“Everything As A Subscription”: People List 35 Industries They Want To See Disappear In 10 Years
Interview
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.
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Puppy/kitten farms.
We got Cleo from someone whose dog got pregnant from their sisters dog they were looking after. This is her at 8 months old pretending to be asleep Cleo-cheek...03761a.jpg 
Child beauty pageants- are they still going? That.
Pedo Catalogue. Get rid of them and let the kids play and have fun instead of becoming anorexic divas at 5 years old
Social media influencing.
If you see an influencer in the wild, play Disney music as loud as you can for as long as you can. The video will not be usable without a copyright strike and most videos are 'in the moment' meaning once the moment has passed it is too late and can't be re-shot
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.
Human trafficking.
eliminate poverty, eliminate crime. simple. Capitalism is the cause of crime and violence. Because capitalism creates social classes, to ensure a supply of cheap labour.
Mega churches.
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others" - Matt 6:5
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.
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.
Call Scammers that steal from the elderly.
I love watching Scammer Payback on Youtube. Hilarious how he destroys these places
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.
Everything to do with planned obsolescence.
Massive industry, disproportionately responsible for obscene levels of environmental damage.
24 hour propaganda media outlets masquerading as “news”.
Insulin,s**t should be free or at least very inexpensive
We reached out to tech support scam expert Jim Browning to learn a bit more about this profession that really needs to disappear. We asked if growing tech literacy will help people avoid the more common forms of online scams. "I think this is already happening because I see the tactics of the scammers changing a little. These days, they are scamming a wider range of countries. Slovakia and Austria were two countries I hadn’t seen targeted until last year for example. Sadly this doesn’t mean that we will see a reduction in the scam phone calls though; it’s still a numbers game for scammers. Their ideal target is someone who isn’t very computer literate, has online banking (the scammers will kindly assist someone to sign up if they don’t already have this), and is generally trusting of someone trying to help (supposedly from their bank or the police). Sadly this fits the profile of a lot of older people and they are still the most likely to be scammed."
MLMs/Pyramid schemes
If you have to pay to work you are not working. You are a customer or in this case a victim
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.
The conditions in factory farms was the main reason I became vegan back in the day. I don't think eating meat is inherently wrong, and I'd never tell others what they should be eating, but for me, personally, I never wanted to contribute to an industry where abuse is rampant. I always felt there had to be a better way for these animals to live and die.
"Forewarned is forearmed. Show relatives videos about scams. Watch the TV programs about them. We’ve probably all heard “Banks will never ask you to move money” and most people wouldn’t dream of doing that. But what happens if your bank calls and they are able to give you convincing details about your account? What happens then? The short answer is “Never trust a call that you receive. If you want to make sure it’s really your bank. YOU MAKE THE CALL TO A PUBLISHED PHONE NUMBER. Seeing the language and techniques scammers use, it’s far easier than you think to be scammed. Anyone can be scammed (myself included)," was his advice for how the average person can defend themselves against scams.
Anything involving cold calling, or massive phone call farms pimping random s**t.
Everything as a subscription. As a tech worker I understand why this is so popular but god do I hate it
Edit: 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
I still use old office software because there is nothing wrong with it and I bloody well paid for it
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.
It was a bit awkward to get foreigners at my tables when I worked as a waitress. Was that money for me? Did they forget their money? Don't they know the restaurant pays us to work there? It's not as we walked in from the street and started waiting tables, expecting the customers to pay us. I made more money per hour than my husband that worked as a nurse did, and the foreigners never tipped him. Wouldn't it make sense to tip the people that earn the least?
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.
Alternative exist already. IF anything, they need to be enforced.
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.
I've listened to several podcasts in which several medical doctors and researchers were interviewed. Apparently, we often have to use animals to do testings because we have no other way to know the impact (of the tested procedures, drugs, chemicals, etc.) to human bodies. Sometimes they make the animals sick (with cancer, obesity, diabetics, etc.), euthanized them, and harvested their organs. It is very sad, but I understand that we have no choice if we want to survive. It is our lives vs. theirs. What I cannot stand is the experiments to animals for cosmetic purpose. Are we that vain to let other living beings die for our beauty????
Plastic. A Scrouge on our planet
Plastic is a joke, I really although it's riskier I prefer glass. I mean it's literally sand!
The F*****s that make college text books 2,000 dollars!
There was a website that let you download these for free but the Feds took it down. What you really need to do is create a pressure lobby to stop this industry in your higher ed sector.
Whaling.
Especially for "scientific research" where this "research" involves eating them
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.
Ticketmaster has angered SWIFTIES everywhere. F**k TICKETMASTER!
The war industry.
Wars are money business, don't think this will disappear in ten years i'm afraid.
Tobacco industry: Many people hope that smoking will become less common, and eventually eliminated, due to the health risks associated with tobacco use.
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.
Bought a air purifier. Best investment I ever made. No apps, no wifi, no connections, no sign ups. Just works
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.
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.
Zoos where they keep animals in small spaces and people come and stare at them all day long.
I used to feel this way that they would be much better off in the wild but then I got a reality check from a zookeeper who came and did a lecture at our college. The zoos are not there for people viewing. They are there to protect the animals from us. Many are endangered and hunted to near extinction in the wild. Zoos protect the animals from us killing them. For example there are more big cats in captivity than in the wild. Educating the public about this is something they do. It also provides funding for them to exist. Tiny cages? Then donate for bigger and better exhibits. The Ft.Worth Zoo is a prime example of this. We had one major donor that methodically paid for upgrades to exhibit after exhibit making the zoo better and better. Very unlikely person did this. It was actor Jimmy Stewart. Bless his soul. I don't think he ever lived in Ft. Worth or had any ties to the area.
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.
And the USA is all of the sudden pushing online gambling hard in the media.
Ad marketing, it is so intrusive everywhere I go, on the streets or on the net.
100% . If I want a product I will search for it. I do not want ads everywhere.
right-wing Big Lie propaganda media.
The same goes for left wing. Any political party has their agenda, not all are for the people despite what you've been told. It's absurd to believe one "wing" is more propagandist than the other. Each hold a powerful capitalist agenda
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.
Sure, but South Africa relies on selling these things quite a lot and they're important to OUR economy, so you don't get to say what we should or shouldn't sell. We'd prefer if America wasn't selling arms around the place (you know, things that kill people en-masse). America's wars of oil exploitation have cost about 1m muslim lives. So far diamonds have not killed one million people in africa despite being an industry for over 140 years.
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.
Drug cartels.
The only way to stop drug cartels is to 100% legalise. Make it that you have to sign your name, provide your home address, agree to be visited by social workers, when you buy. And buy from pharmacies. Bulk manufacture at lower cost than the cartels will put them out of business. See portugal model drug legalisation. Problem solved.
Hollywood
mycrml 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
Not going to happen. Panem Et Circenses. The most that will happen is the self-made or AI-made movie market will flood youtube and reduce the popularity of hollywood, but not eliminate it altogether. A big production budget can beat most things at the moment, even AIs.
Car dealerships. Give me my damn direct to consumer sales. Death to the sleazy middle-men!
Poker machines, greyhound racing and horse racing in Australia.
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.
The alternative is not being dumb and just using Turbo Tax or H&R Block.
Bottled water.
Flint, Michigan, disagrees with you. Sort out your infrastructure. The world IS watching.
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.
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.
Due to what is happening with Russia, research has increased exponentially in EV technology and the power sources. Look up Nuclear Diamond Batteries. It's very interesting, and it shows a lot of potential
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.
**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.
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
Prostitution is an ancient profession and will never go away as long as there are men who are so unpleasant as to be unable to form and maintain a normal respectful relationship. The best way to deal with this is the same as drugs. Legalise and moderate/legislate controls. South Africa is just about to legalise the lot for this reason. If you ban stuff (think Prohibition) alll it does is create Mafia/Drug Cartels/Human traffickers. It does NOT eliminate it. It drives it underground, and makes the victims/exploited persons more easy to exploit because they LOSE legal rights. If you legalise you then can protect the workers (whether they are drug mules or prozzies is irrelevant). Once a person's job is legalised they have to get benefits, health care, retirement funds etc etc., and if they are abused their boss can be jailed simply on labour relations charges. It's much easier to prove and prosecute.
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.
"Fudge" factor. The automatic boxing machines need everything just so. But that problem has been solved in robotic assembly lines. QA, however, still needs human eyes, no matter how much CEO's and business consultants howl about it cutting into the bottom line.
Monopolies. They keep prices high for consumers. Here in Canada we have 2 major companies (Bell, Rogers) who are continually allowed to buy out the competition to keep our mobile & internet prices the highest in the world. Weston owned grocery & pharmacy chains which make it too easy for price gouging & greedflation. Evil empires.
The wedding industry. Any kind of wedding or marriage (including the engagement and all of that jazz) is irrelevant to love. The origin of marriage is horrific for women and I’m amazed that women still want anything remotely to do with it, never mind say it’s romantic and actively pursue it. I don’t know why people aren’t just happy being together. I do understand the motivation more if it’s solely for religious reasons in stricter countries or cultures (religion is a whole other can of worms though).
Monopolies. They keep prices high for consumers. Here in Canada we have 2 major companies (Bell, Rogers) who are continually allowed to buy out the competition to keep our mobile & internet prices the highest in the world. Weston owned grocery & pharmacy chains which make it too easy for price gouging & greedflation. Evil empires.
The wedding industry. Any kind of wedding or marriage (including the engagement and all of that jazz) is irrelevant to love. The origin of marriage is horrific for women and I’m amazed that women still want anything remotely to do with it, never mind say it’s romantic and actively pursue it. I don’t know why people aren’t just happy being together. I do understand the motivation more if it’s solely for religious reasons in stricter countries or cultures (religion is a whole other can of worms though).
