The future is great, isn’t it? We all have a palm-sized supercomputer in our pockets, a device that can take stunning photos , make calls, and access the entirety of human knowledge. Of course, there’s more to it all than just cell phones — microchips are in just about everything now.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, in many cases, it feels like the old ways were actually better.
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“I keep seeing this advertisement about putting Coke in your car engine.”
Advertising’s been around forever. I get it. But old-school ads were a little more to-the-point about what they were advertising. Also, they weren’t telling you to fill up your car with Coke — which we hope we don’t have to tell you is not a great idea.
“Tell me your town is unfriendly to the home displaced, without telling me so.”
These anti-homeless strips and spikes can be seen in almost every urban center in the 21st century. It wasn’t this way 20 or 30 years ago.
“Signed up for paperless billing. Got this paper reminder in the mail.”
Paperless billing is cheaper and more economical, and often more convenient, than conventional billing. With all of this in mind, do we really need a paper ad celebrating the demise of paper?
“This toilet paper is single-ply. That ‘quilting’ is a printed pattern.”
Quilted TP used to actually be quilted. Also, TP used to say how many rolls were actually in a package. Now, a 12-roll package of TP will say that it has 56 theoretical rolls.
“This site doesn’t contain ads.”
![Image credit: reddit | [user]](https://static.diply.com/4a32fb23-437f-4015-a452-c175eafe641b.webp)
I think most of us accept that websites need to run some ads in order to pay the bills and provide free content. That’s fine. What isn’t fine is bragging about having no ads, then showing a bunch of ads.
“Orbit’s new XXL packaging.”
Retail shrink is something we’ve see more and more of in recent years. So if your favorite candy bar seems smaller than it used to, it isn’t because you’re crazy. It’s because you’re absolutely right about it being smaller.
“Facebook repeatedly shows misleading marketplace ads with fake prices.”
Back in the day, if you go far enough at least, you actually could get a pickup truck for $100. Nowadays, you can get a modest spread of groceries, or maybe part of a tank of gas, for $100.
“My wife watching Netflix from an iPad being charged by a laptop in front of a 65” TV with speakers. But… why??”
There used to be just one or two screens in a house. Now there are maybe a dozen. I’ll never understand people who watch things on tiny screens when a big screen is available.
“$100 worth of groceries.”
Remember when we were talking about the value of $100? Well, here’s what it’ll buy you at the grocery store: enough food for a couple of days. It used to buy enough to procure a multi-day feast.
“I didn’t see anyone else do an update…so don’t mind if I do. No but in all seriousness it’s really sad to see this mural be replaced by an ad.”
There’s something so ominous and chilling about the ad declaring…uh, oat milk I guess…as the new normal.
“The refills cost more than the whole thing.”
Lots of products want to get consumers hooked into their ecosystem, so they’re only buying one brand of stuff. Sometimes, they get a little bit greedy. I thought refills were supposed to be inexpensive.
“Landscape menu on portrait screen.”
If you told a person fifty years ago that the restaurant menu was in landscape mode, but shown on a portrait mode display, they’d look at you like you had two heads. It’s just part of our modern, boring dystopia.
“Ads on the KEYBOARD!!!”
There are areas where I will and won’t accept ads on my phone. Websites and apps are one thing, but putting ads directly on the top row of the keyboard is a bridge too far, in my opinion.
“I got my first speeding ticket.”
What kind of backwards world do we live in where getting a speeding ticket ensures that your address will be shared to junk mail distributors? I mean, you should try not to get speeding tickets, but this shouldn’t be part of the punishment.
“Do it or don’t play at all, thank you.”
I think we can all appreciate a good tutorial or set of instructions. But some people like to learn things by doing. This game really needs to provide more flexibility to its users.
“Keurig sensor blocks your brew unless it’s ‘K-cup compatible’, aka has scannable foil. Slap on an old foil to a 3rd party cup and suddenly no issue.”
Of all the minor dystopian things we deal with on a daily basis, having the right code on your coffee pod seems like one of the dumbest. Why does coffee, of all things, have to be complicated?
“Digital ad displays on the back of big rigs. One of the displays said to ‘Keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone’ which switching between ads on the back of the truck.”
Aside from ads being aesthetically gross, this just seems like a safety risk. I’m surprised it’s even legal.
“My graduation photo.”
I’m a little unclear here. Did the yearbook mess up and use a tiny version of the photo that they blew up, or did the person who submitted it do it as a joke? In any case, it’s still better than a ’90s digital camera.
“Stuck in a parking space because my brother in-law set his Tesla do a software update at 10:30 pm.”
Some may mock me for tooling around in a 2012 Honda Civic, but one thing’s for certain: it’ll never need any kind of software update.
“Idiot neighbour keeps trying to connect to my tv. I can’t block it.”
Have you ever wanted to pair something via Bluetooth and just started connecting to random things within range? This is what it looks like to your neighbors.
