Today's young adults - tomorrow's leaders among them - cannot remember a time without computers, much less without the Internet, flat-panel TVs, iPods and other high-tech time- and labor-savers.
Banking and financial services have evolved right along with everything else, so online trading of stocks, bonds and commodities seems the most natural thing in the world to today's plugged-in, always-on generation.
Time was, you'd have to rely on nothing more current that today's paper with yesterday's news to make investment decisions.
There was also a buffer zone, called the stockbroker, who sat between investors and the financial products and services they wanted to parlay into their retirement funds.
Today, with nothing more than a $100 used computer and a $9 a month dial-up connection, anyone can be a "broker" with a low-cost, easily managed online trading account.
The good and the bad In terms of political philosophy and social organization, Western-style freedom is overwhelmingly preferred to the common alternatives in the world today - tyranny, oppression and upheaval.
Freedom of action, however, carries with it some serious responsibilities.
No one should undertake online trading as a lark, just because it is easy to do.
It is easy to lose all your money, too.
If you are going to consider opening and managing an online trading account, you will first be confronted with a bewildering array of companies from which to choose.
E-trade, Ameritrade, Schwab and dozens of others compete for "day traders" with radio spots, print ads, direct mail and TV commercials with Law & Order's Sam Waterston.
Are there really any big differences among them? How to choose The reason that choices proliferate in the freer nations of the world is because there is a broad range of human preference concerning, well, everything.
As far as online trading accounts, some people prefer extensive research, others want quick processing of orders, still others shop for the lowest monthly service fee while a few might choose at random.
Humans are motivated by myriad things, so investment firms develop strategies to reach their preferred customers.
There is no short, sweet answer here (or anywhere else) for what you should do in your particular situation.
If you are comfortable with balance sheets and stop-loss orders, and stay up to speed on the financial markets and news, you may be able to set up and maintain your own portfolio of investments.
If you are not so handy with figures and financial factoids, you'd be better off restricting your online trading, using some sort of advisory service or just leaving the ultimate decisions to a trusted financial planner or broker.
Bottom lines matter There are actually several bottom lines to consider, beginning with the financial one.
Use your head when deciding how much online trading you want to do, because there is little or no margin for error.
You can't "take back" any moves like you might in a Sunday afternoon chess match in the park.
Decisions are final in this arena, so you had better know what you are doing.
If you cannot allot enough time to become or remain an expert in investing, you should not attempt online trading with any more funds than you can afford to lose - in their entirety.
You may find that you have a natural affinity for picking good investments, and over time you can perhaps increase the amounts you put at risk, but you should always have a professional on tap to provide a needed "reality check.
" There is at least one indisputable fact about online trading: Buy and sell orders are on virtual paper in cyberspace, but the money they represent is real.
Never risk what you cannot afford to lose, online or off.