#12: Why youths spend like there's no tomorrow
What "doom spending" tells us about youth happiness
Welcome to this week’s edition of SEAmplified! Your latest insights on Southeast Asian youth and youth politics in 5 minutes.
⌛This week in brief:
📌 What "doom spending" might really be about
📌 This week, Seamplified: 16th April 2024 Finding Joy
Finding Joy examines how Southeast Asian youths define and pursue happiness, and how society can empower their search for happiness. What “doom spending” might really be about
“Doom spending” is apparently in vogue, especially among today’s youths.
It’s a derogatory term that calls out execessive spending despite anxieties about the economy to cope with stress, but its underlying narrative echoes slogans that have existed for decades: young people are financially irresponsible, and their irresponsibility stems from a lack of financial literacy.
The data ostensibly suggests so: 43% of US millennials and 35% of US Gen Zs practiced “doom spending” in 2023; in Southeast Asia, 73% of Malaysian youths aged 18 to 40 are in debt and struggle to meet financial commitments, while as much as 50% of Thai millennials do not have savings.
Yet, there are also clear signals that youths are also actively engaged in investing and preparing for the future.
Several studies show a growing number of young adults worldwide demonstrating a level of financial savvy that challenges popular perceptions, and some observations also highlight how youths, in particular, tend to have higher rates of retirement savings and investment compared to previous generations.
Schizophrenic media headlines aside, the idea that “doom spending” is synonymous with personal irresponsibility grossly oversimplifies the situation. It neglects the deeper, systemic issues that shape the experiences of today’s youths.
Consider, perhaps, this perspective: “doom spending” isn’t just about a lack of financial literacy, but really about young people’s sense of powerlessness and lack of adequate control over their lives.
Here’s why:
Gen Zs report much higher depression and anxiety levels than any previous generation. The leading cause? Bread-and-butter issues like financial security, but also the bigger problems like climate change.
A darker side to civically engaged Gen Zs is the “pseudoinefficacy effect” - a feeling of losing control over the conditions of their lives. In other words, Gen Zs aren’t just passionate about big issues - some are actually terrified of them.
Singaporean millennials, the most pessimistic among their Southeast Asian peers, reported income inequality, unemployment, and climate change as their top concerns in 2019.
The high levels of political apathy among Southeast Asian youths (with the exception of Thailand), stemming from a perception that politicans and politics don’t address their needs.
Today’s youths increasingly perceive that they cannot control the external circumstances that shape their futures, or sufficiently handle the broader societal challenges they must navigate. As a result, they exert control over the few aspects of their lives they can influence - the fruits of their own labor, and their own consumption patterns.
But do youths really have no other outlet to express autonomy other than to spend flagrantly? Perhaps this symptomatic of capitalistic societies we live in, where everyone is a consumer, and to express oneself - even politically - is to consume.
To truly address the challenges youths face today, we need to transcend simplistic narratives of fiscal irresponsibility and focus on providing them with meaningful avenues to gain agency and control over their lives. This could be achieved through:
Fostering youth activism and engagement: recognize that Gen Zs and millennials are more likely to be involved in activism and consciously seeking to make a positive impact on society, we should create more opportunities for them to channel their energy and voice into meaningful change.
Embracing Diverse paths to success: encourage youths to explore alternative educational routes and redefine what success means, and empower them to chart their own course.
Promote purposeful work: Workplaces should evolve to offer more flexibility, open communication, and a focus on mental wellness, allowing young employees to feel a greater sense of control and autonomy in their professional lives.
By addressing the root cause of youth disengagement and empowering them to gain control over their lives, we can foster a more positive and fulfilling future for the next generation.
This week, SEAmplified
This week, SEAmplified is our weekly roundup of the latest youth-targeted community developments, insights, and news from across Southeast Asia. News roundup
Indonesia’s Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry has ordered civil servants and government workers - who total 4.4 million in 2021 - to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The move aims to ease traffic congestion as Indonesians return from their hometowns after the Idul Fitri holiday.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has vowed in a recent speech to make Malaysia a country for “all Malaysians regardless of race.” His vow comes amid the launch of a new pro-Bumiputera economic policy, as well as amid claims that he has neglected the country’s Indian community since taking office in 2022.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will hand over power to current Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15th, 2024. The announcement concludes a bumpy road to succession, after Lee’s previous anointed successor stepped down unexpectedly.
Thailand’s government has proposed significant changes to the country’s fisheries law, a move that critics claim could spark a resurgence of illegal fishing and forced labor. Among the changes include the complete removal of jail terms for unreported and unregulated fishing, and a 98% reduction in some fines.
Vietnam’s private universities have raised tuition fees for the upcoming academic year, with the highest at nearly 335 million VND (US$14,000). In contrast, most public universities in the country charge between 26 million VND (US$1,035) to 60 million VND (US$3,265). In 2020, slightly over 19% of Vietnamese university students went to a private university.
SEA Visualized
Does the type of grain grown determine the societal culture that develops? Apparently yes, according to a recent study published in Nature earlier this year. Proving a causal relationship between rice cultivation and collectivistic cultures has been difficult, but if proponents of the rice theory of culture have their way, then Southeast Asia should be home to some of the world’s most collectivistic cultures.
Community highlights
Want to pitch a powerful campaign for environmental good? Sign up for Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s upcoming webinar “How to do environmental campaigning like Greenpeace” - environmentalists of all stripes are warmly invited.
Singapore-based investment firm GenZero, in collaboration with Bain & Company, Standard Chartered, and Temasek, has released its 5th edition of the SEA Green Economy Report in collaboration with. What caught our attention: green opportunities abound, and that means lots of jobs for environmental good.
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, and it could even be a staple in tomorrow’s classroom. What implications will that have on education? Find out more with the HEAD Foundation’s upcoming webinar “Getting AI right in Education”.