Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to investing. I just started putting money away for my family (I have a 1-year-old) and I’m trying to make sense of everything I see on YouTube and Reddit.
One thing I’ve noticed is that everyone seems to have "auto-invest" turned on. It feels like as soon as there’s even a tiny dip in the market, everyone buys in instantly, and the market bounces back in like a week. It makes me wonder a few things:
1. Are market downturns just "short" now? It seems like every recent crash is over in a few months, whereas I read that in the 70s or early 2000s, it took years to get back to even. Has something fundamentally changed because of the internet and apps like Robinhood?
2. What if everyone is doing the same thing? If millions of us are all DCA-ing and "buying the dip" at the same time, does that mean the market can't fall for long? Or does it create a giant bubble where we’re all just propping each other up until the money runs out?
3. Are we actually prepared for a "real" crash? I’m worried that my generation has been "trained" by quick recoveries (like COVID in 2020). If we hit a bear market that actually lasts 2 or 3 years—like the "old times"—do you think people will actually keep buying, or will everyone panic when the "dip" keeps dipping for 18 months straight?
As someone just starting out, I want to make sure I’m not just following a trend that only works when times are good. Would love to hear from some "veteran" investors who have seen crashes that lasted longer than a few months. How do you survive those?
Disclaimer:
I used AI to generate the final text of the question but i was curious about this and want to learn more from community.