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Researcher Roy Amara was an American futurist who famously coined the following adage, which eventually became Amara's Law: "We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."

Expanding on the notion, Reddit user Every_Cartoonist3965 made a post on the platform, asking everyone, "What is normal now but won't be in 25 years?" and people immediately started sending in their answers.

Continue scrolling to check out the most popular ones and set a reminder to come back here after a quarter of a century — we'll know if there are any Nostradamus successors among us.

#1

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Hopefully, influencers.

titaniac79 , Ivan Samkov / pexels Report

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Jane No Dough
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There will just be another type of advertising replacing them. A.I. influencers are already being utilized by companies.

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#2

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread I hope it will be single use plastic

-Jana-Foxxy- , Magda Ehlers / pexels Report

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Dragons Exist
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is some kind of plastic made from cacti that naturally decomposes after 5 years. Those would be great to replace single use plastics

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We managed to get in touch with Every_Cartoonist3965, whose real name is Pierre, and they were kind enough to tell us more about their now-viral post.

"I had seen multiple posts asking 'What was normal 25 years ago but isn't now?' and began wondering how people would answer a similar question in 25 years, so I asked it 'in reverse,'" the Redditor explained its roots to Bored Panda.

#4

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread ELDERLY POLITICIANS

CALBNaTION , RDNE Stock project / pexels Report

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TheAmericanAmerican
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I say if we have to be at least 35 to run for POTUS then it's only fair to have an age ceiling! Tie it to the retirement age and watch our country improve!

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"I haven't had the time to read through all the comments, but I already saw a lot about things on paper or material that will all be online later (think CDs, DVDs, books, and so on)," Pierre added.

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"Also, I saw the answer 'being heterosexual' very often. I have to say that I disagree with this; I have absolutely no problem with non-heterosexual people, but I don't think heterosexual people won't be normal in 25 years, simply because, biologically speaking, they're the majority."

"Many other popular comments revolved around fears of AI, including people losing their jobs because of the technology."

#5

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Hopefully, animal abuse and neglect. I feel like we're moving really slow, but every once in a while there's a big change for the better.

CJgreencheetah , Rachel Claire / pexels Report

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My O My
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And I want this to expand to pets!!!! Sooo many pets out there are abused and neglected!

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#6

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Affordable college. Most degrees don’t need students to be in a brick and mortar building, I hope in 25 years the cost of college is significantly cut down.

Relative_Airline_354 , RF._.studio / pexels Report

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Nea
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really really hope education at all levels becomes affordable.

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The Book of Predictions is a 500-page anthology from the 1980s, assembled by the same people who gave us The People's Almanac. It's a simple conceit: they asked various experts and sci-fi types (with the occasional psychic or spoon bender) to imagine the next 50 years.

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But if there's anything that the publication has proved, it's that humans are really bad at seeing the future. "All of the predictions are wrong," writer Paul Ford highlighted in his review of the book.

"Every now and then someone writes something like 'By 2000 you'll be able to listen to any album in a record store through a data service,' and you can squint and see Spotify. Or someone else describes wrist phones ... [But] when you aggregate hundreds of predictions, the result is a special, concentrated kind of wrong. Everyone was trying their best, and everyone missed. And these 40-year-old predictions don't seem wrong in the fun, steampunk way that, say, late Victorian predictions of personal blimps or hot-air-ballooning robots might seem wrong. They're just saggy middle-aged predictions."

#7

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Young adults having the ability to read and write. Gen Z is functional, but Gen A seems to be severely behind in their academics and they don't care.

Negan1995 , olia danilevich / pexels Report

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Jane No Dough
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they actually are a little behind at their age I would argue that is due to the pandemic. School age children had a more difficult time learning from home, and most younger children went without preschool.

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#8

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread TikTok “influencers” sharing their kids daily lives 🫠

alexisrose27 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

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"People could imagine a future for their disciplines, a future with wars, a future on Mars, or a future with laser dentistry. What no one could see was the potential of all the layers of infrastructure coming into being right around them," Ford explained, concluding that the real vision lies in seeing connections.

#10

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread 56754 different streaming services which amount to more than anyone ever paid for cable

The_write_speak , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

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JenC
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pick one or two streaming services, and once you're tired of them switch to another one

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Wondering about flaws in our collective perception, Pierre, the Redditor who started this thread, thinks that "climate change is a really big topic, which a lot of people seem to underestimate. They are like 'Oh, the Earth is warming up a bit, that's okay,' but if we want a livable world for a few generations behind us, we really need to change things."

#11

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Broccoli head haircuts.

People are totally going to look back at them and laugh or cringe.

Pixelated_Penguin808 , Ilyas Chabli / pexels Report

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#12

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Hopefully workplace abuse. 💪 f**k blind following in the workplace, especially unethical or common sense immoral actions.

Embarrassed_Union_96 , Yan Krukau / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Stand Up To Bullies campaigns in the schools should go all the way up to Parents, Corporates & Politics which is where it all starts

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In general, Americans aren't optimistic about the nation's future, either. A 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found at least two-thirds of the nation believes that by 2050, the US will become economically weaker, less important in the world, and more politically divided. A 2023 Wall Street Journal-NORC survey discovered that nearly 80% of Americans do not expect life for their children’s generation to be better than it has been for them.

#13

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread At the rate things are going probably being able to use water whenever we want.

thejoker954 , Polina Tankilevitch / pexels Report

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Steve Hall
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Humans are the only animals that don't reduce breeding when resources dwindle.

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#14

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Octogenarians in office.

thunderchild120 , SHVETS production / pexels Report

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Sean Sean
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like I said earlier, if you don't want them in office then stop voting for them. Even if you have to vote for someone that's in a different party.

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#15

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Long commutes, hopefully

CaffeineKage , Pixabay / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When the shutdown happened, I thought we all agreed that remote work was not only possible but it was better overall? What happened?

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#16

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread The thin illusion of privacy

KobilD , Stefan Coders / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Funny we are trying to ban TikTok in the USA when ALL the social platforms are basically doing similar things like listening to conversations and using high tech micro-expression facial recognition that absolutely feels like Minority Report.

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#17

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread The current s**t of an education system

West-Calligrapher691 , Dids . / pexels Report

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DustBunny
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, parents need to parent. Teach your kids to behave. Teach them life skills. Teachers have 30 kids for 6 hours a day and then the parents don’t back them up. They can’t raise your kids for you. I swear like 90% of the world’s problems would improve if people went home and read to their kids.

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#18

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Owning things. Everything is slowly turning to digital or subscription models

AdEquivalent6855 , Canva Studio / pexels Report

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MotherofGuineaPigs
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Streaming channels - why should I pay you 15.99 a month and still get commercials? There's free apps for that.

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#19

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread We’re slowly seeing paperwork die out in hospitals as nurses. I often think about down the line when employees will think it’s crazy I worked when they still used paper. Everything is online now.

rawr_Im_a_duck , Anna Tarazevich / pexels Report

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GlixDrap
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can remember in the early 80s using punched cards to program a computer. Gone, and all for the best (but it did teach me how to spell environmental correctly).

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#20

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread The sad: glaciers and snow during winter


The good: single use plastic and 5 day work week


The pessimistic: civilization


The optimistic: nuclear threat

Consistent_Aerie9653 , Pixabay / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hopeful: social media calms down and we have more real world & IRL experiences rather than digital

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#21

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Being smart/well read.

wastefuldot , Pixabay / pexels Report

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frederick clause
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am amazed that the people that were afraid of chips being in the covid vaccine aren't up in arms about Musk's neurolink implants.

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#22

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Probably a lot of the insects and wildlife around you, basically anything that doesn’t thrive by eating trash the way raccoons and crows do.

Even if not every species goes extinct, we may soon live in a world where few have ever actually seen a butterfly, dragonfly, ladybug, toad, firefly, etc. simply existing outside. Just like how many of us today have never actually looked up and seen a sky full of stars and the Milky Way, thanks to light pollution.

Charitard123 , Pixabay / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like Blade Runner with artificial cloned animals everywhere (based on Philip K. D**k's "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" Book).

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#23

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread The current shorelines.  The beachfront is going to be moving inland a ways

Eternal_Bagel , Raw Photografic Chuy / pexels Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so true. The number of properties that have been lost to the eroding coast.

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#24

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Fax machine in offices

jellybeann6666 , Karl Baron / flickr Report

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lenka
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to send a fax recently to a company that was intent on making its administration procedures as difficult as possible - without a doubt highly intentional. Anyway, not having used or owned a fax machine for 25 years it was a challenge. I eventually found an online company. You send them an email with a PDF and they fax it for you. lol

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#26

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Single family homes in major cities owned by the middle class.

ff889 , Jessica Bryant / pexels Report

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Jane No Dough
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Commercial property investors are now residential property investors. I see plenty of the homes in my town becoming cheap unsafe unpermitted flips every month (asbestos siding and roofing!) while our housing inspector runs around "inspecting" occupied rentals for nickel and dime fines.

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#27

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Retiring

MasterBattis , Darina Belonogova / pexels Report

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Shelli Aderman
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No! I WANT to retire! No one should have to work past 65 unless they WANT to…

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#28

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread I hope that loot boxes in video games will become obsolete after several countries change the laws so that a customer should always be able to know what they are buying. So microtransactions would still be a thing but no more buying random items without knowing what you will get.

I also wish that getting punished by police because you used cannabis will become rare in 25 years. I live in Finland and here using cannabis without doctor's prescription can ruin your life in many ways.

BestFoxEver , Kindel Media / pexels Report

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DRMAGDN
Community Member
7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remember when video games were bought with one fee one time and then you played it and it actually was a fully finished, functional game? Pepperidge Farms Remembers.

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#30

30 Things We're Used To Now That Will Lose Public Approval In 25 Years, According To This Thread Having a 9-5 among the younger people

EthereumJesusBro , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels Report

Note: this post originally had 43 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.