy acquisition. Findingsindicate the platform is a combination of smaller learning environments, withinwhich consumers progress from learner to educator, and between which consumers progress, seemingly as their financial literacy accumulates. Within individual discussions five aspects of users’comments are found to be correlated with whether the consumer seeking financial literacy responds to and thanks this user.Leadingto theconclusionthat time, comment position within the discussion, Reddit metrics, text, and user experienceare correlated withwhether a consumer obtains financial literacy from a comment.