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Sports? The Royal Family? Joe Rogan? 15 things people can’t believe adults take seriously.

"Sports. I get it. It's entertainment. But calm down. You aren't on the team."

via Daveynin/Flickr and Do512/Flickr

Should adults take sports or Joe Rogan so seriously?

When we take a look at humanity, there are countless things we take seriously, that may not matter in the grand scheme of things. Many of us also have a soft spot for ideas that aren’t exactly scientific.

No one is perfect, and it's okay for us to take pleasure in being invested in some forms of inconsequential entertainment simply because they are fun. The trouble comes when people waste their lives and resources on ridiculous things that do more harm than good.

The key idea is that no one is immune from taking something seriously that others may think is a waste of time. But, to each their own or vive la différence as the French put it.

A Redditor who goes by the username Hogw33d asked the AskReddit forum, “What is something you can't believe real grownup people take seriously?” Many people responded that they don’t understand how some people can invest so much time and energy into things they deem frivolous.

The list was a great way for some to vent but it also provides a solid skeptics guide to some of the pitfalls we may unwillingly fall into in life.

Here are 15 things people “can’t believe” that “real grownup people take seriously.”

​1. Community theater

"This is niche but community theatre. The DRAMA among grown adults is insane, worse than when I was in high school. Like yall, we are singing and dancing and wearing silly costumes. It’s not that serious." — MediocreVideo1893

2. MLMs (multi-level marketing)

"I just don't understand how people keep falling for it. They always think that there's a difference. It's all the same pyramid scheme y'all." — IsItTurkeyNeckorDick

"I think we should take them way more seriously. They can do massive damage to a person's financial and mental health. We need to stop treating them as a cute thing that naive people get sucked into, and ban them for the scam they are." — Hydro123456

3. Flat Earthers

"I think it actually started as a sort of debating society. Just for people to practice and become better at rhetoric. But, they actually convinced some people and now, this is what we have." — Addicus

"There’s one of those apocryphal quotes that goes along the lines of, 'Any group of people that get their laughs pretending to be idiots is bound to be taken over by actual idiots who think they’ve found good company." — RilohKeen

4. Social media outrage

"Social media in general. Too many people believe every clickbait headline or buy into whatever trend is taking over. Feels like people can't self soothe and need the validation or something, it's just weird." — Cynn13

"'Outrage over Z' 'People slam Y' And it's only like a few people on Twitter or Reddit and they present it as some huge backlash or major issue lol." — Sclubadubdub

"The political news channels do almost nothing other than this. They tell viewers the other party is outraged about something that you never find a real person outraged by and create culture wars that no one is actually fighting." — Herbdontana

5. Reality TV

"It's all fake, too. An acquaintance of mine works at a major studio. Those shows are all scripted and fake." — SpaceMoneky3301967

6. Sports fans

"People take being a fan of a sport (or team) way too seriously, imo. I promise you don't need to riot because 'your team' lost." — AdmirableProgress743

"My husband works himself into such a state over something he can't control and is, imo, of absolutely no consequence to his life. He's toned it down because I told him the screaming and cursing terrorize me and our daughter. But he stews and mutters obscenities." — Complex_Yam_5390

7. Scientology

"Might as well just say every religion. They're all coocoo bonkers." — JenniferC1714

8. Gossip

"Gossip in general. I live in a small town and it is maddening how people here are so serious about it. It's not light fun chatting, it's all SCANDAL and we need to take ACTION. I swear a lot of people's problems would be immediately solved if they just stopped giving a sh*t what everyone else does (to an extent)." — Buffalopantry

9. Facebook

"My mom will literally call me up if I didn't like a recent post of hers. There have been a few times where she asked why I didn't like every photo she just posted. It's maddening. I've also had periods of deactivating my fb only for my mom to guilt me into reactivating it." — Zealousideal_Mix6771

10. Billionaire 'geniuses'

"Elon Musk and other billionaire 'geniuses.' People are pretty freaking gullible." — GladysSchwartz23

"Most average people don’t realize that being incredibly smart doesn’t automatically mean you are good at doing things like running a large company. They tend to assume people at the top must be there based on merit. In reality, there are some massively stupid people running huge companies, and there some brilliant people who are shoveling shit for a living." — Captcha_Trampstamp

11. The royal family

"I have a news app on my phone and no matter how much I tweak my interest to avoid any gossip BS I still get "Breaking News! Some insignificant bullshit about the Royals". It's not news, it's not interesting, stop reporting this utter drivel." — Sclubadubdub

12. Religion

“The creator of the universe impregnated a virgin, only to deliberately kill the child 30 years later, to save people from…himself.” — Opteryx5

"I grew up figuring everyone was just roleplaying and was shocked to learn religion is taken seriously by many people. It was a real eye-opener for someone who grew up in a secular environment." — Kilterboard_addict

13. Vaccine skeptics

"I work in medicine and am starting to get really worried about the vaccine skepticism. It used to be a little more rare, so I would counsel, they spout incorrect information, I tell give a little retort/response, and then move on because time is tight. But now it’s happening so often that I’m working way harder to persuade because I feel a strong obligation to fight all the bullshit info that has obviously taken hold." — KellyNJames

14. Loud exhaust systems on cars

"As someone who lives next to traffic lights and can hear all y'all shi**y music and loud exhausts all day... I approve this message." — Rainbow-Singbird

15. Joe Rogan

"The whole 'I’m just an idiot don’t pay any attention to what I say' schtick doesn’t really work anymore." — FoucaultsPrudendum

"It was great when he had a guest that was in academia, like a physicist or something. I would skip over most of the comedy buddy circle jerks he would host. Then when COVID happened I had to stop entirely. He fully went off the deep end then. Still, he introduced me to Dan Carlin's work, for which I am very grateful." — Xczechir

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Wellness

Here's why you won't be seeing Lush Cosmetics on social media anytime soon

Photo by Trung Do Bao on Unsplash
fragrance bottle lot

Lush Cosmetics, the brand known for its colorful, luxurious bath bombs and handmade organic soaps, is taking a stand against the growing harm that various social media platforms have on the mental health of young adults, particularly, but not limited to young girls.

On November 16, Lush released a statement on its website announcing that it would be signing off of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, and going "anti-social."

The statement reads:

"In the same way that evidence against climate change was ignored and belittled for decades, concerns about the serious effects of social media are going largely ignored now. Lush is taking matters into its own hands and addressing the issues now, not waiting around until others believe in the problem before changing its own behavior.

Like so many teenagers have experienced before us, Lush has tried to come off social media, but our FOMO is vast, and our compulsion to use the various platforms means we find ourselves back on there, despite our best intentions.

So here we are again, trying to go cold (plant-based) turkey.

Having previously attempted this in 2019, our resolve has been strengthened by all the latest information from courageous whistleblowers, which clearly lays out the known harms that young people are exposed to because of the current algorithms and loose regulation of this new area of our lives."

That statement comes at the start of the holiday season, a time when social media is most definitely a key tool used to boost sales. But Lush seems to have a stronger loyalty to its consumers, rather than the revenue they help generate.

"We wouldn't ask our customers to meet us down a dark and dangerous alleyway – but some social media platforms are beginning to feel like places no one should be encouraged to go. Something has to change. We hope that platforms will introduce strong best practice guidelines, and we hope that international regulation will be passed into law. But we can't wait. We feel forced to take our own action to shield our customers from the harm and manipulation they may experience whilst trying to connect with us on social media.

When it gets to a point that our customers' wellbeing is being put in jeopardy because of the channels on which we are trying to connect with them, then something doesn't sit right for us. We believe that tech should be built for the greater good and impact positive social change, and have campaigned for this over the years."

This is not the first time Lush has advocated for a more ethical digital environment. For example, in 2016 Lush worked with AccessNow to create a #Error404 bath bomb in an effort to raise money to fight sanctioned internet shutdowns. And in 2020, it partnered with IAMWHOLE and Zoe Snugg for Digital Detox Day, a hugely successful campaign where thousands of people all over the world did the impossible—they shut off their devices for one whole day.

Jack Constantine, Lush's Chief Digital Officer and Product Inventor, added "As an inventor of bath bombs, I pour all my efforts into creating products that help people switch off, relax and pay attention to their wellbeing. Social media platforms have become the antithesis of this aim, with algorithms designed to keep people scrolling and stop them from switching off and relaxing."

It's common knowledge at this point that social media—most notably Instagram—can have seriously negative effects on a teenager's self esteem and body image. Even the platforms are aware of it. The real head-scratcher is why certain companies that seem to have wellness weaved into their mission statements haven't taken formidable steps to change this.

Other than the fact that they can profit off the insecurities of their customer base, that is.

In this unprecedented move, the company that has provided us with romantic candlelit baths and opulent aromas for years is actually walking the talk.

While we wait for other brands to follow suit, Lush says that there are still multiple ways to connect. You can check out the full list of options here.

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Popular

A teenager has perfectly recreated Myspace and people are flocking to it

via SpaceHey

The MySpace era feels like such an innocent time. Little did we know back then that social media would come to dominate the way just about everyone on the planet interacts.

Back then, social media was just about the joy of human interaction.

Over 100 million people logged on to Myspace per month from 2005 to 2008. It was a place where people blogged, shared their favorite music, gave brief status updates, and followed Tom and Tia Tequila.

It also was a place for self-expression. You could update your page with CSS and HTML to add cool pictures and artwork as a backdrop to your profile. This focus on self-expression made it especially popular with young people in the emo scene.


However, eventually, Facebook would come to dominate and overtake MySpace in 2008. Facebook was easier to operate and had more of an emphasis on real-time interaction with friends.

Now, Facebook has become an environment that many see as toxic. It's a place rife with political bickering and questionable news stories. It's also a heavily manipulated environment, ruled by an algorithm that chooses what you get to see and sells your information for top dollar.

This has led many to long for the days when the biggest problem on MySpace was who you chose for your top eight. As opposed to today when logging onto Facebook is an anxiety-inducing trip to the platform where you get to watch your friends, coworkers, and relatives slowly devolve into conspiracy theorists and political extremists.

So An, an 18-year-old student from Germany, has replicated the old-school MySpace experience into a new social media platform called SpaceHey. if you join the site you will immediately become friends with An, much like you did with Tom back in 2006.

via spacehey

"I was only a few years old when Myspace was popular," An told Vice. "I never came to use Myspace. However, thanks to older friends and the internet, I heard a lot about it. I came to the conclusion that you can't find something like this nowadays, where everyone can be this creative."

An studied internet archive pictures of MySpace and watched videos of the "old internet" to perfectly recreate the site's user interface and look. The site doesn't have any algorithms, news feed, or like buttons. So that means you get to see everything as it happens in real-time and there's no need to worry about how many likes your bulletin received. The site is also highly concerned with privacy and careful about the information it shares with third-parties.

Most importantly, you won't have to see your uncle's daily posts about Ben Shapiro.

It's almost like we got the Internet right the first time.

Over 57,000 people have signed up for SpaceHey not only for the cozy nostalgia of the early millennium but because it's a safer place for people to interact.

"Most social media platforms these days are incredibly toxic," a user named Kelly says. "In the three weeks I've been on spacehey I've experienced more love and support from people than I have in the last five years on all of my social media platforms combined. It's definitely refreshing."

While it'll take a big push to make the MySpace redux a viable alternative to Facebook, its relative popularity shows there is a hunger out there for social media spaces that are less toxic. SpaceHey is proof that there's a big audience of people who want social media to be a "place for friends" again. And, that's a good thing.

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Culture

You've probably seen this bigoted post going viral. Well, someone wrote the perfect response.

via Gage Skidmore / Flickr

There's a post that conservatives are sharing on Facebook that aims to make it seem like they are tolerant people, but they've been pushed to the point where they've decided to become a bigot.

Who pushed them too far? The LGBT community, people of color, liberals, and immigrants.

The post is clearly a total "Sorry, not sorry," post that attempts to have things both ways. It essentially says, "I was tolerant of those who aren't white, straight, and conservative, but I've become intolerant of them because they are destroying my way of life."



via Reddit

[Note: There are different versions of this post that say: "I have never cared if you were well off, or poor, because I've been both, until you started calling me names for working hard and bettering myself" and "I've never cared if you don't like guns until you tried to take my guns away."]

Who in the world is calling people names for working hard? Also, it's a little self-aggrandizing for someone to pat their own back by bragging about working hard and bettering themselves. But, hey, puffing yourself up is what Facebook is for.

Whoever shares the post is also looking to be praised for their toughness, "my patience and tolerance are gone." Congratulations on being so thin-skinned.

The post is also inadvertently funny because it says, "I never cared you were gay until you started shoving it down my throat." Now, what exactly was shoved down this person's throat and did they enjoy it or not? That reveal would make for a much more entertaining post.

So, what happened now grandpa?

The post also assumes that the LGBT community, people of color, liberals, and immigrants are all fighting against straight, white conservatives in an attempt to ruin their lives. When, in reality, most of the activists are simply fighting for equality.

There are extremists in all movements, so to paint each group with such broad-strokes shows a real lack of experience.

via Netflix


via Netflix

LGBT people aren't trying to turn straight people into drag queens. Protesting against systemic inequality isn't about blaming others people for your problems, it's about highlighting inequity and attempting to correct it.

And where does the original poster get the idea that immigrants are trying to erase anyone's history?

Someone came up with the perfect response to the "I don't care" post by pointing out the fact that the person who wrote the manifesto probably has supported Republican policies that have oppressed immigrants, people of color, and the LGBT community.

Naturally, these policies have encouraged liberals to fight back.

via Reddit

The poster does a great job of explaining how the person who "never cared" really does care about the rights of people who aren't like him or her.

People on the right love to talk about freedom, but it's more like, "freedom for me but not for thee." They are vocal about the freedom to own a gun, run a business without interference, and pay less in taxes to the state.

But they conveniently neglect the freedom for people to love who they choose, live where they want, and do what they wish with their bodies.

People who truly value liberty want it for those they disagree with as well.

In today's politically divided America, tolerance is a value that we need a lot more and more of, regardless of one's political affiliation. So, how about an "I never cared" post that goes something like this?

"You know folks, I never cared you were gay until I saw that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide, compared to heterosexual youth. So I stood up for your rights.

I never cared what color you were until I learned that Black people are up to six times more likely to be killed by police, so I marched alongside you.

I never cared about your political affiliation, until I realized it is a reflection of your values, so I listened. I also appreciated it when you listened to me when I shared my views.

I didn't care where you were from until I learned you were a refugee that came to America to provide your family with safety and opportunity.

I am not alone in feeling like this, there are millions more of us who feel like this, and we are going to change the world so it's a more tolerant, safe, and free place for all of us."

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