Frederick Potter 
Availability of smartphones has also changed the way young Pakistanis conduct their business of currency trading with many of them beginning their forex business with nothing less than simple and basic Android phones and mobile internet connectivity. The mobile trading applications are more convenient to use among university students and fresh graduates than the desktop platform, particularly when they have to consider studies, part-time employment, and their families, leaving limited time to be at a computer. Monitoring positions during commutes, lunch breaks, or between classes has enabled trading to be more part of everyday life than demanding specific dedicated time on its own.
The social media effect is tremendous in inviting Pakistani youth to the forex markets, as Instagram accounts and TikTok (where alleged success stories of trading are shown) are attracting the attention of young people. Showcasing costly vehicles, rich living conditions, and snapshots of lucrative transactions produce strong psychological appeals to young people who have low conventional career opportunities. Most young traders acknowledge that they initially got interested in the forex after reading social media posts that trading was easy and very profitable, when in reality it turns out to be very different from these posts that have been carefully curated online.
Most of the interest in mobile forex trading is instigated by economic pressures on the Pakistani youth since the traditional means of employment cannot serve their rising aspirations and financial demands. The increasing cost of living, poor employment opportunities, postponed marriage due to a lack of money drive most youths to seek easy ways out of the financial difficulties, which appear to be offered by trading sites. Mobile trading is flexible, which provides young people with the opportunity to strive to earn money and keep their other obligations, but the multi-tasking method has the negative effect of lapsing concentration and trading errors.
The existing gaps in education can be identified while investigating the ways in which Pakistani young people acquire knowledge about the forex markets since most of them use YouTube videos, social media tips, and a trial-and-error learning approach instead of pursuing formal educational opportunities. Mobile applications open accounts and first trade very easily, and seldom offer extensive education regarding risk management and market analysis, or how to size a position appropriately. Many young traders realize the importance of proper education only after experiencing losses that could have been avoided with better preparation.
The technology constraint also influences the performance of mobile trading when Pakistani young people use their simplistic smartphones that have low processing power or unreliable internet connectivity to perform complex trading strategies. The cost of data will be a considerable consideration to students and young professionals who cannot afford trading activities and monthly mobile plan limits. A forex broker’s mobile application that uses too much data or that drains too much battery life on the phone becomes problematic to the users who rely on their phones in the course of the day.
There is further complication on the family dynamics where young Pakistani traders seek to conceal their forex ventures to parents who perceive their trading as gambling or risky financial behavior. The culture and understanding of how money should be used do not coincide with the speculative behavior of trading in the currency, which causes a clandestine action that makes young people not seek advice or help once they have ventured into a bad trading situation. There are families who only learn about trading activities when they make huge losses that need an intervention in terms of finance or debt.
The trading practices among the youth are enhanced by peer pressure where successful traders acquire social statuses and those traders incur losses may intensify their risky trading practices in an attempt to sustain appearances. Trading tips and forex broker recommendations discussed in WhatsApp groups and university circles are frequently shared and spread quickly without verification or consideration of individual risk tolerance. This social nature of trading may increase the victories as well as the defeats since young people will pose an influence on the trading choices of each other.
Awareness of regulations amongst Pakistani youth is very low and in most cases they are not aware of what regulations, tax reporting, and compliance they are subject to. It is upon this premise that mobile trading is in a legal grey zone and that regular financial laws cannot be used on many young traders. This regulatory ignorance proves to be problematic when disputes arise with a forex broker or when tax authorities begin investigating undeclared trading earnings.
Those who suffer losses in mobile forex trading are young Pakistanis, who bear a disproportionate impact due to lack of savings, family networks, and other ways of recovering in case the trading strategies fail to give desired returns.