FISIPOL UGM lecturers Ratna Noviani, Heru Nugroho, and Elok Santi Jesica have published their latest research article titled “Grab It Fast! Entrepreneurial Self and Hyper-Consumerism in the Students’ Prosumption of Online Lending Services in Indonesia” in the July–September 2025 edition of the international journal SAGE Open.
The article examines the practice of prosumption — the simultaneous production and consumption of services — in online lending among Indonesian university students, with a specific focus on the Cicil platform. Within the framework of the sharing economy and prosumerism, this platform not only offers educational loans but also encourages students to act as both “digital workers” and active consumers.
The study finds that Cicil positions itself as a quick and easy solution to bypass banking bureaucracy, while also marketing the idea that taking loans is a pathway to independence and entrepreneurship. However, beneath this narrative lies the darker side of hyper-consumerism instilled in students, trapping them in a cycle of debt-based consumption.
Using a multi-sited ethnographic approach, the research uncovers how the platform’s participatory strategies are deployed to mask practices of domination and exploitation toward students. This work makes an important contribution to the discourse on the digital economy, critical consumption, and financial education for younger generations.