Learning to be digital consumers. How to improve young people’s financial skills in a technologically driven consumer society?

DigiConsumers is a research project funded by the Strategic Research Council operating in connection with the Academy of Finland as a part of the Culture in an Increasingly Technologically Driven Society CULT (2019–2025) programme.

The CULT programme seeks to provide solutions to support the interaction between technological development, institutional and organisational structures and different cultures in a way that allows everyone to be involved in an increasingly multicultural and technologically driven society.

The factors influencing the consumption and economic behaviour of young people have been studied across numerous disciplines, but the information is fragmented and there is still much to uncover about the effects of digitalisation on consumption and economic behaviour and how these are learned.

The aim of the project is to develop new types of tools and learning methods to improve the financial skills of young people in digital environments.

The multidisciplinary consortium will use theories and methodologies in the fields of sociology, psychology, education, economics, ICT and cognitive science in cooperation with societal, commercial and political institutions.


The study focuses on three main questions:


1. How is digital technology changing young people’s consumer cultures and financial behavior, and which social and cognitive-affective factors have an impact on consumption? What kinds of challenges and advantages technological development has brought forth?

2. What kinds of educational tools are needed for educational institutes, families and policy makers to improve young people’s financial and digital skills and consumer competence?

3. How to improve the ethical conduct of digital marketing and online services targeted to young people, in order to create a socially, ethically and economically sustainable consumer society?