>>21811940
Risk and stability definitely play a part. A company with a high dividend return will be viewed as sound and will attract people which will further solidify the stock. On the flip side, if a company is doing poorly financially, one way to recoup loses is to stop giving dividends, which can be viewed a number of different ways, but is generally not a good sign.
Stock prices fall after dividends are paid to reflect the payout, so that's something to look out for if you like a particular stock and have been waiting for an entry point.
Index funds aren't necessarily more volatile, but they do generally outperform most individual traders, so if you don't want to think about it too much it's a good bet.
"Dividend Stocks" aren't necessarily risky or safe right now. I would consider apple to be a very stable company, and they just paid out dividends.
You need to decide whether you're interested in trading or investing. With trading you'll be chasing individual stocks, making gambles, and paying close attention to the news and market conditions. If you're investing you can still buy individual stocks, but you'd probably be better off getting into an etf which doesn't have a crazy buy-in. You'll still need to pay attention to things, but you can take a more relaxed approach. Investors are bagholders and view dips as an opportunity to pick up discounted stock. Traders hang themselves when robinhood lags