I know Apple products are popular and all, but this is just crazy. According to a report from Beijing, over 18,000 Chinese students have taken out high-interest loans just to be able to get an iPhone or iPad to use on campus. Yeah, seriously.
A total of 20,000 students applied for the student loans and 90% of them chose to buy Apple products with the funds in central China’s Wuhan city. And the kicker — these students are paying interest rates as high as 47% on a 12-month term.
A student at Wuhan University of Science and Technology explained: “Apple products are a common topic or a particular community in campus. I used to feel isolated while they were discussing and playing with iPhone or iPads. I felt embarrassed even to take a look when they were in a heated discussion about a new application.”
Talk about conformism. Loans are great for getting those big things in life, like a house, a car, or even paying for your actual schooling, but to get a loan for an iPhone? Really?
It’s a pretty sad commentary on where we are as a society. We’d also like to direct you to an excellent article penned (keyboarded?) by Mat Honan, titled Please Stop Fighting About Your Smartphone. It kind of fits in with this theme.
You know things are getting out of hand when people are willing to take out loans with 47% interest in order to buy personal electronics.
Image Credit: NPR
