Indicators of economic development, like the GDP, do not always tell us how people are really doing. Or at least how they feel.When the Pew Research Centerasked43,000 people from 38 countries if the world is better off now than it was 50 years ago, 43 percent said yes while 38 percent said no.Interested in what things the latter group blames for their discontent, Reddit userMadbonkersbeanmade aposton the platform, asking everyone “What invention has most negatively impacted society?” Here are some of the most upvoted replies they’ve received.Image credits:MadbonkersbeanThis post may includeaffiliate links.
Indicators of economic development, like the GDP, do not always tell us how people are really doing. Or at least how they feel.
When the Pew Research Centerasked43,000 people from 38 countries if the world is better off now than it was 50 years ago, 43 percent said yes while 38 percent said no.
Interested in what things the latter group blames for their discontent, Reddit userMadbonkersbeanmade aposton the platform, asking everyone “What invention has most negatively impacted society?” Here are some of the most upvoted replies they’ve received.
Image credits:Madbonkersbean
This post may includeaffiliate links.
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
Social mediaI’ve watched society go from mildly disgruntled over multiple decades, to flat out delusional and insane within 5 years.Nothing else has touched that many people all at once and undermined how we used to think of ourselves
Subscription based everything.
LED headlights. F**k that guy.
Religion.Hands down.
Pop up ads… even the inventor hated it
The thing that has the most negative long term impact on society is probably going to be something affecting us right now that we have yet to experience the full ramifications ofMy bet is on the widespread presence of plastic in literally everything
I think the way that capitalism is designed to bring psychopaths and sociopaths to the top. those heartless f***s would fire their own parents/siblings for personal gain.
Trying to make money of almost every human need.
Deepfake, the fact this has lead to morphing of many women images to “punish” them or to sexualize them is scary af. Literally feels like revenge p**n
AI, wait and see
Warning labels. They impede the progress of natural selection.
Daylight Savings Time, at least where I live. You go forward an hour for spring and summer months, and you go back an hour in fall and winter. If you don’t adjust very well to change, it can be a real b***h.
Tiktok
Nuclear weapons: devastating impact, global tensions, potential for catastrophic conflict.
Plastic, right now you have microplastics in every single organ, including your brain.
Cigarettes killed 100million people in the back 80 years of the 20th century alone.
Infinite Scrolling and I daresay algorithms that feed into an echo chamber.
High-fructose corn syrup
Kid friendly ‘youtube shorts’. I just feel like it ruins the attention span of children, giving them short/one minute attention spans over time. They just get sucked into that s**t. I know it’s not super significant compared to other inventions that could’ve negatively impacted society. I’m trying to think of something that might not have been mentioned here yet lol.
The 24-hour news cycle .They have so much time that they have to make more stories to keep you informed. 24-hour news will be our downfall. Half an hour every night is enough.
Junk food.
Everyone here is only drawing from relatively recent examples , but if you go back longer then really alcohol is the winner here as it has had the most long lived and consistent negative impact on all societies around the world.
Sugar in our food and drinks.
Ive got a few here but if i have to pick one:Fractional reserve banking and fiat currency. Giving the banks power to manipulate the value of currency has been a blight on society, it has been used to enrich the banks and steal wealth of money, i wish we could go back to money being a unit of value not a fiat currency that can be manipulated.
See Also on Bored Panda
Guns. Literally their only purpose is to take the life of another living thing.
Coffee pods
Adding lead to gasoline, adding lead to house paint, using lead pipes … I know that lead is a fundamental element, but exposure to lead in our environment causes cancer and brain damage.
It’s often speculated that had the cotton gin not been invented, slavery might have ended sooner
PFASpipocapop:This should be higher on the list. Almost all waterproof products and stain resistant products contain PFAS. Even fast food wrappers contain them. It is found in majority of water supplies and 90% of people’s blood and we don’t fully understand the health effects. It does not degrade and accumulates in the food chain.
Shareholder Value
Nuclear arms race and proliferation…
Industial production of tobacco products.
Bitcoin
The leaf blower: Satan’s own instrument.
Lobotomy.In hindsight very few unlucky people actually underwent lobotomy but still.
The invention of Fentanyl. Destroyed so many people, families and frankly society in general.
Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
The stock market. 100% serious
The snooze button
The 9-5
Highly processed food. I can understand the mass production of it at a certain time but now there’s no need for it. Eat whole foods people. “But it’s expensive” NO IT ISN’T.
Protestant work ethic
Smartphones
Kids with early access to the information highway.My friends child, a 6 year old built a webpage for homework yesterday. It was very basic, but he was asking the right questions and utilizing them while building the site.And we, my friend and I were talking about how scary this is, because now this child will be bored out of his mind as an adult, and most likely will be depressed beyond what we can imagine. And since this is being done from school and everywhere, we can’t really limit the usage.
The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in “advanced” countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in “advanced” countries.
Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
Science & Technology
