ADVERTISEMENT

While there is progress in certain areas and certain things are better now than in previous historical times, the need to look out for the downside of various processes is undeniable and possibly more urgent than ever, for the simple fact that power becomes dangerous without developing one’s responsibility accordingly.

No wonder some of the mental or real-life pictures of the contemporary world can leave us feeling… dystopian. These can include the massive amount of non-nature-friendly trash being produced and dumped all around the world, or attempts to imagine the implications of AI on our near future if we don't take the necessary precautions to play it safe.

People online stepped up, trying to raise awareness, answering one Redditor's question: "What's something that is accepted as normal, but is really dystopian when you think about it?"

More info: Reddit

#1

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Jailing people for stealing food while throwing away tons more every day.

Vegan_Harvest , Markus Spiske Report

Add photo comments
POST
Spencer's slave
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sell by and use by dates are guidelines that are considered law in many countries. There's no real health science behind it as most foods are absolutely fine until opened. Reduced sticker shopping is perfectly fine if you eat or freeze the product. If supermarkets don't sell it all they should be legally required, as in France, to donate it to food banks and shelters.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Advertiser friendly language in daily life. Like people getting used to not being able to say words like "dead" on Tiktok because advertisers don't like it, so then you see a bunch of people saying words like "unalive" in real life.

Foxlikebox , Daniel Thomas Report

#3

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online All of those "Feel good stories" about people working extra super duper hard just to barely scrape by.

"Kids make business to help another disabled child buy a wheelchair"

"Teacher runs out of PTO days fighting cancer so the whole school district started to donate sick days"

"Man walks 15 miles for a job interview, community raises money for a bicycle."

Eyruaad , Avi Richards Report

#4

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Working full-time for a wage that won't support a family.


A family?? How about 1 person.

Famous_Bit_5119 , Maxime Agnelli Report

Add photo comments
POST
VidGam4
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every job should have a wage high enough that just one person working that job can support a family (food, housing, clothing, childcare, etc) without having to work multiple jobs!

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#5

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Corporations being considered people and having more rights than real human beings.

anon , Pixabay Report

Add photo comments
POST
madbakes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Businesses should not be able to make campaign donations, no exceptions.

SkyBlueandBlack
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Businesses shouldn't have religious beliefs. But Hobby Lobby apparently does.

Load More Replies...
James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Make company directors personally responsible for what their companies do. Thames Water has just been fined £3.3m for dumping untreated sewage into rivers. The directors will not be affected by it. But then the Tories voted to allow them to do just that.

Michael Largey
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will believe that a corporation is a person when the state of Texas executes one.

Pyla
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank the US Supreme Court. Home of the Corrupt and the Unethical.

Glen Ellyn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lately, I've heard it called the Extreme Court. Unflippin' believable, that group of #^$&%*

Load More Replies...
RabidChild
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why we can't have nice things. Corporations are our vampire overlords.

Libstak
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes but they are only people until they go bankrupt, then the top employees are free to scavenge all available monetary assets and claim the corporation is dead, oops "unalive".

Bi Emo 007 (he/him)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also hate it when companies try to act like people with personalities on Twitter, like Wendy’s for example

Sue
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you can't go to prison or get the death penalty, you are not a person. But corporate Dems are just as bad - they just say they can't do anything & try to put the blame on the right. Biden could have expanded the Supreme Court & appointed a majority. But the corporations who actually pay him don't want that. They're willing to living with abortion being banned because they'll just send their wives, girlfriends & daughters elsewhere for their abortion. I'm normally for privacy in health care, but they need to start outing anti-abortionists when they get abortions or take their minor children for one.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Subscription for everything

NotToast2000 , alleksana Report

Add photo comments
POST
Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never being able to own anything online. Used to be, you paid for it once and it was yours. Now you can’t do that— and you’re paying the same amount every year that you used to pay to buy it and permanently own it outright.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#7

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Claiming drag queens are child predators, and ignoring all the abuse going on in the church, cause that, and all the new laws being proposed...seems kind of dystopian.

Spankywzl , Greta Hoffman Report

Add photo comments
POST
Bec
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The anti-LGBTQ activism reminds me of the Satanic Panic 40 years ago, it is a big nothing burger but real people are getting hurt

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Privatized-for-profit prisons, healthcare, and education.
 
Corporations and foreign entities buying up all of our land and housing.
 
Lack of Congressional term limits and self-oversight of Congress and Scotus.
 
2A absolutism.
 
Forced sex, forced birth, forced sterilization, and the medical community treating women as if being female is a "condition" while using male bodies as the standard.
 
Outlawing the act of collecting rainwater, while charging for the amount of runoff attributed to your property (my city has both of these).

phoebeluco , RDNE Stock project Report

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Homelessness in countries with enough money to keep it from happening

AlthorsMadness , MART PRODUCTION Report

Add photo comments
POST
StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Homelessness is a complicated matter, though, and is not always caused by not having money. Some people make themselves homeless, while others have become homeless based on their lifestyle and consequences. There are people out there who want to be homeless. They don't view paying rent, having their own home to go to every night as a worthy thing.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#10

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The existence of billionaires whilst so many people are living in poverty. Justified cause they supposedly "work harder" or "earned it".

intellectkills , cottonbro studio Report

Add photo comments
POST
MagicJacket
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know of one billionaire that indeed did earn it, by providing joy to millions. Sir Paul McCartney! There may be a FEW others. I don't THINK Paul got his riches by exploiting the lower classes and stepping on the necks of others in a mad rush for cash like most billionaires. I hope I am right!

View more commentsArrow down menu
#11

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Ads everywhere you look 24/7

chopsthedrummer , Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura Report

Add photo comments
POST
Malfar
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And some mpeople actively ranting about "If you block ads the internet will die, all your favorite content makers will starve and there will be no fun in the world".

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Credit scores.

raytaylor , Paul Felberbauer Report

Add photo comments
POST
Spooky Scary Skeletons
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Credit Scores are a zero sum game. If you use your card you'll get dinged on your credit score. If you don't use your card you'll get dinged on your credit score. Even if you pay your bill on time you'll get dinged on your credit score.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#13

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The cost of rent. Or mortgages. Or the wealth gap. And the way minimum wage was ignored for decades while the top 1% took higher and higher raises and bonuses while paying very little to no tax. Trickle down economics.

Graceland1979 , https://unsplash.com/photos/xlCmFoIS3oE?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#14

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The way women have control legislated away from their own bodies. Not even just abortion, but abortion laws that prevent women from being able to get medical care for their own conditions. Women who have to get close enough to death to get treatment, regardless of their present suffering or other long term effects. Prostitution laws. Certainly parts of them make sense but why is it illegal for some stay at home mom to give handies for spending money at home while the kids are in school?

Melvolicious , Manny Becerra Report

Add photo comments
POST
Apatheist Account2
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never understood why prostitution is illegal, particularly since there is no longer a need to increase the population for the species to survive, and contraception is so easily available.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The amount of trash we humans produce. How distanced we are from the natural world.

biscaya , Jas Min Report

Add photo comments
POST
Fabian Bernard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly old as civilisation...I heard there is a big hill in Roma, that is in fact made of Antique Roma trash: broken amphoras etc...

View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online American burial traditions. Spend thousands of dollars to preserve the body, pack it in an expensive box and bury it, sometimes in a concrete vault. To keep it from naturally decomposing? Why?

kateinoly , cottonbro studio Report

Add photo comments
POST
Fat Harry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not just American, but burial in general. Why do we bury the dead? What an utter waste of space.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Anti-intellectualism.

Potential-Ostrich-82 , Markus Spiske Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ross “Sarcastic Dad”
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember when Obama was first running for President, and the commentary was, "He thinks he's better than us." He's running for President. He SHOULD be better than us!!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Working until you’re in your late sixties when 50 billionaires control most of the wealth in an entire country.

bkornblith , cottonbro studio Report

#19

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Health insurance.

Rare_Cranberry_9454 , Negative Space Report

Add photo comments
POST
Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Healthcare should be, if not free, at least affordable. Basic preventive care should be free, as well as emergency care. When over 500,000 people in your country go bankrupt every year due to medical bills, and especially when 3/4 of them HAD HEALTH INSURANCE, that's f---ed up.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Reality TV.

Muadib333 , cottonbro studio Report

Add photo comments
POST
assdog
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wrote a post a few months ago when i worked on a "reality TV" show. I can 100% confirm that it is all fake as f*k. If you were behind the scenes like me you wouldn't/couldn't keep a straight face of how these "actors" "work"!! I can't mention too much but......they have to learn their lines and have to hate/love certain people on the show. Then when the cameras are turned off it's like.....sup dude/girl. Then they go off to stay with their boyfriends/girlfriends in the hotel. Fake as f*k

View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Food and housing insecurity in a world in which other people are billionaires.

tangtheconqueror , Siegfried Poepperl Report

#23

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Factory farming. Utterly horrific.

Singly-Errancy143 , Mark Stebnicki Report

Add photo comments
POST
StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These poor cows. I'm not a vegetarian nor vegan, but I can't stand how little consideration of the live animals there is in the farming industry. They're not thought of as living souls. Just a commodity, money and food machine.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#24

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Normalization of debt

Atotallyrandomname , rc.xyz NFT gallery Report

Add photo comments
POST
Emily M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Debt for a mortgage or car has been normal a long time. However, I do not know a single person under the age of 35 that does not have large student loan debt, credit card debt, or both.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The fact that we cannot do much on the internet without consenting cookies.

icsulescu98 , picjumbo.com Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ace
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The EU has made the mandatory use of non-essential cookies illegal. When will the US catch up, I wonder?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The way big companies have conditioned us to say things we pay for are free.

"You can watch it for free on netflix"

"It's free if you purchase this bundle"

"They keep updating the game, the next DLC is free!"

Anytime you go to say something is free, try saying "it's included" short for "included in the base price"

Altimely , Venti Views Report

Add photo comments
POST
Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or advertising it as free, but forgetting to mention it’s only free during the initial trial period. If it was truly 100% free, they wouldn’t be asking for your credit card number when you sign up.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Tying healthcare to employment

heyodi , National Cancer Institute Report

#28

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The complete lack of privacy we have in 2023. People can record you in public for their TikTok, and everyone will say “BUT ITS LEGAL!!”

cruelsummersadness , Wendy Wei Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#30

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Homeless people

Refugee boats and sinking

Anyone anywhere being hungry

Bombing civilians

buckwurst , Eric Masur Report

Add photo comments
POST
Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Caring about five ultra-rich people who perished in a submersible more than 500+ refugees who perished when their boat capsized. And they were already suffering horrific conditions before the capsizing, after paying a fat price to escape.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#31

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Militarization of local and state law enforcement.

Strong_Somewhere_985 , Diego González Report

#32

Obesity - everywhere... causing death, deceases and low quality lifes and btw impacting environment badly.

lavipeDK Report

Add photo comments
POST
Yali-girl with weird name
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being obese is bad. It’s not fatphobic its a fact. It’s bad for your health and it needs to stop being normalised.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#33

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Having to work more than one job.

DanMontie , Annie Spratt Report

#34

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Cameras everywhere.. "1984".

CommissionOk9233 , Reuben Hustler Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nonna_SoF
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My "favorite" are the security cameras that point right at debit card reader. So anyone who has access to the video can see your pin.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The rhetoric and life behind social media. It's totally a landscape that determines your worth by how others feel about you. It's kinda scary the more you see its use.

GabeBlue180 , https://unsplash.com/photos/NFvdKIhxYlU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Report

Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#37

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Censorship.

ifonlythiswasreal403 , Michael Dziedzic Report

Add photo comments
POST
PattyK
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish people would stop censoring books. Every time I hear a book has been censored, I feel a moral obligation to read it — and I’m way behind!

View more commentsArrow down menu
#39

Don’t even know where to start… but when thinking about how much of the meat we eat daily is actually produced and how the animals we eat are actually treated is really sick to think about.

Also adding how normal it is to buy things “made in china” or other countries where it’s so clear that the people who produce our c**p is practically living as slaves on huge factories where they don’t even earn enough money or get paid at all to feed themselves, and often die early but in a very slow and painful way…

trickortreat89 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Deborah Rubin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is hard to buy made in America even when you want to. Remember when everything was made in Japan?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#40

Working at all just to have shelter is dystopian. Whats even gonna happen when all the jobs are done by robots? Yeah more tech related jobs will open up. Whats going to happen to everyone else? Either the governments starts giving people free shelter or everyones going to be homeless.

I-dont-like-pizza Report

Add photo comments
POST
Dodo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I can't write stories set in the future. Because I can't see a way it works out well for anyone but the 1%. Really the only question is whether the rest of us die slowly or are culled.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#41

40 hour work week

ExeTheHero Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nicole Weymann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For some people living off a single 40 hour/week job is more of a utopia - they either work multiple "small" jobs or do a lot more work than they're paid for.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#42

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The News.

Muadib333 , Filip Mishevski Report

Add photo comments
POST
StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless I know something went on and want more info, I ignore the news, now. My mental health has improved a bit.

View more commentsArrow down menu