Understanding the term doom spending among Gen Z

The term doom spending has recently been widely used to describe the habit of spending money as an escape from stress, anxiety, or uncertainty about the future. This phenomenon is often associated with Gen Z, who live amid the ease of digital transactions and exposure to social media. Doom spending is not merely a wasteful habit, but a consumptive behaviour that can emerge as an emotional response when someone feels their financial condition or future is uncertain.

In simple terms, doom spending is the behaviour of buying goods or using money impulsively because a person feels it is better to enjoy money now than to worry about the future. The term became popular on social media and has since been widely used in discussions about the financial habits of young people. This behaviour can include buying items that are not actually needed, frequently shopping online, eating out excessively, travelling, or making purchases as a form of self-reward.

Thus, a person does not always engage in doom spending because they have a lot of money. On the contrary, anxiety about economic conditions can actually be one of the triggers. One factor related to doom spending is uncertainty about economic conditions and the future. Social media can also reinforce the urge because users constantly see other people’s lifestyles, trends, and consumptive activities.

Research on doom spending among Gen Z in Indonesia shows that income, social media, and lifestyle are factors related to the behaviour. The study involved 384 Gen Z respondents in the city of Tegal. Psychologists also assess that social pressure, insecurity, and exposure to shopping prompts from influencers can make someone buy goods that are not yet actually needed.

Worries about money are indeed a fairly prominent issue among the younger generation. The Deloitte 2025 survey of Gen Z and millennials found that more than 80 percent of respondents cited day-to-day financial conditions and future finances as factors contributing to stress or anxiety. As many as 48 percent of Gen Z in the survey also said they did not feel financially secure in 2025.

Meanwhile, a 2025 Bank of America study of 915 Gen Z respondents in the United States showed that 33 percent admitted to experiencing financial stress. Of that group, 52 percent cited economic instability as one of the causes. However, these data do not mean that all Gen Z engage in doom spending. In fact, the Bank of America survey showed that 72 percent of Gen Z respondents took steps to improve their financial health in the past 12 months.

Doom spending behaviour can be seen in a number of habits, including buying goods spontaneously when stressed or anxious, shopping as a way to improve one’s mood, buying items that are not actually needed, prioritising present enjoyment over long-term financial needs, continuing to shop even when aware that one’s financial condition is unhealthy, and using payment facilities such as paylater to fulfil consumptive desires. The ease of digital transactions can make such behaviour even easier to carry out. Research on the doom spending phenomenon in Indonesia also links it to the development of social media and online shopping platforms.

Not every enjoyable purchase can be called doom spending. Buying clothes, food, or taking a trip after making a budget and ensuring that primary needs have been met is part of normal financial management. Problems arise when someone uses shopping as an emotional escape and does so repeatedly without considering their financial capacity. In such conditions, the pleasure obtained from shopping can turn into a problem when bills pile up or savings continue to shrink.

If done continuously, doom spending can make one’s financial condition unhealthy. Unplanned spending can reduce a person’s ability to save, pay routine expenses, or prepare an emergency fund. Apart from financial problems, the behaviour can also form an emotional cycle. A person feels stressed, then shops to obtain temporary pleasure. After realising that their spending is too large, feelings of guilt or anxiety return, which can then encourage similar behaviour.

Therefore, doom spending should not be seen only as a matter of being wasteful, but also as behaviour that can be related to psychological conditions and financial pressure. There are a number of simple steps that can be taken to reduce impulsive shopping habits. First, distinguish between needs and wants before making a transaction. Second, set a monthly spending limit for entertainment or self-reward purposes. Third, pause before buying unplanned items. For example, wait a few hours or one day before making payment. This can help a person confirm whether the item is truly needed or was only bought due to a momentary impulse. Fourth, reduce exposure to content that constantly encourages consumption if social media is one of the triggers. Finally, continue to prioritise emergency funds, savings, and financial obligations before using money for consumptive purposes.

In the end, doom spending is not a term for labelling all of Gen Z as a wasteful generation. The phenomenon is more accurately understood as a consumption pattern that can emerge when emotional pressure, financial uncertainty, and the ease of shopping converge.