What stirs the debate this week in Flanders is a new documentary series proposed since last week by the VRT and which is above all aimed at a young audience, but which, as soon as it was broadcast, aroused a torrent of criticism .
It must be said that it is one of the main priorities displayed for some time by the Flemish public channel: attracting more young people. VRT now relies heavily on Tik Tok and Instagram and also broadcasts programs exclusively for viewing on VRT Max, VRT’s new video platform.
The first program of its kind has therefore recently emerged and it is a documentary series called FIRE : early retirement.
FIRE is the acronym for “Financially Independant and Retiring Early“, which can be translated as “Financially Independent and Early Retirement”. Some are retired at 25. This movement, which was born 10 years ago in the United States, consists of living below one’s means for a certain period , to then invest the money saved in order to become rich quickly, and therefore to be able to retire very early, since we are talking about young people between the ages of 25 and 30.
According to the Financial Services and Markets Authority, the program goes against the message that must be conveyed to young people. She believes that the signal sent by the VRT is dangerous and unrealistic. A concern shared by the Flemish Minister of the Media, Benjamin Dalle, who called on the public channel to react.
The VRT defended itself by emphasizing that the program was not a manual or an educational tool like other programs it offers. She also believes that controversial topics like this have their place in her media offering.