The rate of change in the world has accelerated to the point where some people find it hard to cope. Preparing ourselves to deal with these rapid advancements is in our best interest, and we can start doing that by trying to pinpoint how tomorrow might be different from yesterday.
Such reflection allows us to paint a clearer image of reality, empowering us to make informed decisions and navigate the evolving landscape with greater understanding.
To get started, Reddit user Staclear made a post on the platform last month, asking everyone on it: “What slowly went away in the past decade that no one noticed?” Here are the answers that people related to the most.
#1
Finding a recipe online that doesn’t involve the author’s life story, author’s pet’s life story, and the author’s pet’s squeaky toy’s life story. ?
Image credits: Tall_0rder
#2
Here’s a good one: HIV/AIDS deaths have fallen through the floor, partly due to improvements in medication, but also thanks to a herculean effort by the international community in concert with major drug manufacturers, largely coordinated by PEPFAR.
Image credits: YNot1989
#3
Actually owning items without a subscription
Image credits: grn_eyed_bandit
#4
The ability to buy a house as a young adult
Image credits: Fomod_Sama
#5
Decent quality clothes at affordable prices.
Image credits: shakka74
#6
Insects. My car used to get covered with dead insects during the summer. Now, it’s just one or two every so often. Lightning bugs, butterflies, moths flying around my porch light. They’re all gone.
Image credits: kwaters1
#7
Consequences for blatant lies
#8
voicemail. Nobody bothers leaving one. I get about 1/10th the phone traffic I did a decade ago anyway, and people would rather text why they called now in lieu of a vm.
“text/don’t call” is one of Millennials’ greatest contributions to society.
#9
Attention spans
Image credits: pleasekillmi
#10
Objective journalism.
We used to know that some outlets were biased (Fox, NYT) but now for literally any story you have to: read between the lines of a conservative source, read between the lines of a liberal source to balance, read an independent Substack to see what both of them omitted… and its too much work to just find the basic facts of a story.
#11
The middle class. You are now either rich, or poor
Image credits: Mordewin
#12
In general, “third spaces” esp. for like teens, i feel bad for them. Not too many indoor places you can just hang out without paying for something
#13
Color in public spaces. Everything is minimalist and grey now.
Image credits: newmamamoon
#14
A sense of shame. I’m looking at you obnoxious tik tokkers dancing in traffic.
#15
Public pay telephones. Sucks for those in trouble that don’t have a cell phone (with battery life).
Edit: Also sucks for Superman when he wants to make a quick clothing change.
Edit 2: It’s cool that Australia turned theirs into free public phones.
And yes, I missed/ignored the “past decade” part of the question.
Image credits: ProtossLiving
#16
product reviews that is not an affiliate link
Image credits: omg_bringwalrus
#17
Free articles! Almost everything is behind a paywall nowadays
#18
Being able to see the stars at night. I live in a small college town. I have to drive several miles to get far enough away from the light pollution to see anything.
#19
Affordable cost of living
Image credits: greenwood90
#20
The intelligence of the average American. There’s an awful lot of stupid people walking around these days.
#21
Magazine shops. The ones that sold obscure magazines that you can’t get at Walmart or the grocery store or even the big box bookstore.
Image credits: tangcameo
#22
Good screenwriting
#23
Lightning bugs.
#24
Over 10 000 unique species and several hundred unique natural habitats.
And that’s probably a very conservative estimate…
#25
good Google search results
Image credits: omg_bringwalrus
#26
Recording horizontally on your phone instead of vertically.
Image credits: Ferrum_Freakshow
#27
Politeness. Not being d***s to random strangers.
#28
Privacy. Workers’ rights. Consumer rights. Americans’ sanity.
#29
Waiting for things and being “bored” waiting.
Every minute we are multi tasking everything because everything is always available. We used to have time to get bored because there wasn’t enough to do at all times. Now we are inundated with on demand stuff and I no longer get time to daydream or be bored. I used to love having time with my thoughts.
Image credits: playhookie
#30
3D logo designs have pretty much vanished. I don’t know the exact timeframe, but basically every single major company’s logo has become minimalist over a very short period of time.
Image credits: LeutzschAKS
#31
Actual newspapers and coupons on Sundays.
Image credits: Altkolsch
#32
Left over money after paying bills
#33
Privacy
Image credits: Muted_Land782
#34
Having major sports games on even the most basic TV setup, instead of having to be subscribed to anything.
I’m not even a sports person and find this to be incredibly absurd. I’m fairly certain back in the day (maybe even longer than a decade ago) you can watch most of the major things even when you just had antenna.
Even when you’re subscribed to MLB they block things out by region now. That’s just stingy as heck.
Although I guess this isn’t something nobody noticed, as an afterthought. But the fact it’s so normalized…nobody should be okay with that.
Image credits: blue012910
#35
Regular TVs. 90% of the ones you can buy from big-box or online retailers are smart TVs. I just want a cheaper “dumb” TV that I can plug a Roku into.
Image credits: Uni_tasker
#36
Having actual physical copies of music and movies. People are so used to just watching YT, or using streaming services. Not saying some people don’t, but it’s more for a “collection” than actually that being the only way to have the material. I hadn’t bought a CD since at least 2008, and the only reason I bought DVD’s at P**n Shops cheap AF was to build a collection.
Image credits: ReditTosser1
#37
House phones.
Image credits: adiosfelicia2
#38
Land lines…products with quality…wood instead of particle board, leather, linen, cotton…what is that….food without fillers or preservatives…non cookie cutter bodies and faces…
#39
Why don’t cars today come with spare wheels? What the f?!
Image credits: ozmosisam
#40
Developing film from disposable cameras. I’m sure pretty much no one uses them anymore but my fiance put a few around at a baby shower and is having a helluva time getting them developed. No CVS no Walgreens. She had to go somewhere special and was charged $85 for 3.
#41
i suppose people have noticed, but no one has their phone with a ringtone anymore. It’s mostly silent or for some poeple still on vibrate
Image credits: railwayed
#42
Hope for the future
#43
Anything happening without a f*****g algorithm
#44
Frozen yogurt. Where the f**k is all the frozen yogurt?
#45
Car antennas. You know what I mean.
Image credits: MD_Mike
#46
Photo shops
#47
my hair
#48
Sobe. They’re only available in specific places…I miss Pina Colada Sobe.
Image credits: ArchfiendNox
#49
Phone books
#50
Malls
#51
musical birthday cards
#52
iPods
Image credits: bigt503
#53
Not quite gone yet, but broadcast tv vs streaming.
#54
The rubber bands shaped like animals. Some kids used to throw them like slingshots, it could really hurt!
#55
Royalties for musicians
#56
Packages of disposable baby/wet wipes that come in hard plastic containers instead of thin plastic-baggie-type containers.
Image credits: MyHairs0nFire2023
#57
Cupcake shops. I feel like a decade ago, every strip mall had one. Now, only the ones that were already established before the boom are still standing.
#58
People talking about gluten.
#59
Those little plastic pizza tables in take out pizzas (pizza saver) so the cheese wouldn’t get stuck to the pizza box lid.
#60
Disney channel Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon
#61
Trendy young women carrying around toy Chihuahuas in oversized shoulder bags.
#62
Lobster tanks at grocery stores
Image credits: Attarker