From college textbooks to scam call centers, we’ve all run into industries that have somehow persisted despite the majority of people hating them. For one reason or another, these institutions are still alive and kicking, to the dismay of most people.
Recently, internet users shared what sort of businesses they thought should really not still be a thing. Some users also specified industry practices that really need to change. After all, fast fashion is terrible, but we still need clothing! We’ve gathered some of the most interesting and relevant examples, but be sure to add your ideas in the comments! And upvote the ones you absolutely agree with as well.
#1
Puppy/kitten farms.
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#2
Child beauty pageants- are they still going? That.
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#3
Animal testing: Some people hope that the practice of using animals for scientific testing and research will become obsolete, as more ethical and effective alternatives become available.
Image credits: LearnToAsk
Common contenders for being removed were scams and online tech support scams in particular. While digital technology has expanded massively over the past two decades, the main scamming strategies remain the same. Like the con artists of the past, tech support scammers will forest try to get the confidence of the victim. Tech-illiteracy plays a large part in their strategies, as many will try to make the normal functions of your computer appear like hacking or malware.
The goal of the scammer is to first get access to your computer and then convince you that there is some issue that can only be solved by paying for some sort of program renewal or having a more skilled technician fix it remotely, at a cost of course. More insidious scammers may try to gain access to your computer to find compromising information or passwords.
#4
Conversion therapy.
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#5
Human trafficking.
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#6
Single-use plastics: Some people hope that the production and use of single-use plastics, which contribute to plastic pollution, will become a thing of the past as alternatives are developed and adopted.
Image credits: LearnToAsk
Generally, the average tech support scammer wants to simply take your money and run. Fortunately, consumer protection laws and tools have come a long way since the early 2000s. These days scammers will try to get you to pay them with digital gift cards. These are less regulated and generally can’t be traced back to the scammer as easily. If you have ever seen signs saying that your bank, Microsoft, and all government agencies will never ask you for gift cards and wondered what those are for, now you know.
#7
The war industry.
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#8
24 hour propaganda media outlets masquerading as “news”.
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#9
Fast fashion.
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Others listed the college textbook industry as being in desperate need of disappearing. To explain this to non-Americans, US college students sometimes have to pay between 750$-1000$ a year just for textbooks. At an institution, they are already paying to attend. It’s not hard to see why most think this industry is just predatory and ultimately unnecessary. Even worse, some law schools make students pay for books of legal cases when these cases are often freely available online.
#10
MLMs/Pyramid schemes
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#11
Social media influencing.
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#12
Mega churches.
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#13
Factory animal farming. I'm not a hippie but I love and respect animals. If you wouldn't allow it to happen to your pet don't pay big business to do it to your food.
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#14
The concert ticket mafia. (TicketMaster / StubHub / LiveNation). F**k them.ETA: I know those entities aren't really an entire industry. They basically have the market monopolized, though.
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#15
Telemarketers.
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#16
Anything involving cold calling, or massive phone call farms pimping random s**t.
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#17
Mommy/Family vloggers. They're sinister... a podcast I listened to did a 7* episode deep dive and it was horrifying. There needs to be laws to protect these exploited children and in 10-20 years we're going to see a LOT of these kids telling their horror stories and suing their parents.EDIT TO ADD: The podcast is called Some Place Under Neith. It's episodes 56 - 62.
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#18
For profit health insurance.
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#19
Gambling. Massive issue in Ireland and the UK, betting shops everywhere, i'm sure it's the same in other countries, destroys lives. Can't go anywhere or watch any sport without having it shoved down your throat.
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#20
Tobacco industry: Many people hope that smoking will become less common, and eventually eliminated, due to the health risks associated with tobacco use.
Image credits: LearnToAsk
#21
Pseudo medicine.
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#22
Call Scammers that steal from the elderly.
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#23
Televangelism
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#24
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Look them up.They’re basically bloodsucking middlemen that sit between hospitals and health insurers. Supposedly created to control prescription drug costs and manage formularies, but they actually drive prices up. One of the many terrible causes of high medical costs in the states.
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#25
Everything to do with planned obsolescence.Massive industry, disproportionately responsible for obscene levels of environmental damage.
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#26
Plastic. A Scrouge on our planet
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#27
Everything as a subscription. As a tech worker I understand why this is so popular but god do I hate itEdit: Some subscriptions can genuinely offer amazing value to consumers. My problem is the mass adoption of subscription on products and services that have no business being a subscription. Those that exist solely so companies can make more money off of you. Not everything should be a subscription
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#28
Payday loans, it should be illegal to entrap someone in a cycle of debt that they cannot get out of. If you already can't afford to wait for a paycheck, then having to make payments against it, is inherently going to be a cyclical arrangement, in which a loan is paid off and then immediately retaken to cover expenses. Sure, there could be one-off instances, but that seems like it would be a rarity.#29
I work in the industry.... Restaurant Tipping industry. It's getting out of hand in the USA. You have to tip everywhere and pay extra "fees or services" due to covid or inflation. Businesses need to pay their employees and not the customers. I'd rather pay a little higher prices than paying a tip. It's not my responsibility to pay their employees. I ended up using my tips to pay for their tips and so called service fees....smdh which is redundant. After I went out to eat a few times after the pandemic; I stopped going out to eat.Many people don't want to end it because they use their tip as under-table money. My boss requires us to claim all of our tips even cash. Customers are required to pay at the front desk where there are cameras to watch us. Most of the time he is there overseeing us. He pays way over minimum wage ($15+ an hour) for us which he doesn't have too. The customers don't even have to pay service fees or inflation fees or any bs fee. The boss just raises the prices accordingly.
Summary: Get rid of the tipping industry.
Image credits: Successful1ok
#30
Insulin,s**t should be free or at least very inexpensive#31
Custody battle legal system. Each side can spend half a million, easy, and get the same result as arbitration. The only difference is that each side is now poor, and both their lawyers are rich. With each side' attorneys goading their clients to push for unreasonable demands, thereby prolonging the legal bills.#32
Fossil fuel industry: Many people hope that the world will transition to clean, renewable energy sources and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, which are a major contributor to climate change.#33
Ad marketing, it is so intrusive everywhere I go, on the streets or on the net.#34
Car dealerships. Give me my damn direct to consumer sales. Death to the sleazy middle-men!#35
right-wing Big Lie propaganda media.#36
The Troubled Teen Industry.Look up Nexpos video on Elan school and you’ll see what I mean. Abusing minors for money shouldn’t be an industry.
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#37
Bottled water.#38
The natural diamond industry, we can literally grow them in labs sustainably and to the same quality. But there will probably always be people who want natural diamonds sourced unethically.#39
Real estate agents.#40
Wedding industrial complex.#41
lobbying
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#42
Poker machines, greyhound racing and horse racing in Australia.#43
There are a lot of worse things that have already been said, so OnlyFans and other industries that make a platform for young people to post nudes for money#44
Zoos where they keep animals in small spaces and people come and stare at them all day long.#45
US tax prep. Unnecessary middle man with artificially maintained necessity due to ~~lobbying~~ bribery.Edit: I understand that many people have a reason to use professional tax services. In fact, I'm one of them -- surprise!!!
Most people don't need this, though. There should be a better alternative for the average taxpayer, especially considering how confusing and fluid the government's system is.
#46
For profit prisons.#47
**Sewage cleaning.** In many third world countries people have t o climb into sewer to clean them without any proper protection. I hope the technology becomes cheaper soon.#48
Third party student loan "consultants". I used to work as a federal student loan collector for a Department of Education contractor. I have horror stories about borrowers who were purposefully deceived by these people, the worst of whom was someone who thought a consolidation she paid for completely eliminated her obligation.What these legally grey a******s do is trick people into paying to have *free paperwork* done on their behalf. Sure they have the tiny fine print disclosures, but they're extremely predatory and make me sick. Imo getting rid of them could be legislation worthy, given that they interfere with federally owned debts.
#49
Drug cartels.#50
The F*****s that make college text books 2,000 dollars!#51
Idk if this falls I to the right category, but everything needing wifi. I bought a scale the other day that needed wifi before it could read my weight. I have a PS5 with all the media apps I need, give me the option for a dumb TV. My washer, dryer, fridge and oven also shouldn't need wifi to be able to do basic operations.Samsung as a company is driving me up the f*****g wall lately.
#52
Whaling.#53
Ever watch "How's Its Made" and there's this complicated a*s machine literally piecing together and building some kind of complicated product. There are arms grabbing, and lasers cutting, belts moving things, and just miracle after miracle of modern automation. Then there's this dude who moves the finished product into a box and slaps a label on. And the viewer wonders why the f**k did they need a person to do that lousy step? That job doesn't stand a chance.#54
Hollywoodmycrml replied:
Yes and celebrity idolizing. Esp reality tv stars or celebrities that only have notoriety bc of the media. Admiring someone’s stand-alone talent is okay
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