I used to know a guy through online gaming who was like this. He was from country/outer suburbs (not sure how you guys qualify that) Victoria, moved to Melbourne for uni and then a career. He was in his early-20s and was a typical young Australian male with very poor financial literacy. We used to joke about his Uber Eats spending (AFAIK it’s no longer a problem for him), but for many people it could easily turn into a very serious addiction.

It’s not surprising to me that for people around his age, living in the city, this could become a big problem. You’ve just come into a lot of money (relative to your teenage life) with your new job, you’re surrounded by ways in which you can spend that money at all hours of the day, the choices are right there on the device you carry with you and use for 5+ hours a day, and they appeal to and are designed to target very primal instincts that can be difficult to control. Particularly when your brain is overwhelmed by long work hours and constant stimulation and wants to default to making easy choices. If you’ve gone from your parents house to life as a single adult, you’re suddenly in control of all your financial decisions and don’t have to answer to a partner or family member when you do dumb shit like waste most of your money on overpriced food.

The ease of access we now have to easy dopamine hits through shopping, food and even sex is very problematic when it’s tied to an addictive-by-design device that we carry with us 24/7. For younger generations that have grown up online and seem to be struggling with face-to-face social interaction more than previous generations, always being able to default to the equivalent of a dummy for adults to fulfill these base desires is another layer of the problem. There’s no friction to help reset your brain and think about the longer-term consequences of what you’re doing. It’s just constant, instant gratification via the phone.