Our Grandparents Would Be Disgusted at how we’re Normalizing Bad Behavior

All societies change and adapt, but sometimes, that change isn’t for the better. 

Sometimes cultures start normalizing bad behavior rather than celebrating the good. 

Society Normalizing Bad Behavior

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 the internet. 

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. 

Rude Customers

We used to call out rude customers, but the bad behavior has become so common that we all think it’s normal. Customers feel entitled to scream at waitstaff, throw drinks in baristas’ faces, and make giant messes for retail employees to clean up. 

It’s time to bring back kindness, compassion, and just general niceness. It costs you nothing to treat customer service staff like human beings. 

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. 

Some people go so far as to sexually exploit their children for money, posting “beach” photos of young children for an audience of mostly adult men. We really hope society stops normalizing this before it’s too late. 

Selfishness

Society’s obsession with rugged individualism spawned a selfishness epidemic. Everyone has a me-first attitude, whether at work or home, while driving or in line at the checkout. 

We’re normalizing this bad behavior by letting selfish people get their way and teaching our children that they’re the most special human beings on the planet. Yeah, your kids are special to you, but we must also teach them that other people matter. 

Overworking 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. 

Inflated Prices on Necessities

The profits-above-people model extends to necessities like food and electricity. Rampant inflation at the grocery store means people can barely afford to eat. While there are supply chain issues caused by forces outside of our control, part of the problem is the never-ending quest for profits. 

People can’t afford food, but the giant grocery store corporations are raking in record profits. And we all accept it as normal. 

Anti-Science

Society used to celebrate scientists, but now everyone thinks their personal opinion is more valid than decades of analysis. 

People watch a YouTube video and think it counts as “research,” then discount the real empirical studies scientists labored to produce. Someone who’s never set foot in a lab thinks they’re feelings about vaccines, climate change, and food safety than a scientist who’s dedicated their life to the cause. 

And I get it. Unfortunately, some scientific research is biased because giant corporations own it. But instead of blaming the scientists, we should blame the root of the problem, which leads us back to “profits-over-people,” and stop normalizing a distrust of the scientific community at large. 

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 that only a few hardcore 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 who don’t hustle to do the 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. 

Although we’re glad that people are talking about poverty as the massive problem it is, we’re worried that it will become the standard of living for most people. 

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. 

Misogyny

Society has always normalized misogyny, but it’s getting worse instead of better. Women made fantastic strides from the 1970s through the early 2000s, but the late 2010s and early 2020s have seen a massive backlash against women’s rights. 

Some folks are even claiming that women shouldn’t have the right to vote. Although right now, we mostly see that whispered in the darkest corners of the internet, it’s becoming more and more normalized, and if we aren’t careful, women will be thrust back to second-class citizens. 

What Do You Think?

Do you agree that these are bad behaviors we should stop normalizing? What else would you add to the list?