Remember VHS? Remember how critically important they were to our lives before being replaced with DVDs? Then, remember how important they were before being replaced with Blu-Ray? Then remember how important they were before being replaced with a multitude of streaming services? Those for sure aren't going anywhere, right?
Right?
Reddit user, u/My_Names_Jefff, wanted to hear about:
What can you see going obsolete in 5 years?
Apple Pay Says "What's Up?"
homer simpson smoking GIFGiphyCash in 1st world
I don't think it's going anywhere in the next 5 years, at least in the US. Cash is still pretty popular for quick purchases under $20, because card reader systems are too unreliable and slow. And it's still common to pay tips in cash, so people who work in food service tend to have cash on hand.
Japan still loves cash, too.
Take It Where You Want
Desktop computers. Most people will have laptops plugged to a bigger external monitor. also wire headphones and toys for 4-10 year olds since they will only like devices, computers, and TVs... oh and also stock brokers, you can buy and sell shares without paying fee just by using Robinhood, webull or Td Ameritrade app.
Is It Curtains For...Well, You Know.
Curtains. I live in Germany, and most of the houses have Rolladens. They're like curtains, except they block out more light when you need them too and also they're metal so they would do good in tornado alley. I don't understand why only Europe uses them.
We'd Have To Vote A Lot Of People Out To Make This One Happen
Fossil cars. Of course people will continue to drive them for longer than that, but in five years I think EVs will completely dominate the new sales. For many use cases, EVs are already cheaper in the long run, and they'll continue to drop in price.
There's No Link Between The Two...Yet...
Wired headphones, then people will realise they are connected to cancer and wired will come back.
Bluetooth headphones are adequate for audio books but real music fanatics are starting to realize the sound is a little thinner and instrument separation not as distinct.
My Opinions = Your Views
Social Media Influencers.
They're already at a point of everybody and their dog thinking they can be an "influencer" simply due to having an opinion...
Stranded On A Germ-Filled Boat
Cruises i think.
The current crisis really shed light on how much the environment can recover from not being polluted on the scale we do. Now, Airplanes aren't going anywhere because we need to travel fast and cheaply across borders.
But cruise ships? Giant hunks of floating metal that consume an entire car tank worth of fuel per stroke, is nothing but an opulence and exercise in luxury and ruining marine life.
This One's Interesting In A Few Ways
Television
Hmm maybe. Definitely declining but a lot of older demographics still watch cable and network TV. I work in advertising and it's like radio - I'm always shocked at how many people still watch/listen.
That said - I'd say in 20 years it's done for sure. But while streaming services and tech get easier to use I'm sure more and more older people will realize how much money they can save and still get "channels" delivered differently.
It's A Prime Catch-22
homer simpson episode 6 GIFGiphyWorking in an office. This pandemic is proving that there's no need for offices already.
Better hope you're wrong, because if there's no reason to have an office, there's no reason to hire first worlders and pay first world salaries for people to work from home.
The Way Of The Future
Drivers after self driving cars and trucks become common.
Uber and Lyft hope to have fully autonomous fleets eventually, and I'm sure the major trucking companies would love to have automated rigs.
And don't even get me started about how much the car insurance companies would be drooling once self-driving cars get the accident avoidance bugs sorted out.
Another Way To Learn In Your Pajamas
Colleges will still exist, but they will be obsolete in the sense that most people will demand online learning. Cheaper, more convenient, and the online classroom tech is making leaps and bounds due to the pandemic.
This One Will Be A Real Bummer For Most Kids
Snow days, unfortunately. Now that school can be done remotely kids will no longer have the excitement of waking up to a snow day. Super sad.
Think About The Last Time You Actually Used One
Personal checks. With the majority of banking transactions now being done digitally, the cost of processing checks just isn't worth the upkeep of the systems.
The Days Of Blowing In Cartridges Is Long Behind Us
Five years might be an under estimate, but how about physical video games? I abhor the idea of going all digital but I could see it becoming a reality.
That sounds about right. This current generation will likely be the last generation of consoles to have physical copies of games.
However, there will always be collectors of old games such as myself. I don't have any super rare games, but I do have some that are actually worth money such as Mario Party 3 and Silent Hill. I'm never going to sell them. When new releases go all digital, and physical games get rarer and rarer, I can see physical games really going up in value because there will always be people willing to pay for them. Especially extremely successful franchises like Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Resident Evil. A physical copy of Super Mario 64 is going to be worth a lot a decade or two from now.
How Are These Still A Thing?
Landlines
Im surprised this hasnt happened yet
I fogure it'd take some kind of eradication of mobile phone network blsck spots in people's homes for it to happen. There's like 3 rooms in my house I get 0 signal.
We're Somehow Cycling Back On Ourselves
Single streaming services. There's a glut coming, and they're all going to compete against each other. I think in five years they're going to band together and we're going to have an option similar to cable, where there's competing packages.
Ironic isn't it? This was exactly the original promise of Netflix: all the shows, one platform. No more subscribing to giant tv channel packages just to get the 3 shows you actually watch.
Hey, If You're On The Planet Earth, You Speak American!
the simpsons me fail english thats unpossible GIFGiphyLanguage other than English requirements for students. We're getting really close to having the technology to speak into a computer and have it translate in real time.
Those aren't required to be useful, they're required because they've always been required for a university degree and there's no way to justify having a language department if you don't require students to take classes that are totally useless to them.
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"Non-American people, what’s a thing that you don’t understand about America?"
You Mean, People DON'T File Their Own Taxes Elsewhere?!?!
"Does every worker have to file their own taxes or am I just confused?"- ThePencil67
"Why they make you calculate your own taxes, if they know what you owe."- redder2023
Flagrant Commercialism...
"So, why do you buy politicians' merchandise? "
"Shirts, caps, banners, stickers, etc."
"They're public servants, not rockstars."
"Also, usually the more boring they are, the better."- akashyy
Conor Mckenna Influencer GIF by FoilArmsandHogGiphyWork/Life Balance
"Scottish person here but the work/always available for work culture."
"Minimal vacation time, minimal maternity/paternity leave and the fact you can pretty much just be let go."
"It makes me sad to think about it!"
"But I do love that you guys cram so much into your time off - you guys love a road trip!"- Frosty_Dragonfly_682
Definitely Something To Consider...
"What is up with Homeowner Associations?"
"Why would you pay to let a nosy neighbor dictate what you can and can not do on your own property?"
"I understand living in an apartment block and paying maintenance fees etc, but in a suburban home?"- Skoodledoo
There Are Some Good Observations
"The amount of National Parks!"
"My dream came true in 2017 to make an RV trip southwest off USA."
"Yosemite blew my mind away."- Independent-Ad9787
national parks GIF by Visit The USAGiphyHAHAHA
"How you can say the word 'mirror' without the use of any vowels."
"Mrrrrrr."- Otto1968
I Ordered A Small!
"Why everything is just SO damn supersized."
"My first time in America I went to get ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts, I ordered a large and my friend is like, 'are you sure you want large'?"
"Yeah no biggie, in the UK a large is not overwhelming I feel so I was expecting the same kinda thing."
"Oh my god it was like a god damn bucket of coffee."
"I think maybe a small would have been equivalent to a UK large, lesson swiftly learnt."
Some People Are Lucky To Just Have One Roommate...
"How you have to share a room with some complete rando when you go to college."- ChoppingOnionsForYou
Roommates Move In GIF by James Madison UniversityGiphySome People Just Can't Stop Talking
"The culture of just talking to people, strangers you don't know and just up and start a conversation with them or join a conversation."
"I'm British, and we go through great lengths to not talk to people, let alone open up and pour our hearts out to a random person."- MrGlayden
In Other Words: Severs Deserve to Be Paid More!
"The tipping culture is so foreign to me, I would be so scared to make a mistake or not tipping enough if I ever go to America because it's not something which is common here in Denmark."- Cupsuu
The Commercials, Maybe?
"I’m American but I’ve worked with a lot of people who aren’t."
"The one thing they always wonder is why Americans are so obsessed with the NFL."
"They think it’s a boring sport."
"They explained 'you wait for 30 seconds, they hike the ball, you get about 5-10 seconds of action, then you wait another 30 seconds, another 5-10 seconds of action, then commercial break'."- yougotthesilver12
Kansas City Chiefs Football GIF by Fighting Illini AthleticsGiphySchool Is No Place To Have Fun!
"My mom is from Moscow during the Soviet Era, and she is confused why there is no teacher-student hierarchy."
'She thinks it's weird when teachers participate in school plays or speak to students informally."
"She also DOES NOT GET pajama day."
"To her, it's just the weirdest thing in the world."
"In Russia, there is an important distinction between 'clothes for home' and 'clothes for outside'."
"They have a concept of 'home clothes', like your cozy or ugly clothes, that you are supposed to change into after school or work."
"At bedtime, you change out of your 'home clothes' into pajamas."
"As a result, pajamas, for both adults and children, are considered extra-extra private in Russia."
"My mom perceives pajama day as something extreme like wearing only undergarments to school."
"That's how private pajamas are considered to be in Russia!"- racheltolmach2022
A Debate Which Will Likely Never End
"MM/DD/YYYY"- SuvenPan
animation domination calendar GIF by gifnewsGiphyLiving in America comes with a number of advantages and a number of detriments.
Speaking personally though, had I known I wouldn't have to file my own taxes in Australia, I would have expatriated long ago...
"What made you realize that something you always did wasn't normal?"
Undiagnosed Medical Condition
"'You know that high pitch sound everyone always hears? Wait... you don't?'"
"Apparently, I have tinnitus."- FarAmphibian4236
Hard To Imagine It Never Occurred To Them...
"When I was very young I thought it was normal to have blood on the toilet paper after pooping."
"Turns out it was hemorrhoids, apparently I have always had them."
"Yay!"- SuperevenDuper
And, Exhale...
"My mom is a yawn-yeller."
"When she yawns, you can hear it from anywhere in the house."
"One time my sister had a friend over, and we were in the basement'."
"My mom yawned upstairs, and my sister's friend asked 'was that a coyote?'"- ViolaWPeyton
sam winchester yawn GIFGiphySweet Or Disturbing?
"When I first started dating my now husband, ever time we kissed he made a 'muah' kiss sound with his voice."
"Like he literally said 'muah' every time we kissed."
"I asked him why and he said he thought everyone did that because his mom did it growing up."- thti87
Unusual, But Pretty Cool...
"As a kid I would read a street sign as we drove past and I would then make as many possible words out of the letters in that sign."
"Stop, top, tops, sop, pot, pots, to, so, post, etc."
"I told my sister one day that I couldn't come up with any more words to make with some sign and she made fun of me the rest of the way home."
'I quit after that. I'm still a pretty mean Boggle player though."- Limited_turkey
Whatever Helps You Sleep...
"Pre Bedtime cereal, I had a sleepover when I was a kid and was confused when we skipped bedtime cereal."- Mre64
Old Man Reaction GIF by LaffGiphyThere Are Worse Offenses
"I thought eating cereal without milk was normal until I went to summer camp and everyone stared at me like I killed the camp counselor."- spoilerdudegetrekt
It's Only Polite
"For me it was something I never did. In my twenties, I realized you're meant to make eye-contact when talking to people (I was feral)."- wys15wyg
Who Hasn't At Least Once...
"I got stopped by a cop once because I was talking to myself."
'I literally thought everyone just mumbled out their thoughts out loud."- azuresegugio
Talk Talking To Yourself GIF by The ChallengeGiphyUnlikely Source of Inspiration
'I'm an artist."
"I got asked one time why I draw hands looking 'like that' with all the fingers bent backwards.'
So I held up my hand in the same position as the one I just drew and it looked the same.'
"And that's how I found out I had EDS."- koinadian
The Bradys Can Certainly Relate
'Grew up in a house where seven people all shared one bathroom."
"Thought it was normal to get in the shower without waiting for the water to warm up."
"Everyone go fast before the water gets cold."
"Always wanted to try and be one of the first in line for the shower."- littleflower0929
Gesundheit!
"I was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation, which I like to say means my brain is too big."
"My wife says I have a misshapen skull...whatever...the bottom line is that my brain stem is excessively squeezed where it exits the skull through the hole on the bottom."
"I have a very minor case, but it causes randomly occurring neurologic issues."
"Upon learning of this diagnosis, my wife was reading up on the symptoms...many of which I knew were abnormalities."
"I was worried I had ALS because that is neurological."
"After reading a bit, she says, 'Do you have problems sneezing?'"
"I say, 'No, I sneeze all the time'."
"I mean, about every 4th or 5th sneeze, my vision goes white and I get dizzy and lose my balance, but I catch myself before I fall'."
"Sometimes I feel like I'm going to pass out, but I never have'."
"The look on her face was one of pure shock - wide eyes and mouth open'."
"Then I said, 'Now that I say that out loud, that probably isn't normal, is it?'"
"She responded with an emphatic, 'No it's not normal!'"
"It was normal for me because it has been that way for my entire life, so I never thought to mention it.."
"And no one had ever asked me what it felt like when I sneezed."
"And why would they?"
"Everybody sneezes, so everybody knows what it feels like."- TroubledWaterBridge
snow white and the seven dwarfs sneezing GIF by DisneyGiphyHeartbreaking
"The first time I was staying at a friends house when I was in middle school I kept waiting for his parents to start fighting."
"His dad came home, food wasn't done yet, I was waiting for that fight."
'The Youngest brother didn't do his chores."
"I kept waiting for the screaming to start, I had braced myself for it, and it never happened."
"That's when I started realizing that parents aren't supposed to fight every night and drag their kids into it."
"Every day I got off the bus and would have to mentally brace myself before walking through the front door."
"Hoping my mom wouldn't find some random reason to shout at me for 3 hours."
"FYI I'm pretty good now."
"Moved out immediately when I was 18 and lived with a different friend."
"It's been 10ish years now."- Wesley_Otsdarva
If the worst thing you might be doing is getting on someone else's nerves, it doesn't really matter whether or not what you're doing is "normal."
But if you're worried something might not be normal about your health, probably best to call your doctor immediately.
Redditor Shadowclook21 wanted to hear about the times we've seen people waste money on nonsense, so they asked:
"What is the dumbest thing you've seen someone spend their money on?"
I get we all like nice things, but we have to be smart with our coins.
Wake Up!
Good Morning Time GIF by Berk's Beans CoffeeGiphy"An alarm clock coffee machine. It was me."
ineedanusername_
When on FB
"My wife is in a lot of mom groups on Facebook. The amount of people who beg for help for their poor babies who won’t get any Christmas/birthday gifts who also show off brand new giant tattoos is amazing. She shows me every time she finds one of these people and it happens all the time. Usually multiple recent photos of them out drinking and partying as well."
"So yeah, there’s a lot of people out there who blow big money in tattoos and partying instead of setting aside a little bit of money for their kids."
clocks212
Scratched
"Knew a girl who would spend all her money on scratchers and drugs. She would constantly go on about how when she finally won big she was going to move and get clean.... He grandmother gave her a 20 - 30k inheritance. Nothing changed except how many scratchers she would buy. I saw her buy out whole rolls occasionally. She wised up with the last few thousand and put some advance rent on an apartment (was in a motel) and fixed her car. But that money was gone in less than 2 months."
Sub_pup
60 Bucks
"PSA: Accidental subscriptions. Remember, kids, if you sign up for a free trial, be prepared to cancel that s**t the second they allow you. Otherwise, they'll start charging automatically."
xisiko1120
Kaboom
Im Ready Independence Day GIFGiphy"My neighbors once spent all their money on a private firework show, then had to hide their cars from the repo man for months. No longer neighbors."
redheadedstepchild54
Neighbors are always going to neighbor.
Classics
sia diplo GIF by LSDGiphy"I bought a cassette tape two weeks ago. I don't even have a way to play cassettes but I still bought it."
sibipi3040
They're Everywhere
"My Mum has spent $1000s on crystals and stones. She continues to, and gives them as gifts, I have no idea wtf to do with them so I put them in my plants pots then she gets upset for some reason. Send help please."
Necessary_Oil_9779
"Get her a rock tumbler and have her tumble her own and try to identify them. Cheaper in the long run. Makes for a more interesting hobby too, if she gets into it. It will get her out of the house and into nature. Crystals are everywhere, they literally litter the earth. A lot of ordinary-looking rocks turn out quite beautiful once they've been tumbled."
TerrifyinglyAlive
Just a Waste
"I dated a guy who would still use his debit card even when his account was over drafted because he didn’t realize he was charged overdraft fees for every transaction. I had to explain to him his single snickers bar or bag of chips or whatever from the vending machine was now costing him an extra $35. And he did this multiple times every single shift he worked."
beaniequeeny
5 More Minutes
"Gambling machines. I work in a bar room. People will play these machines for 12+ hours and never win. Then they Win $700 the next night and think they’re on top... it’s insane. They look like zombies sitting there in a trance. Once had to unplug the machine on a patron who would not leave for closing. Kept saying '5 more minutes.'"
BrianFrom97
OnlyCrap
"I worked with a guy who'd spend 200-300 bucks a week on OnlyFans. He'd brag about it, I guess he thought of he'd spent enough he might get lucky or something."
TheRealJokar
Why do some people spend with such abandon? It makes no sense to me, but it's not my money.
Have you ever witnessed someone blow a load of cash on something crazy? Let us know in the comments below.