Our parents and grandparents would never have dreamt of missing a mortgage payment and using the cash to splash out on a holiday.

Such behaviour would have been seen as downright irresponsible.

But new research suggests younger people are increasingly prepared to forgo repayments on mortgages, loans, pensions and tax debts in order to splash out on social engagements or luxuries.

A survey of 2000 people, carried out by Debt Management Associates (DMA), revealed 81 per cent of 16 to 34-year-olds would miss repayments rather than reign in their spending.

Not so long ago, the thought of slipping into the red would have sent most people into a panic but nearly a quarter of today's 16 to 34-year-olds do not worry about missing a payment on their credit or store card, the survey revealed.

The findings come as debts on credit cards increased.

Consumers borrowed a record amount on plastic during February. The Bank Of England said individuals borrowed £9.21 billion on their credit cards last month, the highest figure since records began in 1993.

Overall, consumer credit - which includes credit cards, loans and hire-purchase agreements but not mortgage lending - grew by £1.85 billion, or 1.3 per cent, to a total outstanding debt of £142.82 billion in February.

Brendan Kiem, managing director of DMA, feels anxious that young people are getting too far into debt.

He said: "We are concerned that many young people will soon find it hard to repay the costs of their secured and unsecured debts."

Simon Rubinsohn, UK economist at the fund management firm Gerrard, believes the fact young people are encouraged to take out student loans when they go to university means they have less fears about getting into debt throughout their life.

He said: "When I was at college, most people had grants. Some people got into debt but it was very small beer.

"Things have changed a lot now. Students are much more familiar with dept. They are encouraged to borrow."

But it is not just young people who have become more familiar with debt.

Mr Rubinsohn said: "People have shown remarkable willingness to take on more and more debt in recent years.

"In the past, there was a moralistic approach to taking on debt in the UK. We're becoming more like the US where people feel free to borrow any time."

There were practical reasons why British culture had shifted and become happier to take on debt, said Mr Rubinsohn, adding: "The cost of repaying debt is lower because interest rates have fallen. Interest payments on debt are 7.5 per cent of household disposable income. In 1990, that figure was 15 per cent. Paying back debt has become much cheaper, which means people feel they can take on more."

If people are getting into more and more debt, what are they spending their money on? Mr Rubinsohn said the fact High Street sales had grown seven per cent year-on-year, showed some people were taking on debt to splash out on goods in the shops.

He said: "People are spending a lot of money on the High Street because prices have been kept quite low.

"They're also spending on property but not all of that is buying a new home. A lot of it is work done to improve the quality of their homes.

"However, when people see interest rates going up, they will be a little bit more circumspect, as their spending has been driven by low interest rates.

"But as long as the economy is healthy, people are in jobs and there is no sense of crisis, people will continue to borrow on their credit cards."

He said companies like banks and department stores had become more willing to lend money.

He said: "Over the years, the environment has become a lot more competitive. We are bombarded with offers and attractive carrots to secure customers.

"A lot of these offers are made to people who are able to finance their interest payments. The real problem is the people at the bottom of the income scale who can't borrow from banks."

Brian Capon, spokesman for the British Bankers' Association, said problem debt usually occurred when someone experienced changing circumstances, like being made redundant or losing a partner.

But he said most people were borrowing what they could afford to repay: "We're not seeing distressed borrowing. When people can maintain debt it's not necessarily a bad thing.

"If you're saving for a holiday and your credit card company says don't repay anything this month, that's OK provided you are fully aware of the interest payments. If you haven't got that sort of agreement and you skip payments, it can become dangerous.

"It's not in a lender's interest to lend money that can't be repaid. What you are left with at the end of the day is bad debt, which is commercial suicide."

He said: "Retail culture has changed. The sort of society we have now is a 'must have now' one. People want things and they want them straight away."