All societies change and adapt, but sometimes, that change isn’t for the better. Sometimes cultures start to normalize things that shouldn’t be happening.
The shifts happen slowly, and as the older generations who fought against it slowly start to move on, younger generations shrug and think, “Well, that’s just the way it is.”
Here are some of the top things we’re worried society is starting to normalize, according to Reddit.
Entry Level Experience
At one point, entry-level meant just that: entry. People started their careers with entry-level jobs and learned on the job.
Now, all too many companies require years of experience for so-called entry-level positions.
“This has been normalized as far as I can remember when I started my career,” shared one user. “What I did notice is that they seemed to have moved that bar to 10 years in more and more cases,” they added.
“I feel a lot of this is poor leadership who doesn’t know how to hire people with potential and train them,” said another.
Exploiting Your Children
One person hates that parents exploit their children for financial gain.
“Shoving a camera in your kid’s face for content,” they responded, highlighting the new trend where parents post everything about their kids’ lives online.
The comment resonated with users, receiving nearly 5000 upvotes and a gold award.
“The “family” genre of YouTube channels for lack of a better way to describe it — basically turning every aspect of your kids’ lives into monetizable videos — really gives me the ick,” added another.
Over Working Without Compensation
America’s toxic work culture tells us that if we aren’t working, we’re doing it wrong. Working ungodly hours (sometimes even for free!) has become so normalized in our culture that some folks don’t even see it as a problem.
“I hate unpaid OT,” stated one user. “I used to get shamed into it at my old job. The whole “we all have to pitch in and make some sacrifices” line is disgusting.”
Extra Work in General
Another user said the idea that we must always go above and beyond to prove ourselves at work needs to end.
“The idea that there is an implicit need to stand out and the only way to do that is to prove your dedication to your company is toxic and the direct result of an abusive relationship between employees and exploiters,” they explained.
We used to be able to go to work and do our jobs. Now it’s expected that we do two or three jobs in the same hours without any additional pay.
Profits Above All Else
In the last thirty or so years, society shifted to worship profits above all else. Companies must constantly grow and increase profits; for consistency is frowned upon in this new world.
“Companies seek ever-growing profits. Making $100 million two years in a row means failing because the line always needs to go up,” said one user. “Meanwhile, every aspect of life is getting worse,” they added.
Hustle Culture
Americans take work culture to the extreme. If they aren’t toiling at the office for untold hours, they come home to work on side hustles.
There’s nothing wrong with building a business for yourself outside of work, but we’ve turned a venture only a few hard-core individuals chose to pursue into a must-do for society.
Hustle Culture created the idea that you deserve to be poor if you aren’t dedicating every moment to making money.
“We shouldn’t be attempting to monetize every waking moment of our day,” expressed one user.
“The idea that some people have to hustle to make rent or pay for groceries is terrible. And the idea that those don’t hustle to do that same are lazy is ridiculous,” replied another.
Poverty
At one point, poverty was a concept hidden in the shadows, thrust upon the most unfortunate. Now, poverty is becoming normalized.
The United States has a poverty trap, and more and more people are teetering precariously close to the brink.
“I work full time and make better money relative to my friends, and I still feel like I’m going to be homeless in the near future,” shared one user.
Data Collection
We balk at giving our personal information to the government but gladly hand it over to giant corporations without a second thought.
One user said, “Mega corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. amassing an enormous amount of data about us and selling it to third parties,” is a huge problem that we’re all okay with normalizing.
“When corporations try to tell you they can’t run without secretly stealing your private data, they are lying. They want to convince you it’s necessary so you won’t make them stop,” explained another.
Tipping
Many agree that tipping culture has gotten out of hand. At one point, we only tipped a select few workers who provided us with a service. Now, every worker we interact with has their hand out demanding a tip.
We understand the worker’s perspective; no one makes enough money to survive anymore. But many users said they hate that tipping has become so normalized.
“Employers should pay the employees, not the customers,” stated one user, explaining why they don’t like tips.
“I hate tipping, not because I don’t feel like they deserve it, but I hate being put in a position to decide their wages, like I’m just here to eat, man. Can you just pay your workers better?” asked another.
Child Beauty Pageants
Honey Boo Boo normalized child beauty pageants; nothing good has ever come from them. The despicable practice normalizes the sexualization of young girls and instills the idea that their only value comes from their looks.
“They’re an American tradition. But not a proud one,” lamented one user.
Some hoped that the insidious practice would disappear rather than become more mainstream. “How are they normalized? Everyone thinks they’re creepy,” they stated.
What Do You Think?
Do you agree with Reddit that these things shouldn’t be normalized, but are unfortunately becoming mainstream? What else would you add to the list?