‘What is a socially accepted behaviour that actually makes society worse?’ – 22 ways we’re the architects of our own problems

People love to moan, and fair enough: there are plenty of things worth moaning about at the moment. But what about the things we like to complain about that we’re actually perpetuating, whether we realise it or not?

They’ve been chatting about this on the AskReddit page after Ajarns posted this question:

What is a socially accepted behaviour that people pretend is harmless, but actually makes society worse?

Lots of people had thoughts on the things we tacitly encourage but really shouldn’t, like these…

1.

‘Glorifying ‘the grind’ and lack of sleep. We act like being constantly exhausted and having no free time is a badge of honour, but it actually just creates a society of burnt out, irritable people who have no personality outside of their jobs.’
–Maya_xoxo22

2.

‘Gambling. Having ex-footballers and ex-managers etc get in some wanky ad for likes of Paddy Power is sickening. I lost so much respect for Peter Crouch when he featured in one of their ads. Gambling addiction is driving people to suicide and the ads are being launched at us all the time.’
–Exciting-Market7836

3.

‘Gossiping about others under the guise of just talking.’
–WarmSprout

4.

‘People recording with their phones way too much at the club. Now nobody wants to dance at the club out of self preservation. Too much emphasis on capturing the moment instead of the actual immersion to be honest.’
–sporiolis

5.

‘People recording tragic events unfolding or people in physical distress instead of helping.’
–amplesamurai

6.

‘Always being on your phone when you’re with someone.’
–lolaforlovee

7.

‘Political scorekeeping. If the only stance you have is to ‘own’ the other side you have no valid points. Instead, take the time to understand why the other side voted against something.

Good natured discussion is what drives society forward.’
–RolyPoly1320

8.

‘Business owners expecting customers to tip their employees to make up for low wages.’
–thorGOT

9.

‘Reposting misinformation. Like seeing something. Feeling emotional amount it. And reposting it without doing any verification of what you’re reading/watching is real.’
–giniajoe

10.

‘There’s a sign at a park near my house which says ‘littering is bad’ and nothing else. Nothing usual about getting a fine or it being illegal — I think there isn’t even a graphic. It cracks me up every time I see it and I think we should have more signs that shame people for littering.’
–pandaferrets

11.

‘Treating leisure and fun as a bad thing.’
–squaremilepvd