I started investing in the stock market as an individual in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. I was at home and spending more time looking at the digital economy and saw the large stock gains people made after the COVID crash recovery. Many of the people were posting screenshots of otherworldly gains made on an app called Robinhood. So, I opened an account and have used the user-friendly operating system of Robinhood ever since. With just a few taps and swipes I can buy and sell contracts of major companies from the comfort of my couch.

In my time trading, I have discovered the stock market to perform less like what I imagined a stock market to be and more like a casino. When I watch videos or read briefs on companies, people are often spending more time analyzing moment and hype versus the fundamentals of a company. But the truth is, while investing, the performance of a stock seems to have more to do with sentiment than fundamentals.

Investing is using dollars to buy a piece of an underlying asset with the belief that the company is going to be worth more in the future, and I am willing to give buying power now to be rewarded with the future achievements of that company later. Gambling is placing a bet that the price will go up or down.

Sadly, it seems to me that many people are gambling, not investing.

Robinhood has made gambling even easier for the everyday individual. In their app, they have now included “prediction markets” where you can place a wager on wether a sports team will win, who will win an entertainment award, or even wager on what the weather is going to be.

These prediction markets are huge, with billions in weekly trading volume and more than half of United States adults gambling in some form over the last year. They have become regular talking points in conversation and have proven to be more accurate in predicting future events than things like political polls.

Why is gambling growing in our American culture?

While gambling has been part of our culture for years, it has grown in popularity as of late. In my own context, gambling was something that was shameful and not to be participated in. Now, gambling is promoted relentlessly by sports stars and actors with deals for free bets and the like.

It has become easier than ever to gamble, with the ability to gamble in a curated way, choosing from a host of different events. The diverse categories to bet on allows gamblers to pick categories where the user may have “special knowledge” giving the gambler a better chance to hit big. In fact, most people believe they have special knowledge on nearly any event due to the proliferation of information on media platforms, making gambling feel less unknown and bets more “safe”.

A lot of the desire to gamble is rooted in fast money and financial strain. By placing a ten dollar bet here, I could get a one hundred percent or better return. Meanwhile, placing a wager on tomorrow’s temperature in Phoenix is right next to buying stock in Google, giving the sense that it is equally legitimate an activity. But, if I get the weather right in Phoenix I get a multiples return on my money, whereas I might have to wait years for my stock purchase to pay off.

Lastly, we all are aware of the power of the neurochemical dopamine on our psyche. The chance to win sparks something in us, and when we win it is an explosion. Gambling is a dopamine addiction, and a dangerous one.

We should actively abandon gambling and pursue investment instead.

Few things pay off quickly in life. Instead, we should plan on the slow grind to success which takes planning, discipline, and fortitude.

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