YOLO & FOMO Culture Has Allegedly Caused 53,000 Young M’sians to Accumulate RM1.9 Billion in Debt

The FOMO (fear of missing out) and YOLO (you only live once) cultures are said to be one of the factors causing youth in Malaysia to be burdened with debt as early as the age of 20.

The lifestyle of prioritising one’s wants and following trends such as having the latest gadgets and branded items has led young Malaysian adults to be willing to live way beyond their means.

According to a report by Berita Harian, a Consumer Finance Expert, Professor Dr Mohamad Fazli Sabri said that this issue is very worrying because he believes young people shouldn’t go into debt to buy necessities.

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“Having to borrow to buy various necessities is a very serious matter because, in financial management, we should not do that for survival. For example, having to take out a loan from a bank or other financial institutions to buy daily necessities, rent a house, pay for a car,” he said.

He further commented that 53,000 individuals under the age of 30 were found to be burdened with accumulated debts amounting to RM1.9 billion. Additionally, 28% of working Malaysians are borrowing money to buy necessities.

With that being said, Professor Dr Mohamad Fazli Sabri suggests that young Malaysians who are burdened with debts should return to the basics.

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“On the contrary, many of them are willing to borrow just because they want to buy the latest mobile phones and are willing to take out a personal loan. In fact, these people also use the concept of FOMO, YOLO and follow current trends without looking at their own financial needs,”

“(They are) friends with rich people’s children, they see other people having something, they will also want to have it. So, to get those things, they will go into debt. Nowadays, it’s easy to get a loan, you don’t need to go to the bank and because of that, some students are starting to go into debt.” he added.

He continued by giving examples of ‘buy now, pay later’ facilities that students are making use of that could be causing them to go into debt.

He also said that should someone want something they can’t afford, they should save their money to purchase the item later or look into increasing their income through means such as getting part-time jobs and more.

What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. 

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