It’s fair to say that my first attempt at managing my own money was nothing short of disastrous. I suspect that is true for most people, given the lack of financial education in schools, particularly around how to make your money work for you, rather than just leave it in a bank account gathering dust.

The government’s announcement that financial education will become part of the national curriculum is, on the face of it, welcome news. Sadly, it comes too late for my children, who are at least in the fortunate position of having a parent determined to pass on some financial wisdom, however much that effort is met with eye-rolling.

Until the lessons begin in 2028, there remains a dangerous gap in most young people’s knowledge about investing. The classroom has not filled that gap, and certainly TikTok has not. Spend five minutes scrolling and you’ll be greeted by a parade of self-appointed investing oracles — or finfluencers as they are often called — promising overnight success, shortcuts to wealth and “guaranteed” strategies that would make any professional adviser wince.

Crypto millionaires, day traders and property flippers, many barely out of their teens, are now the loudest voices our children hear on money. This is not harmless entertainment. It’s a series of red flags masquerading as financial education. Viewers are absorbing information in seconds from feeds that prioritise “all-or-nothing” over nuance, and engagement over accuracy.

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According to Deloitte, one in four people aged 18 to 24 now turn to social media for financial guidance, and one in five have invested money based directly on what they’ve seen online. The Charted Financial Analyst Institute found that 38 per cent of Gen Z investors cite social media influencers as a leading factor in their decision to invest.

That is worrying. Algorithms have taken over where schools have failed, and the results are far from reassuring.

The idea that investing is a fast track to wealth, that risk can be sidestepped, or that clever timing can “beat the system” makes for an irresistible story when told through glossy videos and personal “success” clips. Nearly 80 per cent of young people say they trust financial content from influencers. In other words, the advice shaping their financial futures is coming not from trained professionals, but from whoever happens to go viral.

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Real investing is rarely glamorous. It requires diversification, discipline and patience: qualities that don’t trend well on social media. The best investors are not busy making videos, they are quietly building portfolios based on asset allocation, compounding and the power of time.

By teaching these principles in schools, we would help young people avoid both poor decisions and a warped understanding of what investing really is. The promise of quick returns is seductive unless you understand the risks and the far greater potential of slow, steady investing done consistently over time.

The Financial Conduct Authority, the City regulator, has already warned that online influencers are driving a surge in risky investments among young people. The vacuum in financial education is not sitting empty. It is being filled with the wrong kind of advice, and too few young people have the tools to tell the difference.

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The next generation deserve to navigate the markets with confidence and to build wealth for a financially resilient future. They need more than a class on budgeting; they need to learn the principles of evidence-based investing, how to balance risk and reward, how diversification protects capital, and how patience pays over time.

With trustworthy education, we can shape how an entire generation think about wealth. If we don’t, we risk letting algorithms, not evidence, define what financial success looks like. That is a mistake we can not afford to make.

Antonia Medlicott is the founder of the personal finance site Investing Insiders