Have you ever found yourself cringing at what your parents thought was cool back in the day? From perms to disco, every generation has its quirks. But what about us? What’s normal now that will have our grandkids rolling their eyes or even shocked?
Reddit users cracked open this thought-provoking question, and the answers are truly something to behold. These aren’t made up; they’re real responses from people thinking about the world today. Let’s dive in and see which of these might become the facepalm moments of the future!
Pollute the shit out of our Oceans
Pollute the shit out of our Oceans
The ocean isn’t a far-off mythic place; it’s the lifeblood of our planet! Yet, right now, we’re treating it like a global dumpster. Seriously, are we competing to see how much trash we can fit in there? One Redditor’s blunt observation hits right in the feels because, honestly, it’s a disaster. Future generations are going to wonder how we could watch ‘Finding Nemo’ and think, “Ah, yes, let’s dump some more plastic in there!”
The way we treat cancer, hopefully.
The way we treat cancer, hopefully.
Our current fight against cancer is the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gunfight—it’s brutal and often feels like we’re just grasping at straws. Radiation? Chemotherapy? Future folks will find it absurd that we went nuclear on our own bodies to battle the Big C. Hopefully, they’ll have less ‘slash and burn’ and more ‘target and heal’.
“They used to send people to prison for life for having a little bit of weed?!” Overheard from a Gen Z.
“They used to send people to prison for life for having a little bit of weed?!” Overheard from a Gen Z. It’s already happening.
It seems younger generations are scratching their heads at the criminal justice system’s vendetta against a plant that’s less harmful than alcohol. Imagine having to explain to your tech-savvy grandkid that, yes, people did get locked up for decades for a baggie of marijuana. You can almost see them raising an eyebrow and silently judging your era of lawmakers.
Dialysis. If you know the process, it’s gruesome and medieval.
Dialysis. If you know the process, it’s gruesome and medieval.
You have to sit and process this one: people with kidney problems are hooked up to machines for HOURS to filter their blood, like a human oil change. It’s life-saving but not exactly the pinnacle of medical technology. Will we ever see the day when dialysis is just a dark tale from the olden days? Let’s hope the future is kinder to our kidneys.
This is wishful thinking but, post their entire f*cking lives onto the Internet.
This is wishful thinking but, post their entire f*cking lives onto the Internet.
Privacy? What’s that? Picture this: granny scrolling through her cloud storage, showing 4K vids of her twenty-something self doing keg stands. Today’s TMI could be tomorrow’s “why, though?” If oversharing becomes passé, our descendants might marvel at how we turned our lives into digital reality shows.
Science: “This plastic stuff is really difficult and expensive to recycle, never truly goes away, and likely has horrible long-term effects on the bodies of all organic life on earth, humans included.”
Science: “This plastic stuff is really difficult and expensive to recycle, never truly goes away, and likely has horrible long-term effects on the bodies of all organic life on earth, humans included.”
And yet, we’re over here dressing our avocados in plastic like they’re going to prom. When every picnic meant throwing away mountains of single-use items, were we trying to suffocate the Earth in cling film? Future citizens may wonder why we were so addicted to a substance that’s essentially immortal.
Overuse of antibiotics
Overuse of antibiotics
We’ve got one of the best medical wins in history—antibiotics—and what do we do? We take ’em like candy. By the time our grandchildren learn about the “Superbug Era” in history class, they’ll be shocked to discover that their ancestors could’ve avoided it by just not popping pills every time they sneezed.
Being in places with no cell/internet signal.
Being in places with no cell/internet signal. I lived in a small town where there was almost no signal until recently but I’m seeing fewer and fewer places where that is the case.
Remember when “getting away from it all” was a real thing? One day, the idea of a ‘dead zone’ might be a myth like Atlantis—so powerful is our future Wi-Fi. Imagine explaining to a kid that once upon a time, texts didn’t send because you were in a mysterious land ‘without signal’.
Hopefully file your own taxes. It’s needlessly complicated. (USA)
Hopefully file your own taxes. It’s needlessly complicated. (USA)
The U.S. tax system is like a Rubik’s Cube that wants money from you. It’s so byzantine, even accountants need accountants. Maybe, just maybe, our future selves will chuckle at the mountain of paperwork and hours spent so that you could find out… you owe the government five bucks.
the way the mental health system treats psych patients in hospitals and programs when you have severe symptoms.
the way the mental health system treats psych patients in hospitals and programs when you have severe symptoms. you’ll get drugged up and the whole experience is pretty traumatizing.
Mental health care can be a horror show in the present day. The current system is a mix of good intentions and sometimes a heavy dose of ‘let’s just wing it with meds’. We all genuinely hope the care will evolve into something less dreadful because nobody should feel like they’re in an Edgar Allen Poe story just for seeking help.
The incessant inundation of marketing in our daily lives.
The incessant inundation of marketing in our daily lives. Our technology gathers our data to tailor ads to sell us more useless trash.
How many ads can you see before you go from “I NEED that” to “I’m living in a commercial”? They already have ads in games, ads in movies, and ads for other ads. Telepathic ads can’t be far off. The future may well look back and shudder at how we sold our souls for a 10% discount on a burger.
Toilet paper. I can’t wait for the 3 shells
Toilet paper. I can’t wait for the 3 shells
Toilet paper: the unflushable pillar of our bathroom experiences. “If only they knew how to use the three shells,” our grandkids will muse, echoing the wisdom of the great cinema classic, ‘Demolition Man’. Seriously, when will science deliver on the shell tech?
Buying bottled water from another continent.
Buying bottled water from another continent.
Sipping exotic water that crossed oceans to get into your reusable bottle? Oh, the irony. One day, we might all drink from the same well of regret, knowing that Earth’s water cycle was more than enough to sustain us.
Corporal punishment.
Corporal punishment.
We might finally reach an age when the answer to “Spare the rod, spoil the child?” is a resounding “Nope.” Add to that the hope that the emotional needs of children—regardless of gender—won’t be sidelined in favor of outdated norms. Here’s to a future that champions empathy and understanding!
The ass first pose (sorry don’t know what it’s called).
The ass first pose (sorry don’t know what it’s called). Like, here’s a pic of your grandmother at the Grand Canyon when she was young. Sorry her ass is so prominent in every picture but that was the style at the time. No I don’t have any other poses of her.
If future generations stop celebrating the ‘booty shot’, then whatInstagram hath wrought might finally be laid to rest. Could it be that national parks get to be more than backdrops for belfies? One can only wish.
And there you have it! Whether these habits make you laugh, facepalm, or worry for the future, one thing’s for sure: our grandkids will have plenty of material to tease us about. Here’s to learning and maybe doing better—so our future selves have a little less to cringe at!