19 "Garbage" Modern Trends People Refuse To Partake In Despite Their Popularity
These days, some trends are so prevalent that everyone seems to be taking part in them. Redditor TrafficAny8717 asked, "What’s a popular trend you absolutely refuse to take part in?" Here are the trends people refuse to engage with.
1."Smartwatches and health tech. Unless you have diabetes or some other condition that needs constant monitoring, no one needs to track their daily calories in/out, step count, blood pressure, etc. I think it puts too much importance on measurements that the average person doesn't even know what to do with. This leads to health obsessions and fatphobia. I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching from a soapbox, but your watch shouldn't remind you when you should get more exercise. It's weird!"
—emvardz
2."Fillers. Influencers have convinced everyone that they look good. I think it’s mostly becoming a sign of wealth and ability to spend money on such procedures rather than people genuinely liking the look as much as they say they do."
—jc8495
3."Sports betting. All the guys my age are obsessed, but those $5, then $20, then $50 transactions always go to waste, and yes, sometimes you score a win, but that money goes right back into more bets. 'But bro, I just won $200!!!' Yeah, man, and it costs you way more to get to that point. I swear, every ad I see is plugging sports betting apps and free plays."
—chonz010
4."Fast fashion. I refuse to spend $50 for piss-poor-quality, sweatshop clothing that contributes to environmental collapse and ends up polluting an impoverished country after it’s thrown out. There’s no excuse because there is plenty of nice clothing out there that is second-hand and sustainable brands to shop from. Choose cashmere or merino wool over acrylic sweaters, wool and silk over polyester, and 100% cotton over an elastane blend. I always go for high-quality construction. Even if it weren't an ethical concern, I wouldn’t wear that cheaply made plastic trash."
5."Anything involving trendy eyebrow shapes, I’ve seen how my older cousins and sister permanently plucked their thin, and now they have to spend all this time filling them in or getting them microbladed; I’m not falling for it. I’m keeping my brows the same shape, which is flattering for my face. Brooke Shields has had the same eyebrows her whole life, and they work for her, and I’ll do the same."
6."TikTok. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm not into that garbage and act superior. That garbage is the exact kind of dopamine drug that will get me hooked, and I would rather just avoid it."
7."Using ChatGPT for every single task. All the programmers I work with are getting dumber every day. It is brain rot. It can be a fun toy, but people are using it as a skill replacement, and everyone should have a few things they are actually good at."
—dustinechos
8."The normalization of plastic surgery is insane. Instead of teaching people to be healthy and happy as who they are, society has told a generation that if they save up a ton of money, they can look pretty for a decade or two."
—deleted
9."Subscriptions. Everything that was once a one-time purchase has become a monthly subscription. It feels like we’re not allowed to own anything outright anymore."
—LSPassionX
10."I refuse to buy into this whole Y2K/Gen Z nonsense. No baggy crop tops. No crop anything. NO 'ugly shoes.' And you can pry my skinny jeans off my cold, dead, supposedly dated 30s corpse."
11."Buying something ugly just because it's expensive. You can't convince me that people actually think Louis Vitton purses with LV all over them look nice."
12."Ballet flats. They're cute and all, but I remember how I could feel the sidewalk right through the soles, especially if there were cracks or stones. It's not fun to walk around in this kind of shoe."
13."Wearing clothing that has branding all over it. No, thank you, I am not a billboard."
14."Those hideously long nails, plus the fact that people who have them are always clacking them off of everything."
15."I absolutely refuse to participate in the TikTok dance challenges—just not my thing!"
16."The food trend of adding cottage cheese to everything. It's okay to have bread and for it to not have 72 grams of protein in it."
17."Using generative AI. Especially for mundane things like answering emails or writing grocery lists. How lazy can people be that they need a robot to think for them?"
18."I'm not a parent yet, but gender reveal parties. I think they may be dying down, but I never understood the concept. Why couldn't you reveal the gender during the baby shower, especially since by the time women typically have them, they know the gender too? I've always just been confused by them."
—skyleehugh
19."Wedding culture has gotten out of control. As a guest, you’re expected to shell out big bucks to attend (hotel, etc.) AND for the bachelor/bachelorette party. And then there's a separate bridal shower where you're expected to buy a gift from the registry. Plus, more and more of these events are involving travel! It feels like an abuse of social norms to try and squeeze people like this."
Do you have something to add? What is a current trend you are not interested in taking part in? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
