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herd mentality
As much as we might know about trends, social media, and social popularity, there's no way of knowing how every single trend, product, or person became popular.
But one thing we can all agree on is that just because something is popular or trending doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for us or of quality.
Curious, Redditor The_real_garfield_ asked:
"What is the best case of 'Just because it's popular doesn't mean that it's good'?"
Toxic Prank Culture
"The whole uprise of 'pranks.' I love a good harmless prank that’s fun for everyone involved, but a majority of what you see trending is just harassment."
- sacredstoner35
"Steve-O was asked about online prank culture on his episode of 'Hot Ones,' and he despises it. He said while they did some dangerous s**t on 'Jacka**,' everyone was a willing participant, and they did everything they could to make it as safe as possible, but the stuff online is just irresponsible and has the potential to seriously injure people who never consented to be involved."
- shrike1978
Not So Hydrating
"Prime hydration drinks. It's crazy expensive, yet it's one of the worst electrolyte beverages around because it's low in sodium and high in potassium. It's also very low in sugar, which is NOT what you want when you're trying to rehydrate quickly."
- KentTheDorfDorfMan
Cute and Quality Kitchen Appliances
"I wish quality brands would pick up on the popularity and make appliances that look good and work well. I’ll pay extra for a toaster or coffee maker that comes in a nice color and isn’t a giant hulking piece of steel or whatever, but the choice is always 'cute but poor quality' or 'ugly but great and lasts forever.'"
- imaseacow
Two Words: Fast Fashion
"An example of a phrase would be fast fashion. It's fashionable and affordable, but often comes with ethical and environmental concerns."
- normallyharness533
"And the quality is s**t. I placed an order with Shein years ago when they were new, before the conversation around fast fashion began, and ended up returning everything because the fabric was thin, cheap, and felt oddly plasticky. The items weren't even worth the low price I paid for them."
- callme-risley
Such a Safety Hazard
"Headlights so bright that the owner is the only one on the road who can see anything."
- RetinaMelter9000s
Stanley Cup Obsession
"Stanley cups."
"I got my wife one when they first became popular and our generic ones keep ice FAR longer."
- RagingOtter28
"I had never heard of these before and my wife was laughing at my out of touch with the zeitgeist-ness. Then, that night, we were at an event, and I saw a girl, maybe 14, carrying hers around, and a few hours later, here I saw someone carrying one. She said, and I quote, 'Oh my God. They're, like, so amazing.'"
"Then, two weeks ago, I was walking my dog in the park, and a few teenage girls were posing for pics WITH THEIR WATER BOTTLES. LOL (laughing out loud)."
- tuenthe463
A Popular Franchise
"'The Fast and the Furious' series. The series had a few great movies early on (1, 5, arguably 3), but has gotten progressively ridiculous since then."
"But even when it's bad, they got family."
- Creofury
TikTok Challenges
"TikTok Challenges. Ugg."
- P4S5B60
"It’s not about the challenge but rather just a vehicle for people who need attention."
- rifraf2422
The Starbucks Hype
"Starbucks. Burnt beans, and crappy chemical-filled snacks."
- Margali
"I remember when I first tried the coffee there. I was shocked at how bad it was, being so famous. I tried again in a different place, thinking it was a fluke. Nope."
- AxiasHope
Period.
"Any expensive designer product. You’re paying for a f**king logo."
- Try_Banning_THIS
New Stories Needed
"Sequels, prequels, reboots, reimaginings, etc. Just stop."
- Substantial_Fun_2732
"Adding live-action remakes. There is nothing traditional cinema can do that would add value to something originally produced with animation. The amount of CGI required just makes it animated with extra steps. It would be far easier to just allow adults to enjoy animated films and make animated films FOR adults, too."
- Exploding_Muffin
Imploding Financial Literacy
"The fact that many people use credit cards and don't pay their balance in full. It's quite literally the worst way to be 'loaned money' since it's often 20%+ interest. Losing money for no reason."
"I say this because there are usually ways to get loans 'when life happens' at much lower rates (maybe about 10% ish)."
"Yet, many, many people use this."
- martinmoneytips
Hopefully Not 'Popular,' But Certainly Common
"Being horrible to people for no other reason than to make you feel better about yourself. At the end of the day, you’ll just end up with fewer people liking you."
- confusedghost42
Something Needs to Change
"Drinking bottled water. For most of us, tap water is fine but we often opt to pay for water in plastic bottles instead. So many plastic bottles. The poor planet."
- GoodGuyGlocker
Though there are things that have grown in tremendous popularity, not all of them have grown popular for the best reasons or with the best results. At least by having discussions like this, we can think about what's truly important to us and start to think about how we could exchange these popular options for more practical, ethical, and affordable ones.