Taking loans to buy gadgets not bad

According to a consumer credit provider, more than 20,000 university students in Wuhan, Hubei province, applied for about 160 million yuan ($25.74 million) of consumer credit from January 2012 to February 2013, mainly to buy Apple products and smartphones.

This has sparked a debate, with some commentators saying students have fallen prey to vanity and credit companies are acting irresponsibly. But university students, who are above 18 years, have the right to decide their personal affairs.

Applying for loans is not a shameful act and "grown-ups" should not expect today's youths to behave like those in the middle of the last century. Besides, such buying behavior boosts domestic demand.

Fewer than 100 of the more than 20,000 students have failed to repay their loans in time. Their bad debt ratio is lower than that of many financial institutions doing business with "grown-ups".

Moreover, many of the more than 20,000 students took up part-time jobs to repay their loans, and thus gathered valuable experience of the social mechanism, which is marked by individual rights and responsibilities. The loans, therefore, have played a positive role in the lives of the youths.

(China Daily 03/28/2013 page9)