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Jamie Dimon tells Gen Z to stop wasting their time on TikTok and read books instead
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Jamie Dimon tells Gen Z to stop wasting their time on TikTok and read books instead

Facebook and TikTok may be two of the most popular apps on the market right now, but Jamie Dimon doesn’t care. He says the social media platforms are “a total, stupid waste of shit.”

The apps are “a complete waste of time,” Dimon told a group of students at the Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) conference yesterday.

The billionaire banker appeared on stage at Georgetown University and gave the audience some simple advice: “Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn.”

“If you’re a Democrat, read the Republican view … if you’re a Republican, read the Democratic view,” Dimon added. “Read history books. You can’t make this stuff up.”

He listed a number of topics that students should be interested in: “Nelson Mandela, Abe Lincoln, Sam Walton (the founder of Walmart).”

“You only learn by reading and talking to other people,” Dimon added. “There’s no other way yet. Maybe one day they’ll inject knowledge directly into your brain or something.”

“Be smart about it. People are wasting a ton of time… turn off TikTok and Facebook,” Dimon added.

Meta and TikTok did not immediately respond to The fortune request for comment.

Whether social media is a waste of time is a matter of opinion. But one thing is for sure: Generation Z spends a lot of time online.

A survey of more than 400,000 families conducted last year found that Gen Z in the US spends several hours a day on TikTok alone, and another hour and a half a day on the messaging app Snapchat.

These youngsters claim they’re not just mindlessly scrolling. In the report, commissioned by online safety company Qustodio, Gen Z respondents said they used the app to find recipe ideas, fashion advice, new music and DIY tips.

The generation that is currently between 12 and 27 years old also uses the video platform to look for career advice and bases their career decisions on what they see from creators.

‘Look at all the facts’

Dimon, who received $36 million for his work in 2023, also encouraged young people to focus on the facts.

“Look at all the facts, get to know all the people,” he added. “Develop your EQ, you know you communicate well. You want to be the person who walks into the room and people want to hear what you have to say.”

The JPMorgan boss, who recently said he would step down as CEO of America’s largest bank within the next five years, also encouraged openness to other people.

Social media platforms have been accused of sowing division on political and social issues and spreading disinformation.

Pew Research found in 2022 that while most people thought social media was generally good for democracy, 84% also said the platforms were easy to manipulate with false information and rumors. Another 65% said it contributed to divided political opinion.

Dimon encouraged students to listen to opinions, adding, “Be flexible. Don’t let yourself be used as a weapon. When people come up with binary arguments … as soon as they do it to me, I say, ‘Excuse me, don’t do that.’ It’s not either-or. It’s never either-or, it’s usually somewhere in between.”

This story originally appeared on Fortune.com