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It is the price of democracy. When voting was democratized it allowed people with all different backgrounds and varying level of education to contribute to the

It is the price of democracy. When voting was democratized it allowed people with all different backgrounds and varying level of education to contribute to the political body of a country. Same thing happened with the democratizing of information with the arrival of the internet and search engines. It allowed the flow and availability of information, all kinds of information, including flat earth conspiracy theories, guides on how to perform violent acts ...etc. One needs to look at the net sum. In my opinion, the net of the democratizing of stock trading, like other forms of democracies was a positive.

balls187 6y ago
I don't think the issue is democratizing stock trading. The issue, as I understand it, it's that Robinhood's UX has crossed the line from "easy, functional and usable" over to one that employs similar psychological tactics that social media, casinos, and lootboxes employ to keep users engaged with their product. I'm not passing judgement on their implementation, instead likening it to similar pleasure cycles that lead to addiction like behavior in the aforementioned products above.
- kjksf 6y ago
  Maybe we shouldn't be throwing words like "addiction" willy nilly. Is it really your opinion that the guy wouldn't fund his investments via credit card debt and then followed it up by borrowing $30k against his mortgage if only he used ETrade and not Robinhod? Somehow, I really don't think so.
  - balls187 6y ago
    > Is it really your opinion that the guy wouldn't fund his investments via credit card debt and then followed it up by borrowing $30k against his mortgage if only he used ETrade and not Robinhod? Mechanically, ETrade does not allow you to fund your account via Credit Card. You could request a check from your credit card company I guess... But yes, most brokerage apps are focused on data, and less about engagement.
dlp211 6y ago
> In my opinion, the net of the democratizing of stock trading What exactly does this mean? I'm pretty sure you've been able to purchase stock as a retail investor for a long time now. I'm also pretty sure that the friction that used to exist to direct stock trading was a net positive for the average retail investor.

balls187 6y ago

I don't think the issue is democratizing stock trading. The issue, as I understand it, it's that Robinhood's UX has crossed the line from "easy, functional and usable" over to one that employs similar psychological tactics that social media, casinos, and lootboxes employ to keep users engaged with their product. I'm not passing judgement on their implementation, instead likening it to similar pleasure cycles that lead to addiction like behavior in the aforementioned products above.

kjksf 6y ago
Maybe we shouldn't be throwing words like "addiction" willy nilly. Is it really your opinion that the guy wouldn't fund his investments via credit card debt and then followed it up by borrowing $30k against his mortgage if only he used ETrade and not Robinhod? Somehow, I really don't think so.
- balls187 6y ago
  > Is it really your opinion that the guy wouldn't fund his investments via credit card debt and then followed it up by borrowing $30k against his mortgage if only he used ETrade and not Robinhod? Mechanically, ETrade does not allow you to fund your account via Credit Card. You could request a check from your credit card company I guess... But yes, most brokerage apps are focused on data, and less about engagement.

dlp211 6y ago

> In my opinion, the net of the democratizing of stock trading What exactly does this mean? I'm pretty sure you've been able to purchase stock as a retail investor for a long time now. I'm also pretty sure that the friction that used to exist to direct stock trading was a net positive for the average retail investor.