The novelty caught the attention of many. Amid a teenage online gambling epidemicwhich is causing problems for thousands of children, both financially and family-wise, the national government announced that those over 13 years of age will be able to operate in the capital market.
The National Securities Commission (CNV) published last Monday in the Official Gazette a general resolution that allows adolescents from that age to buy and sell shares, bonds, negotiable obligations, Cedear and sureties, among other instruments. Until now, minors could open an account in a bank and invest the money in mutual funds or fixed terms with the authorization of an adult.
In the arguments of resolution 1023, it is explained that The objective is to promote financial education. “The regulations enable young people to invest in fixed-income instruments, variable-income instruments and placement bonds, through negotiation segments with price-time priority (PPT), and must have appropriate legal representation to do so,” says a statement. of the CNV. “We recognize the new ways of managing money that new generations have adopted, especially. That is why we are convinced that it is essential to adapt to the current times, expanding investment options and promoting the development of the capital market through financial inclusion, also for young investors,” he adds.
The novelty causes concern among those who work with adolescents struggling with different types of addictions, including gambling. “A few days ago I returned from giving a talk about the problem of gambling among children, in Entre Ríos. We already know at this point that different types of consumption (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine and now also gambling) have been affecting our kids for a long time, and at an increasingly earlier age,” he says. Débora Blanca, director of Lazos en Juego and author of four books on adolescent addictions.
“We also know that they are showing new conditions closely related to contact with screens and social networks, as well as paradigm shifts that distort the places and functions of adults and children: anxiety disorders, depression, impulsivity, addictions, panic. Since 2023, the problem of online betting among minors has exploded in our country; In schools, families, clubs, wherever they are, they bet from their cell phones, many of them getting sick, with alarming consequences for their health and that of their families. In the midst of this scenario, with kids worried about how to earn money immediately and effortlessly, or how to recover it if they have already become addictively hooked on betting, they add a new door: the stock market. Was this seriously thought of considering the mental health of our kids? Seriously, in times where they use the money in their virtual wallets to gamble instead of eating lunch?load the SUBE, play soccer or go out with friends, They decide to add the stock market?”, asks Blanca.
“Isn’t it time to start to not worry our children about how to earn money and multiply it, leaving that concern, in any case, to the grown-ups? Don’t they realize that at 13, 14, 15 years old, kids’ priorities must be different because they are boys? Are they stubborn in continuing to deny that many of the current sufferings, to which self-harm and suicide are added, challenge us regarding the current world and its basic shortcomings? The kids don’t need to invest, it’s the adults who have to do it. And I’m not talking about investing in the market, but about investing in the sense of change: changing our way of looking, our listening and our decisions regarding children. They are hyper-informed and may seem like adults, but they are not. They need us to take care of them and provide them with what is surely not offered in the market: time,” adds the specialist.
“It seems like a totally inappropriate measure to me. There is something that worries us: These kids at very young ages are looking for ways to multiply money through strategies and mechanisms that are clearly worrying because they are illegal, such as online betting, courses that are pyramid scams. One may think that a way out would be that these guys who have this drive can do it legally through investments, but it seems to me that there is something underlying here that would have to be discussed in more depth: At 13, 14, 15 years old, the emotional, psychological, cognitive, and maturational development of children does not yet allow them to make these types of decisions.”explains Lucía Fainboim, Faro Digital specialist and one of the authors of the book Online betting, the perfect storm.
“The way out is not to give them a legal mechanism. It is giving them financial education, on the one hand, but also open debates about what this impulse means to constantly look for easy money, outside the logic of work and effort. We have to motivate them to stop looking for money all the time and to live experiences, because that is the underlying problem. During puberty and adolescence, what these kids need are a lot of significant, collective learning experiences with other people, which they are not having today and which impact their mental health,” says Fainboim.
“If we don’t go to the bottom and put patches, then it explodes into an adolescent and youth mental health crisis. The idea of them investing makes them adults at an age when they are not. They do not have any type of capacity at 13 years old to make financial decisions. In general, families will not be able to accompany or guide them either. We are seeing kids who have virtual wallets and who already make many mistakes, who lose a lot of money, who invest, who steal because they do not have the dimension of money when on top of that it is not physical money. So Childhood must be protected and allowed to remain children. Prioritize from a perspective that considers the rights of children. It is one thing to educate yourself, inform yourself, debate, learn, test, experiment with previous steps, simulations, debates; It’s another to do what adults do,” he details.
A boy at 13 years old needs to be with other boys, he needs to learn, go to school. Those are their rights: to play, to be with others, adds Fainboim. “None of that has to do with the financial world, which does not mean that the financial world is bad, but it will come to them later. Let them learn, and when they are older and have the ability to make those types of decisions, they do it.. In the background is the same reason why a boy can’t drive at 16, or can’t drink alcohol. There are a lot of impediments because we know that they are decisions that are made based on mental, cognitive, and emotional development. They have to have developed the ability to make decisions,” he adds.
“The measure is taken to promote financial education from an early age, but will this type of authorization really improve the current situation? We are facing a critical panorama regarding the link between adolescents and virtual money, The online betting craze is a clear example of this. Therefore, adolescents are once again vulnerable to falling into harmful behaviors. Shouldn’t the first measure be to guarantee that minors receive solid, quality financial education and then think about the possibility of enabling these spaces? asks Florencia Gabutti, Cordoban teacher and specialist in digital citizenship, from Creativos Digitales, an area from which the responsible use of technology is promoted.
When asked about the effects this measure could have, Gabutti prefers to be cautious. “I do not mention the consequences in adolescents, since I can’t find any precedents in other places to have accurate data. I consider that, to be pioneers in this measure, a lot of work is needed in the previous context“, says. And he states: “According to the regulations, those responsible for these accounts and the transactions carried out in them will be their parents or dependent adults. If we consider the recent case of San Pedro, in which 20,000 people could have been victims of a scam related to cryptocurrencies, the following question arises: are adults really qualified to guide and accompany teenagers in this type of investments? ?
Regarding what type of behavior it encourages among adolescents, Gabutti also has doubts: “I am concerned that this measure encourages children and adolescents to seek information autonomously. exposing them to influencers called traders: average 20 year old financial gurus deceptively promoting methods to make dollar profits in exchange for selling courses, using social networks to show a culture of ostentation with luxury cars, trips and expensive accessories. Through their publications, they discredit the value of formal work and education, offering a supposed fast track to enter the world of investments by purchasing their supposed training,” he explains.
It is worth remembering that in recent weeks 14 influencers were reported by the city government for promoting illegal betting. “In terms of cybersecurity, the rule is not clear as to what protection measures the data on minors who complete the sworn declarations to be able to access the stock market will receive. In an era in which data is the new gold for large companies and cybercriminals, guaranteeing its protection is a primary duty,” concludes Gabutti.