It’s pretty hard to define normal, but you know it when you see it. When something has been normalized, it isn’t shocking.
It’s something commonplace that we all get used to. However, maybe some of these things should never have become normal in the first place.
Constant Advertising
Advertising didn’t used to be as pervasive as it is today. When advertising started on the radio, the public was upset at the idea of having advertising in their homes. Today, we see hundreds of ads a day and are used to the constant stream of ads.
Working Too Much
In the U.S., people work more than in many European countries. We work more each year than even the Japanese, the people who literally invented a word that means working yourself to death.
Being Constantly Available
Today, we’re available to our jobs virtually all of the time because of texting, email, and other messaging. The problem has gotten so bad that a few countries, including Italy and The Philippines, have passed laws to prevent after-work emails.
Getting News From Social Media
There’s some merit in getting news information from social media. People share links to official news sources and talk about the stories. However, it’s also full of deep fakes and other misinformation that can look real and convince many people that they’re true.
Posting Pictures of Kids Online
It can be incredibly embarrassing later for kids to grow up and have their most embarrassing times broadcast online. These posts generally last forever, and there’s no reason to post them. When kids become adults, they can decide whether they want their pictures online.
Child Beauty Pageants
These have become normal over the last few decades with a whole circuit of pageants that kids compete in. These can teach kids to put their looks first, and they are often devastating when a child doesn’t win and starts to feel unattractive.
The Price of Vehicles
When the post-Covid supply chain was in trouble, it led to fewer cars being made and much higher prices. Those prices have only continued to grow as both new and used cars now come with astronomical prices.
Monetizing Every Hobby
Hey- you like doing this activity in your free time, so why not turn it into a product? There’s a lot of pressure to monetize hobbies so that you have a side hustle. Often, working at a job is enough hours to put in for money. Sometimes, hobbies can just be hobbies.
Anti-Intellectualism
It’s long been considered anti-social to be an informed intellectual. It makes others feel that the person is too awkward or must have no friends. Countless disparaging words are used when someone simply knows a lot. People rarely encourage intellectuals and instead often resent them.
The Cost of Weddings
There are so many wedding traditions today that weddings often cost tens of thousands of dollars. Between the rings, the dress, the food, and the venue, it can be incredibly expensive even for a relatively small wedding.
People Distracted by Phones
When you text and drive, you put your own safety, as well as everyone else’s, in jeopardy. However, it’s also dangerous to engage in distracted walking. People end up being hit by vehicles and falling off curbs when they’re staring at their phones instead of paying attention.
Being Messy in Public
It’s easy to be messy in public because you don’t have to clean it up. However, that doesn’t mean anyone should act that way. It’s never a good idea to leave food and trash everywhere, even if it’s easier to do that.
Photographing or Filming Strangers
No one wants to be the main character online that day. It shouldn’t be acceptable to film any stranger with the intent to post it online. People are shamed for so many things that people will find fault with that person for one reason or another. Not cool.
Financing Everything
There are so many apps and sites out there that help you finance purchases that it doesn’t feel like real money when you buy something. Not everything should be financed. In fact, it should be very rare.
Villifying Anyone With a Different Opinion
The current polarization is built on being intolerant of other opinions. It’s possible to debate civilly, and having friends with different political or religious views is fine.
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Is Poorly Educated
We all like to think we are always acting at our most intelligent and rational. Yet, ignorance from a lack of education can sneak up on us or be on full display in others.
Awareness is key to preventing and correcting some of our worst ideas and behavior. Here are 15 signs of ignorance and poor education to look out for.
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Is Poorly Educated
15 Things People Mistakenly Think Are Real but Aren’t
People believe all kinds of ridiculous things, and they believe some true-sounding things that are actually false as well. Some of these things have been repeated for ages and will probably never go away.
Others have sprung up more recently and spread fast, thanks to the internet. While you probably can’t convince the people who repeat such misinformation that they’re wrong, you can at least know the truth when they try to push it on you!
15 Things People Mistakenly Think Are Real but Aren’t
The 20 Most Successful Singers Of All Time
It’s easy to judge the success of an artist based on how many Grammys they’ve won or by how much money they’ve made. A better look at success, however, is to see how many singles they’ve released relative to the number of Grammys they’ve won.
According to BonusInsider, these artists are the most successful based on these metrics.