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Student Debt as a Social Problem

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Student Debt as a Social Problem

From a financial point of view, not all loans are bad, and individuals can always improve

their credit scores if they ensure they repay their loans on time. The student loan is one of the

subjects with heated debates in the United States, where people have different opinions about

their effectiveness. Despite the contrasting opinions about whether student loans are favorable, it

is evident that these loans have contributed to a significant increase in student debt. Statistics

show that in 2022, there were 45 million student loan borrowers in the United States, owing a

total of $1.7 trillion (Friedman, 2022). It was a historical record that saw student debt become the

second-highest consumer debt, only behind mortgage debt. It is a major social problem in the

country because it affects the life of individuals and their families. It is the case because once

students fund their education through loans, they must repay. The problem emerges when the

students graduate because they have to compete for the few available jobs in the economy to

repay their loans as they also fund their high cost of living. On a larger scale, student debt has a

negative impact on the economy as it contributes to a possible sink.

Why Student Debt is Oftentimes Considered to Be an Individual Personal Problem

Student debt is sometimes considered personal trouble because it affects individuals who

borrowed loans and who must pay them back. In the end, even after graduating from school, it is

likely that the students who borrowed the loans to fund their education will compete intensely

with their peers for the few jobs available. Additionally, even when they get jobs, there is a high

probability that the wages received will be less than the cost of living added to student loans. As

a result, the individuals in question could find themselves in a difficult position to buy a home,

start a family, and achieve their life goals. At the same time, they could experience mental health
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issues such as stress, depression, and anxiety in response to student loans they are expected to

repay.

Sociological Imagination in Understanding Student Debt as a Social Problem

According to Mills (1959), it is impossible to understand the life of individuals and the

history of society without understanding both; this is what social imagination entails. Applying

social imagination to the social problem of student debt would mean that a person will make a

connection between personal challenges and larger societal issues. As a college student, one

would have to think about how they and their families will pay for their education. To fund their

education, these students could be forced to take loans, and this debt becomes their personal

trouble. If the student cannot pay, they could blame themselves, adamant that their choices

influenced their current situation. For instance, one could assume that they are lazy or are not

doing much to secure a job with good pay. Similarly, millions of students have relied on loans to

fund their education, leaving them with debts. This is why the total debt for student loans has

amounted to $1.7 trillion, making the debt a public issue (Friedman, 2022). From such a

perspective, one could argue that the country's high unemployment is responsible for high

student debts.

Impact of Student Debt as a Social Problem on the Field and Those that Work in that Field

Sociological imagination allows individuals to understand the social world from a

broader perspective than their own imagination. Without social imagination, then social

scientists would look at the social problem of student debt from a viewpoint full of apathy,

believing that this social problem is a result of a natural force that is unavoidable. It could be

easy for professionals in social science to assume that student debt is increasing rapidly due to

laziness in repaying the loans among the beneficiaries. However, applying sociological
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imagination would mean that the individuals examine this social problem based on the social

factors that contributed to its prevalence. For instance, they examine a range of possible factors

that could have led to high student debt, such as high unemployment and the rising cost of

education.
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References

Friedman, Z. (2022). Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2022: A record $1.7 trillion. Forbes.

Retrieved January 19, 2023, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2022/05/16/student-loan-debt-statistics-in-

2022-a-record-17-trillion/?sh=e372f744d5a6

Mills, C. W. (1959). The promise. The sociological imagination, 3-24.