Do you ever wonder what will be the cigarettes or sugary soda of our generation?
Reddit user Walbricks asked the internet:
What will be the "turns out cigarettes are bad for us" of our generation?
Here is some of the most fun speculation.
A Recess From Recess
This will get super buried. Children's play is being increasingly cut out of schools and early years programming in an attempt to cram in more "academic" content. Thing is, young children learn more from play (including academic skills) than from classroom settings and flash cards. We're going to see much higher levels of developmental delays and mental health issues over the next few decades unless something changes soon. mogy-bear
The Age Of Fame
Living an easy life.
Seriously, it's becoming evident that our lifestyle with little meaning or struggle has caused our depression.
It used to be if you toiled in the field with blood sweat and tears all day, you put food on the table at the end, you felt successful and happy.
Now you just go to a boring job for 8 hours and you can put food on the table and you feel no gratification in having that food, so you have to dream bigger.
Now you're not successful unless you have a big house, 5 cars, a successful instagram or youtube channel, whatever you decide you want, but the problem is it's all a hell of a lot harder and RARER than just being able to work in the field, come home and have a nice meal for the family, so a lot less people will ever have that happiness. GourmetCoffee
Muscle Malevolence
Truthfully I wouldnt be surprised if its pre-workout powders/drinks. Like 7-10 years ago when the original jack3d came out...I think its very possible that stuff couldve messed my body up more than I suspect. Pre-workouts were basically amphetamines and other who knows junk. sATLite
Stimulus Package
The systematic, scientific, concentrated battle for our attention. App notifications, Skinner box games, easy access to diversion at all times via our phones, lack of silence due to music streaming, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. We are being trained out of being able to handle stillness and silence, and our brains aren't designed to handle constant anxiety and jumping of attention from thing to thing without a feeling of completion. Basically all streaming services now autoplay, most popular games are infinite (Clash of Clans, Hearthstone, Bubble Witch, etc), most people work in the service industry so they don't get a feeling of a completed job.
I'm not sure how I would shorten this idea, but the prevalence of machine-learned delivery of instant gratification aimed at our psychological weak points available at our fingertips at literally all times probably isn't going to help us deal with the awkwardness that is real life relationships between us with each other, and us with the world. SpenceOrSpencer
Rock-A-Bye
Former sleep researcher here, this is definitely the answer. We already know the numerous public health implications-- not only in lower grades for students, but also more medical errors, more traffic accidents, the cause of many plane crashes, etc-- yet it's still seen as a sign of weakness if you want to sleep a normal amount. Not to mention lack of sleep messes with your hormones and can be a factor in obesity, depression, breast cancer,(?) and more. TheRainbowConnection
GTL
Tanning. People generally have accepted that excessive UV exposure is bad for you but I haven't seen this translate into behavioral changes for society as a whole. LePope315
No Fat, More Problems
It's already happening, but Low-Fat products. They are jacked up with sugar and not at all healthy for you.
Also I'm so happy that this war on Fat is coming to an end. I literally eat ghee and avocados all day and lose weight. tanishine
That's Ear-y
I'm 28, been playing in bands and using headphones since I was a preteen. Started experiencing tinnitus symptoms on a daily basis this year. I used to not think about loud noise but being around construction on the street is stressful now because I can feel when my ears are being abused. We still don't know how to repair inner ear damage so start wearing earplugs/turning down your music devices now cause if you mess up your hearing, it's only the rest of your life. remis-angelico
Breathing
London breaks yearly EU limits on pollution within weeks of the new year. The government had been sued for not doing enough. And yet they're still doing practically nothing, their best plan right now is to ban petrol and diesel vehicles in 2040. jaredjeya
Blatant Refusal
"Turns out that filling the ocean with plastic refuse wasn't the smartest thing people in the early 21st century did."
- Quote from 22nd century textbook.
Beware Of The Plastics
Plastics, at least for foodstuffs (i.e. packaging, containers, plates, etc.). We keep finding out that certain kinds of/things in plastic are harmful to us. The answer so far has been to avoid those particular things, but then we just find the next thing that's bad for us. We know that most plastic leaches chemicals when heated up, yet most people still throw it in the dishwasher. stink3rbelle
The Internet Is For...What Now?!
Putting your entire life online, and having it all stored forever.
There's going to be an embarrassing digital paper trail for the next generation of MPs, Senators and diplomats. I'd like to think that we'll get to the stage as a species where it won't matter that you made a comment on Twitter about wanting to eat your girlfriend's *ss like a snack-cake when you were nineteen or because you once sent a photo of your breasts to a partner... but somehow I doubt it. That shit's going to end at least a couple of political careers before they even begin. Portarossa
"Smart" Phones
Smart phones. It fucks with your spine massively and people injure themselves because they weren't paying attention to their surroundings. AsianNiqqa
Das Cannabis
Okay I am going to go ahead and say smoking weed.
BEFORE YOU SHOWER ME IN DOWN VOTES:
I smoke pot. I love it. However, our lungs are made to take in oxygen, nitrogen and the other elements that make up our atmosphere. Nothing else. Pot is better than cigarettes in the sense that it is not drenched in however many chemicals that cigarettes are. However, smoking is smoking. Your lungs are not made to intake carbon monoxide and ash. Even THC for that matter. I know its from the earth, and thats great. So is tobacco. Smoking anything is not good for you.
Now I hear all you guys typing "Nahh man I dab and its healthy bc its just THC concentrate and there is no carbon monoxide." You are right! But do you think putting what is essential oil so hot it vaporized; in your lungs is a good idea? It sounds like a way to cook them from the inside out.
Im no scientist, just a stoner. But that is my two cents. I am an imperfect human so Im going to go light up now.
Also please correct me if I am wrong. Most of this is just things I have collected and manifested myself over the years. I hope I am wrong. And I am aware of the medicinal uses of pot. I think edibles are probably the way to go in most cases. blueblast88
Nosedive
Validation through Likes on social media.
I feel like it's something that was developed and with no experimentation was let loose to the public too quickly for our species to grasp. What will society be in 20, 50, 100 years when this generation's children grows up with the pressure of being online since practically birth, and seeing so many people become popular so quickly and consistently, more than any other time in history. That's why it seems like celebrities are dying so often, is because we're so connected that there's so many more people to know about. Just long-term, how will our basic, natural psyches evolve because of this. I know there's a lot to unpack here, I just always wonder. Bbhmh
Young Learning
iPads for toddlers and young kids.
While it's true that there are "educational" apps, time spent playing with the tablet is time spent away from learning through real world interaction. There are some studies that suggest that television is best left out until age 2 because the brain needs time to develop. There aren't any long term tablet/iPad studies that I am aware of, but I doubt it is beneficial. It's a quick way to entertain a toddler, which is part of the problem. Kids need to learn how to be bored. The alphabet, counting, and reading can wait. Shostakovich22
This Ain't Working Out
8 hour work days. It doesn't sound like it's would be bad but you gotta take into consideration a couple hours travel time to and fro. So 24 hours in a day 10 hours work related Supposed to get 8 hours of sleep That leaves you with 6 hours of time with your kids, meals, chores around the house cooking, cleaning taking the mutt out. I'm sorry but this isn't work life balance.
So when at the top of this list I see "not enough sleep" I have to wonder is it not enough or not enough of our own time to spend on you know, yourself. Family etc. I seriously would love to have 8 hours of sleep but can't ever get it because a) I can't fall asleep when I'm not tired and B) I find it hard to want to sleep in the hours I have left from the day of pretending, faking, acting like I give a sh*t about the things in life that I value only for the output I need to carry on with this viscous routine of wake work sh*t sleep. xsladex
Sitting Here, Reading This
Blue light - without. a. doubt. I work is vision research and can tell you this is no joke. Already mountains of data showing that blue light is F***ING up our vision and our circadian rhythym which leads to a host of serious health issues. The research is relatively new as the iPhone and the proliferation of smartphone users is only about 10 years old. It's everywhere, but high energy light from smartphones and tablets in particular as they emit the highest levels and are held in very close proximity to our faces. We even put them in HMDs and strap them to our faces now! They make iPad mounts for car seats and baby strollers, etc. Myopia is up 40% with gen Z and misdiagnosis of ADD/ADHD is also skyrocketing. Manufacturers know this and are trying to engineer a solution as fast as possible, but it's not easy. If you educated most people on the actual dangers, they still would not put down their phones. I have seen all the research (it's solid and terrifying) and am still typing this message on my Pixel like a dumbass. We will definitely look back on this time and judge ourselves for smoking in front of our kids and giving them cigarettes for their 10th birthday. JJ916
Not The Lemons, Too!
People who put lemons in a water bottle to "detox" and end up with acid constantly on their teeth for 8 hours a day. HFCMM
Loud Noise, My Boys
I'm a construction worker, and most older/ retired Carpenters I know have horrible hearing. Now they have more rules and regulations, and availability for protection.
Some people refuse proper PPE to try and look "cool" or "tough", when it's just stupid. Retired workers tend to suffer from constant ringing or severe to complete hearing loss.
I tie my ear plugs to the back of my Hardhat, for constant availability. Also, keeping extra in your car, pouches, purse, or whatever, wouldn't be a terrible idea. Protect your hearing while you still have it, kids. KellsUser
