Interesting FactsFEB 2, 2024

30 Biggest Problems Around Us That Many Are Unaware Of But Should Know

Many problems, from small to big, personal to general, surround us every day. But because not all of them seem to impact us directly, we don’t always notice them.

However, some of those issues affect us, and especially our future, without us realizing it, and the more oblivious we are to them, the more damage they will eventually cause. When one person online asked about these ticking time bombs that far too few people are aware of, many Redditors joined in the discussion, delivering their answers. Scroll down to see what they wrote!

More info: Reddit

#1

30 Biggest Problems Around Us That Many Are Unaware Of But Should Know

Our current economic system is by itself a timebomb by design. Housing crisis, inflation, homelessness, war, stupid levels of debt, erosion of social security, climate change, loss of biodiversity. It's only a matter of time before it all implodes, when companies are literally unable to increase profits, and people start rioting for food and water.

Stargost_, hitesh choudhary

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123points

#2

The erosion of education, at least in the US. Without substantial fact checking from viable sources, misinformation is spreading at an ever-increasing rate on social media. People are taking it as gospel because our education systems in the US are so focused on metrics and teaching to standardized tests. Critical thinking and problem solving is being boiled out of the curriculum. Funding is held hostage by those who test well. Tests are being created by the highest bidder. Students aren't taught to challenge their own thinking nor the works of others and are instead seeing a societial norm where anyone can spout anything and find puppets who will agree.

happyklam, Pavel Danilyuk

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88points

#3

The collapse of the medical system and demise of proper care. It’s tipping over, and soon, it will become a situation where the rich get services and the rest don’t.

quickpeek81, Karolina Grabowska

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71points

It probably comes as no surprise that some of the main aspects of this topic are the environmental problems we’re currently facing. But even though we’ve heard about most, if not all of them many times, just like every other crisis, they locked us up at first but slowly slipped out of our minds with other things taking their place.

Unfortunately, just because we forget about something and are no longer really aware of it, it doesn’t mean that this thing just stops and disappears. Most of the time, it’s still there, still happening, and, due to lack of attention, it oftentimes can become even more dangerous.

#4

The dangers of microplastics, from plastic containers, food wrappers, bottles, etc.

JasperDyne, Oregon State University

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70points

#5

Tiktok. Specifically how "influencers" are promoting mental illness like a trendy handbag. DID (Dissociative identity disorder AKA split personality) is a huge offender. People faking this ultra rare disorder for Internet clout and creating videos like "if you've done [blank] that means you have [blank].

High increases in self diagnosis and people, children, reading up about symptoms and faking it to feel special or to fit in.

dumbasstupidbaby, cottonbro studio

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68points

#6

Overfishing and bycatch have caused a huge loss of species and populations of fish. There are species that have been so over-fished that there are not enough reproducing adults left-- young fish not at reproductive age are what's being caught, and in the next few years, we will see well known fish species go extinct. Thousands of sharks are killed as bycatch daily, and larger species take so long to reproduce, they can't keep up either. Our oceans are about to look very different.

roundntalented, Fredrik Öhlander

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65points

But on the bright side, it’s not too late just yet. There are some environmental activists, like Sabrina Pare, whom Bored Panda got in touch with for an interview, who tirelessly try to inspire, motivate, and empower others to live a more sustainable life and take action against climate change and its impacts using the power of social media.

Sabrina is a Detroid-based environmentalist and content creator who focuses on low-waste living, gardening, plant-based eating, and reducing food waste. Her journey toward sustainability began back in 2017 when she learned about the harmful effects that animal agriculture has on our environment.

Her passion quickly grew, and she started making more adjustments to her life as well as sharing tips online. “I realized there are many other issues facing our environment outside of animal agriculture, such as the plastic pollution crisis and fast fashion.”

#7

I think people have an attitude of "well COVID JUST happened, so we're not due for another one of those for another century."

We've spent the last century building the perfect environment for pandemics.

IndubitablePrognosis, Gustavo Fring

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60points

#8

The massive die off of bugs

imthescubakid, Peťka Šurinová

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59points

#9

Permafrost melting. Good luck trying to green wash our way out of that.

Narf234, wiki commons

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57points

When asked about what ticking time bomb of a problem she would add to this list, the expert chose something that was already mentioned and, by doing so, emphasized its severity even more - PFAS and microplastic contamination in our drinking water. “These synthetic chemicals exhibit alarming persistence, refusing to break down easily in the environment, leading to the long-term contamination of water sources. Compounding the issue, PFAS bioaccumulate in organisms, magnifying their concentrations up the food chain and posing health risks when consumed.”

Sabrina continued talking about developmental issues, compromised immune function, elevated cholesterol levels, and an increased risk of cancers, all of which were linked to PFAS through extensive research. “Mitigating PFAS and microplastics contamination demands urgent attention, as ongoing cleanup efforts face difficult challenges and the potential health consequences appear large for populations around the globe.”

The environmentalist added that the widespread contamination of water supplies, mostly coming from industrial discharges and product disposal combined the complete lack of strict regulatory limits worsen the situation even more and leave communities vulnerable to unknown exposure.

#10

Societal collapse. Specifically the lack of social security. I'm writing from the UK. Not sure how much of this applies to the US or elsewhere. Your mileage may vary. Back in the 1970s, the UK was one of the most equal societies in the West. Many people lived in social or council housing. In the 1980s, much of the social housing stock was sold off through right to buy. This for many people ended security of housing. Then around the end of the century, there were short term or zero hours contracts getting rid of security of employment. Then you have the introduction of tuition fees in higher education which broke the relationship between higher education and employment. What I'm writing about here is the long term, premeditated breakdown of the social contract and the stripping away and removal of social security in the West. Young people today, in their 20's, are not stupid. They are starting to figure out that they're getting f**k all out of the system - which they're not, not even close - and they're being set up to fail. The current social/political model in places such as the UK and I guess in the US is not sustainable. You got a straightforward choice between (a) social breakdown and civil unrest (b) totalitarianism and (c) complete socio-economic collapse. Simple question. The year is 2030. How you going to live? What are you going to be living on? What about your kids (if you have them)?

ElvishMystical, Kaique Rocha

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56points

#11

I'm not sure how much of a timebomb it is, but there are a lot of people expecting inheritances that will never materialize. With people living a really long time, entire middle class estates are going to be wiped out by long term care. If your parents can't afford to live in a nursing home, Medicaid will pay for it in exchange for every asset they have, leaving you with nothing. If you are young, don't count on inheriting their house because your parents will be living to 100.

Rokey76, Binyamin Mellish

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46points

#12

Elder care crisis

Yeah_no_yeah_sure, Andrea Piacquadio

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46points

The process of defusing and taking care of this bomb starts with us. Sabrina said that making conscious choices in our daily lives can go a long way in helping prevent PFAS damage. The list includes but is not limited to avoiding PFAS-containing products like non-stick cookware and stain-resistant fabrics, proper disposal of PFAS-contained items, and supporting and advocating for stricter regulations on the use and disposal of PFAS. “By staying informed, practicing water conservation, and engaging in community initiatives, people can collectively play a role in mitigating the impact of PFAS on water sources.”

But even if we all start doing everything that the expert recommended, a good deal of damage has already been done, and it will take quite some time to stop it from spreading further. After all, besides social media, traditional media and news are the main sources of information in our society, and, as of yet, they don’t seem to be covering this dire subject nearly as much as they should.

#13

Many people tend to overlook or pay little attention to our biodiversity in discussions; however, one day, this neglect may come at a hefty cost.

nifap57593, Erik Karits

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43points

#14

Aquifers are being drained at completely unsustainable levels. The ones under Kansas and Atlanta are in dire straits. Many others are being contaminated by agricultural chemicals.

It's going to be very bad by 2050. If you buy real estate, GET MINERAL AND WATER RIGHTS TO IT.

FreshwaterViking, Mike D

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41points

#15

Groundwater contamination

Cyprinus_L, Bonnie Moreland

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39points

Until the situation improves, which might be a while, Sabrina recommended buying and using a countertop water filter or reverse osmosis water system and, if possible, avoiding drinking out of plastic water bottles. These things can significantly reduce the amount of PFAS and microplastics in your drinking water and are worth the investment.

In the end, our current environmental situation is far from good, and calling it a ticking time bomb is no stretch. But it’s not the only serious issue we should be aware of. There are many other problems in the world that, if ignored, might quite literally ruin our future lives, and this list is a testament to that. So, let’s be more aware of what’s happening around us and change the world step by step.

What did you think of this story? Do you know any other ticking time bombs that people should be more about? Let us know in the comments below!

#16

The impact of the pandemic on a generation of young kids. The younger they are, the worse it is. And now that the kids are back, they're part feral, and the parents have given up. Having the f*****s at home during COVID broken most of them, and many weren't great parents to begin with.

There's another bubble, and that's a behavioral one. No one wants to work SPED anymore, because it used to be 1-2 behavioral kids and the rest were developmental. Now it's inverse. They're IEPing kids who are just s**ts because their parents can't or won't discipline them, just to get them out of the classroom and into some extra resources so that the kids that aren't f****d don't get dragged down with them. We need to prepare, we need to change how we do special ed and we need to figure out how to fix a generation of kids - and how to get their parents to let us fix them. We need to create behavioral programs that will turn them back into human beings instead of the feral things that they are. Because feral things don't do well in out in the world.

Even the good kids are rough compared to older generations. They have so few life skills, and the system tries to placate them enough to scoot them through the system.

I suppose it doesn't matter, there won't be many jobs in a generation at any rate.

Source: My wife heads the SPED department at a local school.

Seattlehepcat, Ketut Subiyanto

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38points

#17

# Histoplasmosis I believe many of you have compared this to The Last Of Us. It is a fungal infection that causes growths that resemble tumors, usually in the lungs, but in some cases, it is found in the sinuses. It is caused by a fungal spore found in poultry feed that the bird ingests, then it is activated in the bird droppings. When the droppings get into the air through cleaning and transportation, the spores make it into the air supply and get breathed in by humans. Many people need **partial lobes, and even entire lungs removed** as a result of this disease. For people with it in the sinuses, it can begin pressing on the brain when it runs out of room in the sinuses. The illness is very hard to diagnose and often looks like repeat infections, like a sinus infection or bronchitis. Usually, it requires an MRI and trying different medications to make an official diagnosis. Most cases, people don’t get diagnosed until the growths are pretty big and usually already caused permanent damage. The infection can cause flu like symptoms, memory loss and brain fog, expelling growths and blood when you cough or blow your nose, fatigue, weakness, and in cases where the growth presses on the brain, loss of feeling and use of the limbs. The brain fog and memory loss can also be permanent. I live in Arkansas where there are two major chicken companies (and about a half dozen other poultry plants), and I used to live two blocks from one of the most busy kill plants in the US. It used to be that only people with problems with their immune system or other serious illnesses were getting it. Now, **perfectly healthy people are dying** from it in our area. It used to be that we were breathing in ~1000 spores a day, but they don’t even report the air quality anymore. To make things worse, they keep opening more plants in more areas to make up for our massive chicken consumption. These companies have done an **aggressive** job making sure that the air quality regulations are not safe and that they don’t get in trouble for making everyone sick. There’s all these people walking around here with missing lungs, or missing lobes, and everyone just acts like it’s normal. So many people are sick and don’t even know it. Some even die never knowing what made them sick. Oh, and it can be **EASILY PREVENTED** by simply buying quality feed for the birds. Yup, that simple. I almost died so they could save a few bucks on feed.

Mrx_Amare, wiki commons

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36points

#18

The Kessler effect.

We have been putting all sorts of satellites and other space junk into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for decades without much of a coherent plan for how we were going to get that stuff down or generally manage how much stuff was up there. At some point, scientists believe the density of space junk in the LEO will reach a critical mass and start a cascading chain reaction known as "Kessler syndrome" or "the Kessler effect". Under the right circumstances, two pieces of space debris -- like old satellites -- could crash into each other and explode into space debris, which crashes into other nearby space debris, which breaks apart and crashes into more nearby space debris, and so on until there's a whole bunch of high-energy space garbage whizzing all over the low earth atmosphere and destroying the satellites we depend on for a lot of our technology.

(Yes, a dramatized version of this is the plot of the movie Gravity, but it's also a very real thing that scientists have been worried about since the 70s.)

If the Kessler effect is bad enough, the LEO could become so dangerous that we're just functionally unable to use satellite technology or launch spacecraft for generations (or, at the very least, satellite technologies will be much more expensive and much s****ter for a very long time). No one is sure exactly where "critical density" lies or how bad things might realistically get, but Kessler, the NASA scientist who first recognized this problem in the 1970s, concluded that the debris field was already becoming unstable in 2009. The demand for satellite tech is only growing, so we just sort of have to hope that growth in collision-avoidance technology outstrips the increase in satellite density.

xaviira, BirdieBronze

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35points

#19

How climate change is going to impact food security in the coming years. Increased precipitation and heat are already doing a ton of damage to crops. I fully believe we'll see widespread famine within my lifetime.

NativeMasshole, Tom Fisk

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35points

#20

There will be a cut-off point where the people will not tolerate the rich anymore. There will be a revolution and the rich killed and their assets seized.

34points