There are divided opinions toward consumerism; some argue that consumerism is good for the nation, while others do not. Personally speaking, consumerism is good for the country until a certain point; more than that, especially consumerism behavior of people without decent knowledge of financial literacy, can lead to social problems.
Every nation relies on the economy to keep the nation running; that is the reason why consumerism can be good for the country because it develops the country’s economy and makes the nation’s economy stronger, and the government can have more funding to build infrastructures, public facilities, or programs for its people. If the economy is not running because people hesitate to spend their money, it can lead to a recession, and more problems will come.
Even though consumerism can be beneficial for the country, if the consumerism behavior of people is not coupled with enough financial literacy, it can lead to more problems, especially social problems. If we see what happened in Indonesia, most youngsters, especially Gen Z, tend to spend their money on newest smartphones, viral cafés, hidden gem vacation spots, cute viral plushies, and many others without being aware of their financial condition. They also do not have enough patience to wait until they have enough money; everything must be fast and simple. Because of this bad consumerism behavior, many young people nowadays are trapped in illegal online banks that provide easy money with high risk or illegal online gambling that promises easy money without any difficult effort.
In conclusion, consumerism needs to be balanced with enough financial literacy among the people. So, the government does not need to worry about the social problems that will come afterward.