The other day, redditor u/BeardedTaco88 asked the internet, "What is something that's held in high regard in culture and society that's actually garbage?" and the responses were pretty fascinating.
Here are some of the most top-voted ones:
1. "Hustle culture, always being on the grind."
2. "Youth. Everything is made to try to make you feel bad that you can't look 20 forever."
"Why aren't there commercials about face cream for men and magazine articles asking what's his secret to looking so young? This is what you 'can and can't' wear over 40. 'Getting your body back.' 'Losing baby weight.' We know it's all filters and surgery at this point, so just stop all of this."
3. "Saying things like, 'No matter what, they're still your parents. You have to respect them.'"
4. "Lack of sleep."
"'I only got four hours of sleep last night.' Yeah, congrats on lowering your body's functionality, I guess."
5. "How have we been brainwashed into believing that a tiny stone is worth more than a car?"
6. "Toxic productivity."
"Especially content creators who make money by selling a wild facade of a twentysomething-year-old in peak mental and physical shape due to their 4 a.m. wake-up routine and 25 hours of productivity each day."
7. "Cryptocurrency. I myself am a crypto holder, but frankly, most of the projects are just money grabs and ponzis."
8. "Idolized pop stars."
9. "The way we treat our celebrities — because we treat them like gods or some other deity when they should be treated like any other normal human being."
10. "Bottling up emotions and not asking for help when you need it."
11. "Being at work more than home."
12. "Equating money to respect. Just because someone does not have money doesn't mean they don't deserve at least the bare minimum respect as a human being."
"Associating wealth with virtue. Just because someone made a lot of money (or inherited it) does not mean they are a good, ethical, or virtuous person."
13. "Treating politics like a sports game."
14. "People who say things like, 'I never take a break,' or, 'I haven’t had a day off in weeks.' They pride themselves in working their butts off to the point of it negatively impacting their mental health."
"Like, a lot of times it’s not that deep; take your 15-minute break."
15. "Respecting all the elders. Not every elder deserves respect."
16. "Designer perfume. The profit must be astronomical, even with the overproduced and decadent adverts."
17. "Owning a house that's so big, you don't even use three or more rooms (excluding bathrooms) on a monthly basis."
18. "Status. Utterly hollow and meaningless, and everyone is chasing it constantly. Once you get it, you discover that it feels like nothing."
19. "Rich YouTubers. People who refer to themselves as 'influencers.'"
20. "Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, and other awards."
"For me, the problem is not so much the awards, but it’s the way the industry has used it to game the system. The best in their categories don’t always win. You have to play Hollywood politics, and they have to like you. If you don’t do what they want, they are very good at snubbing you."
21. "Gender reveal parties."
22. "NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Sorry people, but there’s no real value there."
23. And finally: "Virtue signaling on social media."
"Supporting any community should be done by actually doing something. Not simply by talking about it, or saying how sad you are about issues. ~Just~ raising awareness is never enough."
Do you agree with these? What are other things that are held in high regard that are actually terrible? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.