Young people and money: a review of young people’s use of online information and advice

The Money and Pension Service (MaPS) commissioned this rapid literature review to better understand where young people (here those aged 11 to 24) look for advice on money-related issues, especially online. ‘Advice’, in this review, means any help, information or guidance that young people access independently, excluding regulated financial advice.
The review explored the current knowledge base on young people’s preferred sources, how they engage with online information and how it impacts on their decision-making and behaviour. The review analysed 47 academic and ‘grey’ literature publications which met the review criteria (see Appendix 2). Here the term ‘online’ includes any internet-based platform, including websites, blogs, social media and on-demand viewing.
Overall, the review found a substantial body of useful research. However it also highlighted large gaps in the knowledge base, for example around young people’s needs in relation to money advice, how to best help young people locate reliable online or offline money advice, their specific use of online resources in this respect and the impact of online money advice.