Every generation has a few things that seem perfectly normal, until they suddenly aren’t. After all, there was a time when cigarettes were advertised by doctors, lead found its way into all sorts of everyday products, and asbestos was considered a miracle material. Hindsight has a funny way of making yesterday’s “common sense” look completely absurd.
So it raises an interesting question. What are we doing today that people 50 years from now will look back on with absolute disbelief? From everyday habits to modern conveniences, plenty of folks online had theories about what could become this generation’s biggest regret, and some of their answers are surprisingly convincing.
More info: Reddit
#1
ITT: OP asks what thing we believe is harmless and even fun or healthy will turn out to be excessively harmful and people respond with things which we already know to be harmful. Guys, we already know about PFAs, micro-plastics, AI, social media, etc.
To answer your question, OP: Energy drinks. Even bringing it up will make a bunch of people very angry but I feel like we’re going to learn that most of them are supremely bad for you.
Image source: LeGrandLucifer, New Africa
#2
The slow and steady creep of unwarranted surveillance.
Image source: YouArentReallyThere, photomaru
#3
“Hey, maybe we shouldn’t have treated our environment as disposable…”.
Image source: SaltyCrashNerd, sarayut_w32
History has shown that many things once considered safe, beneficial, or even essential can later be viewed in a completely different light as scientific understanding improves. According to History Facts, products such as sugar, margarine, cigarettes, tonics, weight-loss pills, and certain breakfast cereals were once promoted through health-focused advertising and public messaging.
Over time, it was revealed that some of these claims were incomplete, misleading, or based on limited knowledge available at the time. These examples demonstrate how ideas about what is “healthy” are not fixed, they are influenced by scientific discoveries and the way industries market their products. Something that feels like common sense in one era can become a surprising lesson for future generations.
#4
When we no longer have clean drinking water we’ll realize that building subdivisions and roads on wetlands wasn’t such a hot idea.
Image source: lovelyb1ch66, wirestock
#5
“social media a*******n” I say as I scroll through Reddit and type on Reddit.
Image source: Miitama, oleg.magni
#6
Mass scale nutrient deficiency. Not to be confused with a food shortage.
Image source: ReallyNiceDonkey, pvproductions
This same shift has happened with many everyday products that slowly disappeared or changed after safety concerns emerged. History Computer notes that lead-based paint, which was once widely used because of its durability and ability to create bright colors, was eventually phased out after researchers linked lead exposure to developmental issues and neurological damage, leading to stronger restrictions and bans.
Asbestos followed a similar path; once celebrated as a versatile “miracle” material for insulation and fireproofing, it later became associated with serious diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Even smaller household changes, such as replacing metal ice trays that could cause injuries with safer alternatives, show how products are often redesigned when hidden risks become better understood.
#7
Toddlers with phones to preoccupy their developing brains.- subsequently the decline in teachers because no one wants to sit in a room with kids that lack attention spans.
Image source: mabols, user32883319
#8
Turns out those “harmless” common colds aren’t harmless. Not only has COVID entered the rotation, but I doubt the flu (or even the rhinovirus) is as safe long-term as society seems to think.
FR tho, is *everyone* gonna need to end up with a nasty case of post-viral chronic illness for society to take this sh*t seriously?
Image source: 0xEmmy, coffeekai
#9
Excessive screen time and social media a*******n. I think future generations will look back and wonder why we normalized spending so many hours staring at screens every day.
Image source: piyush-87, marymarkevich
Recognizing these risks is not always easy because human decision-making is influenced by the way we perceive danger. Research Prospect explains that cognitive biases, including normalcy bias, optimism bias, and familiarity bias, causes people to view familiar situations as safer than they really are. Normalcy bias, for example, makes people assume that life will continue as usual, even when warning signs appear.
These mental shortcuts are not simply mistakes in thinking, they developed as a way for people to function in stable environments without constantly worrying about every possible threat. However, when society encounters new or slowly developing risks, these same instincts can make it harder to recognize problems before they become widespread.
#10
“Oh s**t, AI isn’t really intelligent, costs a lot, steals our data and produces unmaintainable mess”.
Image source: HRudy94, DC Studio
#11
Poor education funding makes poor education.
Image source: Ciryl_Lynyard, jcomp
#12
“Oh s**t I should have also ate fiber not just protein, I now have colon cancer” .
Image source: Capable_Suit_7335, jcomp
The challenge is even greater today because modern life introduces risks that are often more complicated, delayed, and difficult to measure. According to Balanced Achievement, rapid technological progress, increased global connections, information overload, and more complex choices have created situations where the consequences of our decisions may not become clear for years.
This is where the idea of anticipated regret comes into play, the tendency to imagine how we might feel about a choice in the future before we make it. By mentally experiencing possible future consequences, people try to protect themselves from mistakes they cannot yet fully understand, especially when dealing with new habits, products, or technologies that may shape the lives of future generations.
#13
PFAs? Whatever is causing colon cancer to develop younger and younger millennials. .
Image source: Lucky_Enough, freepik
#14
Sports Betting is Gambling.
of course we already know this. just like previous generations knew that smoking wasn’t helpful
but we’re treating it as an almost benign thing, while more and more (especially male) youths get suckered into gambling addictions.
Image source: Faleya, gpointstudio
#15
Instead of copying and pasting this to every thick head that is saying GLP1s, I’m going to make my own comment.
GLP1s have been approved for over 20 years. It’s not new.
What is actually happening is that every single day studies are finding what people on them having been claiming for years- there are way more benefits than anyone ever even thought, including but not limited to, slowing the growth of certain cancer cells, improving the labs of every major organ system in many people, finally a treatment for PCOS and bringing back their fertility, anti inflammatory effects, and use for substance a***e disorders. That’s apart from the obvious of what it’s fda approved for which is diabetes, weight loss, and sleep apnea.
It’s also been found that the black box warning for certain thyroid cancers was unfounded as it turns out mice have much different functioning thyroid than humans.
So, based on that, I think the exact opposite will happen with GLP1s. They are a literal miracle d**g akin to the discovery of penicillin and insulin.
Image source: imnottheoneipromise, freepik
Whether these predictions turn out to be accurate or wildly off the mark, they all have one thing in common. They remind us that what feels “normal” today isn’t guaranteed to stay that way. History has a habit of humbling us, and every generation has a few blind spots that only become obvious in hindsight.
Of course, not every modern convenience or habit is destined to become the next smoking. Some concerns will fade away as myths, while others may prove to be more serious than anyone expected. Curious to see which everyday things people think future generations will judge us for? Keep reading to discover the theories that sparked the biggest discussions online.
#16
In a way Gen Z has already experienced this. It’s “oh s**t delaying peanut introductions in babies causes severe peanut allergies.”.
Image source: marmosetohmarmoset, jcomp
#17
Sugar. So clearly is diabetes on the rise, and yet…
Image source: seliselio, fabrikasimf
#18
“oh s**t, vaping also causes problems”.
Image source: ghfdghjkhg, rawpixel.com
#19
Alcohol, y’all. It’s alcohol.
[It has been moved to Group 1 carcinogen](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet), meaning there is sufficient evidence now that it does not correlate, but *causes* certain types of cancer, even if you are a light drinker. In other words, there is no safe level of drinking
This came out about 2-3 years ago, and yet we haven’t heard much about it, [aside from a few articles](https://oncodaily.com/oncolibrary/group-1-carcinogen). And I get it, alcohol is a part of many religions, cultural practices, and rituals, for millennia.
Also, pretty sure that WHO (I think? or NIH?) made things worse with their handling of the suggestion that anyone capable of conception just not drink. The message came off as treating an entire s*x as if they were incubators rather than a nuanced piece of medical advice. (I remember thinking aww f-off, only to learn more about the science and realize what they were trying to say. ).
Image source: mcclelc, standret
#20
Covid has proven to be oncogenic in multiple scientific studies already and it’s only been with us 6 years, it will get worse.
Image source: Agreeable_Strength51, Drazen Zigic
#21
Building everything for cars instead of people.
Image source: imrzzz, tawatchai07
#22
“So you guys had how many movies about AI taking of very the world and destroying humanity, and you _still_ built it?!”.
Image source: tomahawk66mtb, peachfreepix
#23
Covid. Covid damages every organ in the body & the blood vessels. Well documented. It’s the AIDs crisis all over again. Why must it take humans sooooo long to change behavior when we have ample evidence?
Takes an average of 17 years for research to go into practice. Insane.
Image source: Sea-Split214, wirestock
#24
Oh s**t! Flock and the (new authoritarian) government has a record of my entire location history and everything I purchased!
Image source: crosleyxj, katemangostar
#25
Plastics and single use containers/wrap
just waiting out there like a k****r in the sun.
Image source: cleanbot, rawpixel.com
#26
Realizing that climate change affects our food supply.
Image source: Sprucedude, DC Studio
#27
Oh s**t, the environment was more important than corporate profits.
Image source: shyguystormcrow, user25451090
#28
F****d up necks and spines from staring at phones all day.
Image source: lostinthegwn, pepperiko
#29
Covid and the long range cumulative effects of multiple infections.
Image source: fuzzysocksplease, federcap
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