The Negative Effects Of Student Debt

In today’s society, many students will go on to receive a higher education after high school, but is the cost of having a higher education worth it? In 2017, the average college graduate accumulated more than 34,000 dollars in student debt (Dickler). ADD. Student loan debt creates early financial difficulties for young adults, leading to many mental and physical issues from stress and overall hurts the economy.

With the weight of student debt on a person’s shoulder, they are less likely to be financially successful in the future. “Over the last decade, college-loan balances in the United States have jumped to an all-time high of $1.4 trillion, according to a recent report by Experian” (Dickler). With student debt increasing a person’s financial

With student debt on a person’s mind they be negatively impacted mentally and physically. Their pride is hurt when someone finds out they are broke. They start to avoid doing things with friends and family and become more isolated. In some cases being isolated can lead to depression, tenseness, irritability, restlessness and apprehension or dread (Insler). The biggest mental side effect caused by student debt is stress. “80 percent of working professionals with student debt said it is a source of “significant” or “very significant stress” (Dickler). Stress can cause people to lose sleep. 64.5 percent of people reported suffering from sleepless nights due to stress (Insler). In addition to the stated mental side effects, there are physical side effects as well. According to a survey by Shannon Insler, student debt causes 71.5 percent of people get headaches, 55.9 percent suffer from muscle tension and 50 percent are affected by an upset stomach. Other symptoms include rapid heartbeat, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Nonetheless, they become exhausted due to working tirelessly in order to try and pay off their debt. WRAP

The only change occuring is who is spending the money. In the article “Student Loan Debt Is Not Hurting The Economy” by Jeffrey Dorfman, it states that “Making loan payments doesn’t slow consumer spending it only switches the person behind the spending”. When the student receives a loan from someone they will now have more money to spend on things like rent, food, and books. This causes the lender to reduce their spending. After that when the loan is repaid the process is reversed. The student now has less money so they spend less and the lender now spends more (Dorfman). Jeffrey Dorfman then goes on to say that when students are taking out loans the nation’s labor productivity is increasing and the potential GDP. Referring to my previous argument student debt is only hurting the economy. People are not making purchases necessary to help stimulate the economy. People are having to redirect their money to paying of their loans and not buying things like cars, houses, and other purchases to help the economy. ADD Overall some believe that a more educated population means a wealthier population, however, the more money people spend, the less likely they will make financial purchases that help stimulate the