Future Of Singapore’s Youth Looks Bleak
Will Singapore become another Japan in the future, where the latter’s youth do not save and basically live from day to day (in no small part due to the country’s deep economic woes)? Our younger generation certainly are doing their bit to help move the country in that direction. The Straits Times today reported on a small poll of 100 students on their spending and saving habits. 60% of respondents decided that spending 75% of their allowance was acceptable, while 86% of that thought asking for more money from parents to make up for the shortfall was their right and thought nothing of it.
One girl surveyed stated that dining at cafes and fast food outlets was the norm and then spending $6 – $8 on a meal was reasonable, especially since they would rather eat fast food than at cheap coffee shops because the food at the latter “is not so nice”.
Another said that allowances are only saved for the sole purpose of making purchases of luxury items such as the latest gaming consoles or clothes. A teenager commented that spending $15 to $20 each time at cafes for meals was the norm and acceptable.
Once again, the blame is laid on the feet of parents who do not spend enough time with children and teaching them the right values of saving, while creating a false environment of endless comfort using the commodity of money. But judging by the values and attitudes of the Singapore youth and younger generation in particular, it is also the result of a weak educational and value system that has seeped into and festered in the local culture.
Learning from, and building on, the current generation of Singaporeans who think they are always right and above most people from all over the world, our youth have now been brought up on a steady diet of propaganda of being the best and that nothing they do will be, or can go, wrong. Singapore has been touted as the best country for everything. Most of us are wrapped in a bubble of comfort. The recent recession has hit us hard, and will continue to do so. If the global economy does not turn around quickly and with more losing their jobs, the loss of livelihoods will seep down to the youth.
Brought up in a life of comfort, not many will be able to understand or accept the situation. But the worrying effect could be a large percentage of youths deciding to give up on their futures as they struggle to cope. There are already signs that Japan’s lost generation phenomenon has reared its ugly head in Singapore society, with kids turning to virtual reality and video games to soothe their savage souls while neglected by families in the latter’s quest for financial wealth and comfort. And to make things worse, Singaporeans’ “holier-than-thou” attitude will result in denials.
Personal debt in the future is the least of our worries for the new generation growing up. It is the shrinking future workforce available to the country and their lack of proper financial values that could cause greater problems for Singapore.
Just some thoughts…
In Singapore, we do not have the proper cultural development nor the natural sites to occupy our leisure time with. The easiest access to entertainment in Singapore are city activities such as shopping, eating, movies, electronic games etc. Being brought up in this urban environment, it would only be natural if youths search for such alternative amusement that requires quite a sum of money to enjoy as compared to hiking a mountain or tadpole fishing. We also have to bear in mind that Singapore has recorded a 26 year high inflation rate of 7%, which is no wonder that students are spending 75% of their allowance.
In addition, Singapore is a first world country, and therefore we cannot expect the population, including the youths to exihibit frugal consumption patterns of those in an industrializing countries in the pre-1990 era. The absence of good values of today’s youth cannot be just infered by their consumption patterns. In fact, the link is rather weak. There are many factors that can be explored to rationalize the results of this informal study.
The survey mentioned in the article interviewed students. I do not believe that the allowance of students is a lot. With the rising cost of living in Singapore, there is little to save if one wants to enjoy oneself with good quality entertainment in their sort of sense. As mentioned earlier, just because students did not earn the allowance, it does not mean that students are expected to lower their consumption level such that it is only possible to go for low quality entertainment.
The article blames the “weak educational and value system that has seeped into and festered in the local culture”. Although the education system does not highlight on moral education, it has tried to impart the value of pragmatism in its school environment and a “tit for tat” value in its meritocratic style of priority to access benefits.
It seems that the article has infered a supposed image of youths adopting bad values and linking it to a worst case scenrio of Japan’s disillusioned youths (which might not entirely their fault for their consuming style). In addition, the education system was unfairly blasted for not imparting a very vague idea of a certain set of values.
Y’all got a great thing going in Singapore. Wake up and be cognizant of that fact. Relish what you got and try to improve on it. Pissing and moaning will get you nowhere! Got that?