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Imagine a world where wearing a bikini is considered taboo, where you can’t legally marry someone of a different race, or having divorced parents is more than enough reason for other kids to bully you to no end. Sounds ridiculous, right? But believe it or not, there are certain things that we do today that were once considered wrong and are now (almost) completely normalized behaviors.
You know what they say: “Normal is just a setting on the dryer.” And it’s true. Normal is a relative term, and societal standards can change depending on who you’re with and what part of the world you were born and raised in.
But have you ever stopped to think about what things today may be deemed as “wrong” by most people, yet we do or accept them without a second thought? From plastering our kids’ lives on social media to websites selling personal information, the line between what we regard as right and wrong can be a bit blurry.
We recently stumbled upon an AskReddit thread where people stated their opinions on which unacceptable behaviors have become normalized, to the point we generally don’t see them as a huge problem anymore. While some responses may seem like a bit of a stretch, others are quite serious and deserve a closer look. We spent a long time reading these interesting submissions and examining current societal norms people pointed out, so here’s a list of things that are wrong but widely accepted — at least according to the Internet community.
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#1
"Movies/music through your phone in a public place without the use of headphones. People who do this: what the f*ck is wrong with you?"
Thegoodboi 2 years ago
Yeah happens all the time, put your headphones in, not everyone likes what you do and also no one wants to listen to your conversations with others.
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#2
"Putting your children's lives, including their faces and real names and evidence of their schools, lifestyles, friends, and common play locations, on the internet."
#3
"Using your phone while eating at a table with someone! Makes it feel like you don't value their company or time."
#4
"People asking anyone why they don’t want to have kids. I just don’t. Stop it."
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
Or "when are you having kids?" to every newlywed couple or me with my 2 daughters "When are you going to try for a boy?" it never ends.
#5
guillezamorap said:
"Having to accept cookies for every website..."
Laantje7 replied:
"I think there should be a new law that on every website that wants to give you cookies, they should have a 3, maybe 5 lines of info with what they'll do with your info and not 5000 pages that no one will read."
Fantastic Mr Fox 2 years ago
In the EU there's the GRDP (General Data Protection Regulation). For example companies cannot just make it super difficult to opt out of cookies so that people have to accept. Google, TikTok and others have been fined hefty fees for not complying.
#6
"Criminalizing homelessness rather than trying to solve and end it."
Lisa H 2 years ago
Also, the stigma behind it. We all have very different stories, very different lives and we're all very different people. We don't know their respective stories and people need to stop judging them. They're not a blight, they're human beings struggling just to stay alive and people looking down on them for going through a rough time for ANY reason are definitely part of the problem.
#7
"Taking pictures of strangers who aren't doing anything wrong or untoward just to post up on social media with some snark or judgment."
#9
"Using your children to become an 'influencer'. I have an Instagram page where I share play ideas as an educator but my kids faces are never in the photos. I don't mention their names either. So many parents with similar accounts are posting daily numerous photos and videos of their kids to thousands of followers and getting them involved in live feeds and stories. We have got a generation of kids, who in 10-15 years time will have their entire childhood documented online and it will all have been done without their consent."
Kim Kermes 2 years ago
However, they have the opportunity to expose parental aging to the world, or drop them at the county nursing home. Or both.
#10
"Tying your health insurance to your work (USA). If you become too sick to work (example: terminal cancer) you lose your job and your health care coverage. Dental not being included in health care. How is the health of your mouth and teeth separate from the health of the rest of your body and necessitate totally different (and pricey) insurance?
Hearing aids are not covered by my health insurance. The testing to determine that you need them is covered but the actual devices are not. I guess all those people faking hearing loss to wear cool hearing aids have forced the insurance companies to fight back /s."
Fantastic Mr Fox 2 years ago (edited)
It's a topic that often comes up on BP. It's hard for me to understand that anyone would prefer this system, but many do. Maybe based on misunderstandings. Same situation with vacation where you have no right to paid vacation in the US, it's something you negotiate, and the average is 2 weeks per year. In the EU you must have at least 5 weeks.
#11
DuckieDev said:
"Women’s clothing not having pockets, I’m a guy and I use my pockets all the time, I would die without them."
Xavilly replied:
"Dresses and skirts with pockets are a blessing."
#12
GOTisnotover77 said:
"Being proud of and bragging about a lack of sleep as if it’s some sort of virtue."
Earthguy69 replied:
"Or working yourself till you are burned out. Like if you are not giving it 100% all the time you are lazy. And when you finally crash and burn due to lack of sleep and exhaustion from working constantly, you are not hard enough."
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
I have insomnia and when it's really bad I mention it because there's a good chance I could be in a state of delirium and brain no work good. It's not something to brag about; it just sucks.
#13
"How medical professionals are expected to work unpaid as a part of their schooling and especially that they work exhausting 12+ hour shifts. You’d think in a field where people’s choices have IMMENSE lifetime or life or death consequences they would be encouraged to be on the top of their game by being well rested etc. It’s idiotic how just because it’s a competitive field it has to be to the point of being unsafe."
#15
"Talking on the phone loudly wherever you happen to be. No one steps away anymore or even acts embarrassed when on the phone in public! Drives me crazy."
#16
"The way animals are treated when being processed for food, as if they aren't living beings capable of emotions."
Fantastic Mr Fox 2 years ago
In the future people will look in horror on what our generations have done.
#17
"Single-use plastic. It is the stupidest thing humans can do. You need Spaghetti so you buy them wrapped in plastic ?? A material that, if not burned, will disintegrate into ever smaller particles that will creep their way back into the bodies of all living things on earth. Is that really worth it for a little bit of convenience?"
Sonja 2 years ago
The worst thing is that there are alternatives that are gone much faster and won't end up in our food eventually. There have been for ages. But the industry is just not interested in using them. And that's although some of them are even cheaper than regular plastic. And that's because of the lobby of the oil industry
#18
"Bragging about "the good" you do on social media, like documenting giving a homeless person something and filming it. Crying in front of your smart phone camera and selling out your personal hardship on social media. Basically, the whole whoring out grand scheme of things at the expense of morals and societal change."
#19
"Two parents both working because they have to, kids in crèches 12 hours a day, unions gone, pension schemes not worth it, good old fashioned truth and no real working skills, creativity, obesity to name a few."
#20
River1947 said:
"Taking pictures of random people and turning them into memes."
GingieB replied:
"This. I hate them. There seems to be a lot of pictures circulating on Facebook of people who are very obese, very underweight or not stereotypically attractive with things like 'your 3rd @ has to go on a date with this person'. The comments are usually really cruel. That is a photo of an actual person, can you imagine if hundreds of thousands of people were mocking you on a photo. Disgusting. On the plus side when I see these it helps me easily identify people I no longer want to associate with."
Neuridivergent 2 years ago
I saw an expensive custom sticker accross the top of the windshield of a raised truck that said "raise it up, fat girls can't jump". I appreciate it when a**holes wear a warning sign.
#21
"Maybe this is just a "me" thing, but as someone who is adopted I am really bothered by adoptive parents who lie to their kids. I think starting your relationship with your child based on a lie is completely wrong, and it will come back to bite you later.
Unfortunately some parents who cannot biologically have children will choose to supplement this by adopting a kid and telling that kid they gave birth to them. This needlessly stigmatizes adoption by making it a shameful secret while also making sure that if this child finds out later in life, they will resent their parents 100% and never trust them again. It's just awful.
My parents were completely transparent with me from a really young age and I grew up well. I love my parents and personally have no desire to ever meet my biological mother. Every adopted kid is different but they all deserve to be told the truth."
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
I have a cousin 2 years younger than me and even I didn't know she was adopted until we were in our 20's and it came out. Appalling.
#22
maybeesknees said:
"Plastic everything packaged in more plastic."
plasticfree2020 replied:
"I work in retail and the amount of plastic and rubbish we get from the stock is horrendous. It's so depressing to see all the time."
#23
"Sugar being added to almost everything that's edible."
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
And in the US, high fructose corn syrup added to every freaking thing! Real annoying looking for stuff that doesn't have that c**p in it. Also, the use of Splenda (sucralose) in things and not being properly labeled. I'm allergic to it and I can avoid most of the foods easily but over the counter medication gets frustrating; i'm constantly reading labels and it's really annoying.
#24
"Alcohol dependency/addiction. Now it’s a social media trend amongst ‘wine mums’ and anyone else who has experienced a mild inconvenience during their day. Somehow needing a drink to get through the day is relatable & funny now, instead of concerning."
Headless Roach 2 years ago (edited)
Wine tastes great, but there's a thin line between "I'll enjoy some" and "I need one today". Addiction creeps onto you without warning 😏
#25
scootycreampuff said:
"Perfect attendance being celebrated for kids. When my kid is sick, he stays home. He’s healthy too. I can’t imagine having a kid with a disorder that makes them prone to being sick more often and then not getting some little award for not being in school everyday. Kids get sick. It’s not wise to send them to school anyway so they can spread they germs."
GB2016sux replied:
"Schools push attendance, because butts in seats is one of the factors that the government uses when deciding how much funding schools get."
#26
"Crimes as long as you have money. And I don't mean that you can pay lawyers or something. Sometimes it just looks that you are just allowed to be a criminal if you just have money."
zak 2 years ago
I can't recall the country that does this (Norway, maybe??), but I've read that in some places traffic fines are based on the person's income. For example, if two people get the same speeding ticket, the rich one might have to pay $50K, compared to the regular person that only has to pay $50. This proportional method should be used for ALL fines and penalties.
#27
"Flashing used to be illegal. Now every woman gets d*cks in their dm's from strangers."
#28
"Obesity being the norm rather than the exception."
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
Being "overweight" is not inherently bad. Being obese is. You cannot be obese and "perfectly healthy" at the same time. It doesn't matter if you can wave around "perfect bloodwork" or a note from your doctor that says you don't have diabetes. "Obesity" is literally a negative medical condition unto itself. It is defined as "a disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems." You quite simply cannot be "obese" and "healthy" at the same time, as obesity is not a human body's natural state of being.
#29
"School shootings.
It's not that they're considered okay, more of people are just numb to it at this point (at least in my area).
Here in the US, shootings everywhere and at this point, everyone is numb to it. Instead of, "oh no! A shooting?! Is everyone okay?!" it's, "another shooting?" It's kind of scary when you think about it."
Fantastic Mr Fox 2 years ago
It seems it's getting worse and worse. People are living in a war zone. Now a 6 year old boy shot his teacher. He planned it and brought the gun to school in his backpack. He can just take his mums gun. He has been taught how to use it.
#30
"That anyone should be able to become a parent, even if it's clear they cannot take care of a child."
What do you think ?
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