I'm not sure putting it in the context of a "generation" is correct, the thing that makes more sense is how we very easily spend money when we are younger - constantly bombarded by peer pressure and the race to have the coolest stuff, which can often lead to easily accumulating debt and not necessarily understanding the consequences of having to pay it back. If you get credit when you are younger, it can feel like you've won the lottery and got a load of free cash, which is then spent like crazy. However the pain comes later, when you realize your paycheck is starting to get eaten up by debt that you may barely make a dent in repayments if you've racked it up on credit cards paying the minimum balance every month.