It took older generations a while to figure out cigarettes and tobacco were actually incredibly harmful which begs the question:
Ask Redditors share responses to, “What will be the ‘turns out cigarettes are bad for us’ of our generation?”
Curious for more responses? Check our the original thread at the end of the article.
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
Former sleep researcher here. We already know the numerous public health implications of little to know sleep. Not only in lower grades for students, but also more medical errors, more traffic accidents, the cause of many plane crashes, etc. Not to mention lack of sleep messes with your hormones and can be a factor in obesity, depression and more. Yet, it’s still seen as a sign of weakness if you want to sleep a normal 6-7 hour amount as an adult.
TheRainbowConnection
Truthfully, I wouldnt be surprised if its pre-workout powders and 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 suspected. Pre-workouts were basically amphetamines and other ‘who knows’ junk.
sATLite
The most shielded kids usually go wild whenever they get an ounce of freedom.
Most fundamentalist parents don’t realize this.
Kids that are too shielded from the world can’t really function within it.
Jtsfour
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. It’s 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
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
Okay I am going to go ahead and say smoking Marijuana.
I smoke. I love it. However, our lungs are made to take in oxygen, nitrogen and the other elements that make up our atmosphere. Nothing else. Marijuana 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 Tetrahydrocannabinolfor (THC) for that matter. I know it’s from the earth, and that’s great. So is tobacco. Smoking anything is not good for you.
Now I hear all you guys typing “Nah man, I ‘dab’ and it’s healthy because it’s 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.
I’m no scientist and i’m not perfect just a marijuana user.
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 marijuana. I think edibles are probably the way to go in most cases.
blueblast88
I really pray it’s not Lasik eye surgery.
My Lasik didn’t go well. I get intense starbursts and halos at night, which means my stargazing and moon-gazing days are over. It also makes driving at night a nightmare. These were all possible complications that I’d been warned about, so I really only have myself to blame. Too bad I can’t just load a save game though, and go back in time.
demarderollins & fernguts
I’m pretty sure my generation is going to be the poster children for the “don’t smoke wax” movement.
phillip42069
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
They mess with your spine massively and people injure themselves because they weren’t paying attention to their surroundings.
AsianNiqqa
God forbid, computer screens. Otherwise we’re super screwed.
If not computer screens but looking at anything close to your eyes for long periods of time.
Frenchb & Moikle
I’m 28, been playing in bands and using headphones since I was a pre-teen. 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.
Humans still don’t know how to repair inner ear damage so start wearing earplugs and turning down your music devices now cause if you mess up your hearing, it’s only the rest of your life.
remis-angelico
At least for food(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
Sitting for 8+ hours a day.
My lab used to have a daily notification that told us to stand up and stretch. “Sitting is the new smoking!”
Aurify & ladygodiva27
Putting lemons in a water bottle to “detox” and potentially ending up with acid on your teeth.
HFCMM
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 or Members of Parliament, 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 perform oral sex on your girlfriend when you were nineteen or because you once sent a photo of your breasts to a partner…but somehow I doubt it. That’s going to end at least a couple of political careers before they even begin.
Portarossa
Antibacterial soaps may actually be making us antibiotic-resistant.
VictorBlimpmuscle
I’ve seen some pretty severe addictions that has had major negative consequences and ended relationships. It doesn’t feel like a “real” addiction to people, and they don’t consider how much time they are actually spending or how it affects their relationships and sex life. I’ve met dudes who can’t get off without it or who have masturbated into oblivion and can’t feel anything anymore. Moderation is definitely key.
Hurray_for_Candy
While it’s true that there are “educational” apps, time spent playing with the tablet is time spent away from learning through real life interactions. 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 or 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.
I think it’s important to note that I am not judging parents who use an iPad to entertain their kids. If that works for you and you think it helps your kid, go ahead and do that. No one is stopping you. My older kids actually do use my wife’s iPad on occasion. My 8 year old has taught himself new songs on the piano, how to ride a unicycle, how to solve an rubix Cube, and creates his own Rube Goldberg machines thanks to the internet. He also swims, golfs, bike rides, plays baseball, etc. It’s not all or nothing.
I just think toddlers and preschoolers are better served interacting with their environment. At best, it makes no difference. At worst, it harms your child. Maybe it won’t make a difference, but I am not making my toddler a guinea pig for this experiment.
Shostakovich22
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. 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 achieve this so called “happiness” we are looking for.
GourmetCoffee