The long tail of debt

Here's a thing, there was a time when the most debt in society was carried by large institutions, which were relatively stable. Nowadays society runs on debt, and there are many more consumer oriented companies - selling all sorts of devices and depending on income from subscriptions, regular payments, etc - more phones, ipods and other mps3 players, computers, tv, internet and phone subscriptions are bought every day, and at the same time many people are over-extended with mortgages and credit to greater and greater degrees . .

Doesn't this reduction in share values, (caused by anxiety over the level of debt among consumers) risk pulling the rug out from under consumers by limiting their ability to spend, therefore causing a sort of messy and rapid downward spiral as that blows back into the market as further uncertainty and share selling . . isn't the whole capitalist system much more unstable the more it relies on millions and millions of consumers to make many smallish payments . .which are bolstered by large (for the individual) debts?

Hmmm…