SINGAPORE: Since joining the online forum dedicated to financial discussions, r/singaporefi, in 2018, one man has observed that Singaporeans tend to obsess over salaries and financial standings.
“Every week, a new thread about salary pops up. You’d think it gets old after a while, but these threads usually get a lot of engagement. There’s a lot of humblebragging, but also a lot of misplaced accusations of humblebragging.
The knee-jerk reaction to seeing someone earning a lot more than us is to downvote and accuse them of lying/humblebragging, rather than congratulating and learning from them,” the man explained.
For instance, when someone posts about feeling “stuck” or left behind in society, others often comfort them by sharing personal success stories and emphasizing their financial accomplishments, such as “Don’t worry, I’ve been where you are, but now I earn X amount.”
He added, “I lurk in US and Malaysia finance subs, and while there’s an equal level of interest in discussing salaries, I find that we are way more cynical and bitter.”
He also mentioned that many Singaporeans, despite earning substantial incomes, seek validation for their financial success.
The man reached this conclusion after checking the comment history of users who post about their high salaries and seeing that they often mention how much they earn in other threads.
This perspective indicates to him that Singapore’s society mainly gauges success in terms of financial prosperity. He added that Singaporeans often view money as the only yardstick of success.
“What’s worse is not just the obsession with salary, but the way we seek our identity from our jobs”
The man’s post ignited a lively discussion among Singaporean Redditors in the comments section.
Many agreed with the man’s point of view, saying that the forum has become a place where some will come to “humblebrag” about their salaries or seek validation from others that they have succeeded in life.
One individual commented, “Agree with OP. What’s worse is not just the obsession with salary, but the way we seek our identity from our jobs. Often when you meet someone new from Singapore, you can’t get out of the conversation without being asked what’s your job.”
Another said, “Ngl lots of financial independence subreddits have turned into humblebragging. recommend to unsub from them once you’ve learnt all there is to learn.”
Meanwhile, others went against the grain and argued that people should continue to talk about their salaries because this kind of transparency is rarely seen in the real world.
They also pointed out that this kind of transparency will make other people aware of how much people in the same age range or industry are getting and whether they are getting lowballed.
One individual said, “It’s totally great to discuss salary so we can know if we are getting fairly paid or not. It may not be convenient to discuss with people we know IRL, so doing it anonymously online is great.
It’s just that some people get butt hurt when they see others making more.”
Another commented, “I don’t think it’s silly to care a lot about your income/wealth, because that’s what determines extremely important aspects of your life, like whether your mother recuperates from her surgery in a fancy Gleneagles ward or a Class C govt ward with no aircon while it’s 35 degrees out there.
What’s silly is to only look at the salary component of that equation.”