Image Credit: Buddha Seated in Meditation (Dhyanamudra), Art Institute of Chicago

As anyone who’s ever raised — or been — a teenager knows, happy outcomes are rare when groups of people egg each other on in a risky activity.

Just look at financial markets now. An activity that people have historically pursued in isolation — buying and selling stocks and other assets — has become the hottest way to socialize.

Friends get together on Zoom to “live-trade” stocks just as they watch movies or TV together on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Trading websites’ leaderboards show the names and gains of the people making the most money. Brokerage apps display lists of the stocks their users are flocking to the most. At some online brokers, you can even “autocopy” other users, mechanically duplicating their trades….

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This article was originally published on The Wall Street Journal.

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