Across Namibia and much of the world, a troubling pattern is emerging among sections of the youth. The promise of quick wealth through cryptocurrency trading, online forex schemes and digital investment platforms is increasingly colliding with harsh economic realities of unemployment and mounting mental health struggles. While technology and financial innovation are not inherently harmful, the obsession with instant success is quietly creating social and emotional consequences that society can no longer ignore.
Stories are becoming more common of young people borrowing money irresponsibly, financially manipulating parents and spouses and romantic partners, stealing from relatives and, in extreme cases, resorting to violence and murder over money disputes.
In one recent incident, a man from the Oshana region appeared in court earlier this week for the alleged murder of his 83-year-old grandmother. Two months ago, also in Oshana, another man was arrested for the murder of his minor daughter. While there are no confirmed direct links between the cases, both men were reportedly associated with cryptocurrency trading. Beyond such extreme incidents, cases of physical, emotional and financial abuse linked to money pressures are increasingly visible in communities, yet the issue remains largely unaddressed.
Behind many of these incidents lies a dangerous mixture of desperation, social pressure, untreated mental distress and unrealistic expectations of success.
Social media has played a significant role in shaping these pressures. Every day, young people are exposed to images of luxury lifestyles, expensive cars, designer clothing and influencers claiming to have become millionaires overnight through forex trading or cryptocurrency investments. Success is portrayed as immediate and effortless. Very few speak honestly about losses, debt, addiction, failed trades or emotional breakdowns.
As a result, many young people are beginning to measure their worth through financial status rather than character, education, discipline or meaningful contribution to society. Patience and hard work are increasingly viewed as outdated, while “making it quickly” has become the dominant aspiration.
This growing culture of financial pressure is also affecting families. Elderly parents and guardians, many surviving on pensions or modest salaries, are often emotionally manipulated into funding risky ventures they do not fully understand. Some are threatened, insulted or neglected when they refuse. Others suffer silently because they fear confronting their own children or grandchildren.
In many communities, older persons are carrying the burden of unemployed adult children while simultaneously becoming victims of exploitation. At the same time, even employed individuals are becoming consumed by the pursuit of quick wealth, neglecting their families and, in some cases, shifting financial responsibilities entirely onto one partner.
This is an uncomfortable truth that is rarely addressed openly in society, yet the time has come for serious awareness campaigns and honest public conversations about this growing problem. At the centre of this crisis is a deeper issue that society seldom discusses openly: the mental health of young people. Many youths today are navigating unemployment, and relentless social comparison in an unforgiving digital age. Yet mental health support remains limited, stigmatised or inaccessible to many families.
Financial technology has legitimate uses and has created opportunities for innovation and investment worldwide. However, when online trading is marketed to vulnerable people as a shortcut to status and survival, it becomes dangerous. Even more dangerous are scammers and so-called “ghosts” operating on social media platforms.
Some individuals have exhausted their bank credit facilities and accumulated overwhelming debt in pursuit of unrealistic returns. Others pressure their partners into taking out loans on their behalf. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost to online scammers who disappear as soon as victims’ accounts are emptied. In some tragic cases, victims have turned to suicide.
Society must therefore begin addressing this issue seriously and openly, rather than responding with ridicule, silence or denial.
Although the Bank of Namibia has made efforts to regulate and caution against risky and fraudulent digital investment schemes through policies and legislative measures, these interventions alone are not good enough. The problem has grown into a wider societal crisis.
Parents and partners must become more financially aware, recognise the early warning signs and insist on intervention before it is too late. Schools should strengthen financial literacy programmes that teach responsible investing and the realities of financial risk as young people need to understand that sustainable wealth is rarely built overnight.
At the same time, Namibia must invest more meaningfully in mental health services. And conversations about depression and addiction should no longer be treated as taboo.
Furthermore, the church and traditional authorities as well as the media also have a role to play a bigger role to play because young people need safe spaces where they can speak honestly about failure and fear without shame. Sharing experiences can help educate and protect others. Equally important is the need to restore dignity to honest work. Not every success story begins with millions. Society must stop glorifying excess and instant riches while ignoring the value of integrity and gradual progress.