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.
#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?"
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89points
#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."
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78points
#3
"Using your phone while eating at a table with someone! Makes it feel like you don't value their company or time."
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73points
#4
"People asking anyone why they don’t want to have kids. I just don’t. Stop it."
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67points
#5
guillezamorap said:
"Having to accept cookies for every website..."
"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."
"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."
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60points
#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."
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49points
#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."
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43points
#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."
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39points
#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."
"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."
"Dresses and skirts with pockets are a blessing."
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39points
#12
GOTisnotover77 said:
"Being proud of and bragging about a lack of sleep as if it’s some sort of virtue."
"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."
"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."
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38points
#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."
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37points
#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."
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32points
#16
"The way animals are treated when being processed for food, as if they aren't living beings capable of emotions."
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31points
#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?"
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30points
#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."
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30points
#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."
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30points
#20
River1947 said:
"Taking pictures of random people and turning them into memes."
"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."
"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."
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28points