It is only after you begin traveling more widely that you realize how different social conventions are around the world. Many of the behaviors that you wouldn’t even notice back home, might instantly make someone else raise an eyebrow when you’re abroad. Similarly, when someone visits your home country, they might be shocked by some of the conventions and traditions that you take for granted.
American Reddit users opened up about the things that are socially acceptable in the United States but not elsewhere, in two viral r/AskReddit threads here and here. We’ve collected some of their most interesting insights and opinions to share with you, Pandas. They might give you a fresh perspective on life in the US, and might make you think more deeply about all of the social conventions that you’re used to in your daily lives.
As you’re scrolling down, remember to upvote the comments that took you by surprise and the ones that you agree are true. Smiling a lot, tipping culture, and weird ads on the TV are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Excessive violence? No problem! Nudity and cursing? Protect our children!
Having children pledge allegiance to the flag every morning or so.
That sounds more like something from a dystopian book than real life. This actually happens??
Ridiculously long elections and treating elections like sporting events
The Harvard Business Review notes that cultures around the world can be broadly categorized into ‘peaches’ and ‘coconuts.’ The US and Brazil, for example, can be considered to be ‘peaches.’ People there smile frequently, are open to sharing information about themselves, and ask personal questions. However, at some point, you’ll reach the “hard shell of the pit where the peach protects” who they really are inside.
On the flip side, you have ‘coconut’ cultures like in Germany. ‘Coconuts’ tend to be more closed off: they rarely smile, don’t ask personal questions right off the bat, and are very wary of what information they disclose to new acquaintances. Over time, however, they open up and become warmer. Though it takes more time, relationships with ‘coconuts’ tend to last longer.
For profit healthcare
Yeah I don't mind paying tax for free healthcare dunno why Americans are so against it. My colleague who is from NY said he couldn't believe it the first time he went to a Dr here and it was free
Commercials for medicine
Prescription medication specifically. Ads for boner pills and depression medicine etc. bombarding all ages all day long
One of the most stereotypical ways to tell that someone is probably from the US is to see how often they smile. A study done in 2018 showed that European American students smiled twice as much as East Asian students in their ID photos. The former were also more likely to display ‘excited’ smiles, Naveed Saleh shares on Psychology Today.
Moreover, students at US universities were more likely to smile while walking on campus, compared to students at Chinese universities. Over 29% of Americans were spotted smiling, versus barely 3% of Chinese students. There are two possible explanations for this.
First of all, this rate might show a difference in life satisfaction between the two countries. Secondly, it indicates that different cultures value different things. For example, Americans tend to value high-intensity positive emotions. Hence the smiling!
Having ~~100k+~~ debt as 18 year old just for going to school.
Just checked for reference and the enrollment fee in the university of Helsinki for the 2022-23 semester was whopping 46€. Multiply that by 5 and your masters degree would cost 230€
Military recruitment centres in schools, general worship of those serving or who have served.
In the US, it’s normative to maintain eye contact for around three seconds at a time, take turns during the conversation so as not to interrupt someone else, and to allow two or three feet of personal space between you and others, according to Natali Kerr, PhD.
What’s more, Americans tend to use the phrase, “How are you?” as a greeting, rather than a legitimate question in its own right. If you want to aim for a deeper, more meaningful connection with someone, try to use the question more sparingly and with intent. Actually ask someone how they’re doing when you want to find out, not as a way to extend your “hello.”
Our portion sizes. Other countries literally have "American" as a size option.
In Sweden you either take your shoes off when you enter someone's home or we saw your dirty f*****g feet off.
WE TAKE OUR SHOES OFF, TOO. Tv shows and movies show it otherwise, that's all.
Smiling at strangers. Back in high school, I spent some time in St. Petersburg, Russia as a short-term exchange student. As someone ethnically ambiguous, I assumed most Russians would think I was from one of the Central Asian Republics, like Uzbekistan. Nope, they guessed American every time.
"Olga, how does everyone know I'm American?"
"You smile too much and have good teeth."
You can get fired for any reason. Or no reason. Just if the boss feels like it
From an external point of view, that's f****d up, going to work must be terrifying each day knowing that something like wearing the wrong shoes or whatever could get you sacked on the spot
The car as the priority on the road.
In the U.K. We have a policy that the more vulnerable the road user, the more rights they have. Therefore, people have the most rights, then horse riders, cyclists, bikers, cars and so forth.
I love explaining to non Americans that we can go buy beer, food, televisions and guns at the same store.
wearing the flag as a bathing suit.
The thing about having clothes effectively made from the American flag is that the people who do it are generally the "America is the greatest country in the world" type of "patriot" who would get super angry if you "disrespect " the stars and stripes, but ironically are likely violating the flag code which states "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery"...
Waiters bothering me while eating. And bringing me the bill without asking for it.
Mobility scooters and wheelchairs for obese people who are capable of walking. Went to disneyworld and people were using wheelchairs becuase they were lazy. They'd literally wheel them up to a shop get up walk around the store and then back to the chair. You could say well that was one person so it doesn't count but there were multiple people doing the same thing, even entire families sometimes.
I have always walked a bit weird because of how flat my feet are and slightly pigeon toed. I had my feet fixed (mostly), but my walk is still affected because of a lifetime of compensating. The result is I can't walk very far before crippling pain sets in. It sucks butt. Go easy on people. You don't know.
Customers in restaurants or any other store staying past closing, I work in a restaurant and this annoys me beyond belief.
I think in America its way more socially acceptable to drive .2 miles to your destination than to walk.
This is something many non-Americans simply don't know. In the suburbs, there's often nothing but houses. There's no little shops, no restaurants, cafes, petrol stations, only houses. The streets are set up for cars, and two houses where the gardens back on to each other might be a 5 minute drive away. The shops are often clustered in an area, each shop with its own parking lot. To go from one shop to another you get in your car and drive to the next parking lot. And there's very few pavements for safe movement of pedestrians.
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The gas station is .9 miles away from my current house. I don't want to walk right now because there's no sidewalk, and the ditch has 5 feet of snow. So, apologies for being "lazy".
only if you dont have the option. I dont think Europeans have a remote clue about how large the distances are. Ugh the further I go, I am almost impressed by how stupid this entire thread is but I am not. Its stupid and cringey.
For me it was always super weird when fellow students on my year abroad in the U.S. would drive 2min instead of waking or taking a bike (which everyone there had) like I did. People did mention that it was a lot more unsafe to walk though and we sometimes got alerts about shootings and kidnappings. This was a neighborhood with families that was considered "safe" though.
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My favorite grocery store is not quite a mile away but more than half of that is highway. Much too dangerous to walk or bike, no matter how much I want to!
A friend of mine had his teenaged nephew visiting and we walked the 10min to the restaurant. I was 5 months pregnant and this teen didn't stop whining about walking DOWN a hill. When we went back, I made him walk up the hill instead of using the other sidewalk, close to the road, just to watch him suffer lmao
It can be dangerous to walk, especially as a woman alone. It's also dangerous because of the rising number of pedestrian deaths. People in cities built for walking don't have to do this.
I've seen it in the UK too. Where I used to live there was a road across the road that lead to a school, I saw a neighbour load their children in to the car, drive down the street than around the block (it was a one way street) and park up a few seconds later.
Also the weather isn’t usually mild or pleasant for a walk here like in many other places. It’s usually freezing f*****g cold or blazing hot and sweaty.
Not in California where I did experience the same thing. I didn't have a car while on my year abroad and people kept telling me they couldn't imagine living like this. Never had to walk more than 20min anywhere and the weather was always pleasant.
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Certain places aren't safe to walk...I have a small store close to my house, but no sidewalks anywhere, so, while I could walk, it's often safer to drive...
If you had a place to park there, and when you got back home, you would drive, too (unless you're drinking... I'll give you that). I live in Europe. Don't try to b******t me!
While I tend to agree, there are some routes where you'd be walking in a road with no sidewalk or shoulder, or on the highway. I'd rather drive in those cases.
Because towns/cities were built for cars, not people. But I was told it is getting better. My husband cannot drive, so when he was in the US he either walked or used bike. Inside the centre it was quite ok. Little more outside he was stopped several times with "what happened to your car, sir?"
In Paris, France, it is difficult to manage to park your car next to your destination… and you are happy when you have finally found a place, even if it is far away!
My dad and I visited our family in a bigger city in the US (we live in Sweden). After three days my dad was like: "I can't stand it! We NEED to walk somewhere!". So we walked to the mall one half hour away. The only person we met on the sidewalk was a man who was handicaped. On the way home several cars stopped and asked if we needed a ride. We said no. On another trip my mum was going to the supermarket five minutes away. She told the people who wanted to give her a ride how close her destination was but still they wanted to drive her there...I am 33 and don't even have a drivers license
In my country, even in the places that are not densely lived in (sorry I don't know the english word) people walk and bike to school. Hell even first graders walk kilometers to school alone because they can and because it is safe.
Yeah unfortunately safe is the missing piece. My son loves to walk to school here in the US but comes very close to being hit by cars that aren't paying attention quite frequently. In fact an adult friend of mine was hit going through the intersection my son has to cross to get to school. The driver took off and my friend had to pay for her own hip surgery from the accident.
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Talking about money. How much you earn or don't earn. How much debt you are in, how bad or good your credit is. People don't really talk about those things even with close family members other places I've been.
America was influenced heavily by the post WWII "nuclear family" model where everyone should be independent and own their own houses, live as a family unit etc.
I married a Filipino and it changed my world like they have everyone in one baller house going back to great grandma. And it's amazing like when you have kids it's so much easier, if your car breaks down and need something it's easier, if you need a loan they pool all the money and give micro loans among their extended family with virtually no interest.
I'm like wait, we've been getting f****d in America. Ultimately we decided to embrace it and pool together with my mom who lived next to us anyways and buy a baller a*s house for us and the kids and it costs us nothing because we share the cost.
She left and now I'm stuck living with my mom in my 30's until I can refinance or sell but still was worth it.
I don't know about every single place in the world, but compared to a lot of Asian cultures, the way Americans treat moving out of our parents' home as a huge achievement is pretty weird. Adult kids still living with their parents isn't embarrassing in Asia. In America, it's still considered somewhat weird, although it's getting more common for financial reasons
Ads that compare one brand to another openly, like Duracell vs Energizer, rather than Brand X.
In many African countries/cultures, looking at someone dead in the eye when talking to them, particularly adults, is very very rude. In Murica, looking an adult in the eye is a sign of respect/confidence in the speaker
I am from EU and here is normal too, it means that you are paying attention on the speaker and that you respect him/her
I am English and have lived in America for over twenty five years. As a nosy person I ADORE the way Americans will show you the interior of their houses. In England the deeply curious usually find them selves in a locked bathroom examining the contents of the hosts cabinet. This is the last resort for the nosy person as access to the rest of the place will not be encouraged.
Americans will walk you around the house from top to bottom and show you everything. In England you only get to do that when you know your host very well indeed.
Spelling bees
I'm from Finland. And I think so many countries f****d up their language, because in finnish, there is no need for spelling. The whole language is spoken exactly how it is written. Only exception is the swedish å, but it's spelled as a regular o. And it's always funny when foreigners try to speak finnish, because they try to pronounce letters within their own language's guidelines. And as a sidemark, in finnish, there is the word "ei". Which means "no". But it's pronounced exactly like the letter "a" in english. So all of you know how to say at least one word in finnish. 🙂
when I studied abroad in Spain they extensively warned us about how rude it is to stretch at the dinner table... I never realized how much I love stretching at the dinner table till I got in trouble for doing it
Note: this post originally had 39 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Gather round boys and girls! It's time for BoredPanda's weekly America is a backwater cesspool filled of cultural depravity and Europe is the paradise of cultural superiority. Honestly though, BoredPanda -ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Stop with these horribly cruel click-bait articles. You are going to lose more and more readers if you continue to cruelly stereotype an entire population of people. Stop with the horrible censorship. Stop banning good users who get down-voted by trolls. I lost my account that I had from the very beginning due to your policies yet you never ever listen to your readers. I have contacted you again and again about trolls on this site, yet I am the one who got my account banned. To other readers on this site-- please downvote articles like this. Stereotypes are cruel and it shows that BoredPanda does not care about its users.
I agree with everything you said. Unfortunately, the only response you'll get from the mods is crickets. By the way, I had the same problem with the downvote trolls and the same lack of interest from the mods (you don't think my name is actually Suzy Creamcheese, do you ;)).
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What exactly did the American readers do to the Bored Panda writers to deserve getting isolated and bullied every day. No wonder we are so depressed. I hate starting days like this. They’re just so mean sometimes. They keep pushing acceptance of others but I guess it only includes everyone but Americans. I miss the days where they focused on art and comics annd cat pictures and nobody felt like everyone hated them for reasons out of their control. I’m sorry I am frustrated. It hasn’t been a good last few days. Im only sad about the writers, not you guys. You guys are pretty nice.
Same feeling. Commenters are 90% awesome people, but BP articles are tiresome. Also, they often fail to identify that some of these things occur in Canada, which reallllly hates being lumped in with the US despite the fact we're fraternal twin nations (I grew up on the border, calling it as I lived it), soooo.... Monday morning hug to you. To us all. :-)
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Per usual , downvote the whole article from the main BP page to get it knocked off the primary page. Also, refrain from commenting or downvoting anything within the article since activity shows the ad companies they are popular and so BP will continue posting this garbage.
Fellow Pandas, if you think American portion sizes are big? YOu ain't been to restaurants in enough other nations. One meal at a restaurant *run by and for* locals has, in half a dozen nations, shown that they'll serve up justt as much as us Americans.... all.. the.... time.... Seriously, a day's worth of food is a meal. In some places, it's the work culture (physical labor) or the transit culture (you walk it off, believe me). You also find that people are rude, bullying, drug-dealing, manipulative jackasses everywhere, too. But *MOST* people on the planet are doing their best, and I salute them. All 7-plus billion. Whatever their language, nation, or belief system: Thank you, humanity in general, for not being judgmental twits.
I am always so confused by the American portion size thing. I’ve traveled pretty extensively through Europe and find portion sizes are comparable to most restaurants in my area and all over the states.
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As someone from Europe (I’ve lived in a few European countries), Australia has some quite American-esque stuff going on. It’s like a half way house between the UK at one end and USA on the other. Which is strange really, because most Australians I’ve met are staunchly convinced that Australia is the opposite of the USA (even if they’ve never been!). I’ve lived here in Oz for 4 years in 4 different states and travelled round extensively for a couple of years on top, so I don’t think I’ve got a narrow view of the country. NZ is more down the UK end of the scale.
Imagine If this article was titled "things in India that are weird compared to other countries." Downvoted on the spot. But no, because stereotypes are ok as long as they don't affect you! I know I'm gonna get downvoted, but this is just so cruel. Portraying america as this horrifying dystopian hellscape like everyone carries a gun and will shoot you in the head if you don't pledge allegiance to the flag, america is far from perfect, but jeezes Christ BP!
This list is full of poop. Anti US-rhetoric and I expect better, Bored Panda
Ok, I'm not American but I'm tired of these posts. Those are aspects of America well known everywhere, and some of of them I think they are hated from most of the Americans themselves (healthcare, upper education, weapons availability). Those posts aren't giving any new information anymore, they have just the goal of bashing America for things that can't be changed in a pair of years. Or you start to give some new interesting facts that I don't know, or I'm done, I'm not going to read them anymore
You forgot: 'Having an imaginary friend who lives in the sky and tells you what to do'.
I think the gist of the story is do not come to America, we suck. We eat to much, our politics are horrible, we are extremely loud, we do everything wrong. Find another country to go to because apparently only America sucks and has negative things about it. Hopefully I have cleared this up for everyone. Please stay away.
Most of it is cultural differences, nice to see one that is not Americans trashing other political parties.
I like how the commentors read the title, skipped to the comment section and ranted about things that weren't said.
Wow guys I mean me too, I thought that's common sense, I don't understand how I got here but ok keep disliking ig. I like how people just assume things about each other lol
I’m assuming you’ve never stepped foot in the US because I promise you tens of millions of people in the US are shattered, gutted, and completely behind outraged when any shooting happens here.
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Mystery Egg: I've never heard of anyone saying the US has an, "obsession" with IQ, or is more concerned about it than other nations. In fact, since 1/3 of US families/students don't care about school grades, my guess is that IQ might be more of a topic of conversation outside of the US. . . . . . . . . . . . As a final note, I'd add that in the US, a lot of humor is based on gender differences whereas in the UK a lot humour is based on class difference (which has an IQ component).
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Hi Roland, how would you like your country made fun of or your cultural shat on every single week. You wouldn't then stop calling people salty! It's obnoxious and cruel and makes you also look pretty prejudiced against a country and people. Also, not all of us commenting are from the United States. ~signed a Scot who is sick of stereotypes and lazy writing on this site.
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Gather round boys and girls! It's time for BoredPanda's weekly America is a backwater cesspool filled of cultural depravity and Europe is the paradise of cultural superiority. Honestly though, BoredPanda -ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Stop with these horribly cruel click-bait articles. You are going to lose more and more readers if you continue to cruelly stereotype an entire population of people. Stop with the horrible censorship. Stop banning good users who get down-voted by trolls. I lost my account that I had from the very beginning due to your policies yet you never ever listen to your readers. I have contacted you again and again about trolls on this site, yet I am the one who got my account banned. To other readers on this site-- please downvote articles like this. Stereotypes are cruel and it shows that BoredPanda does not care about its users.
I agree with everything you said. Unfortunately, the only response you'll get from the mods is crickets. By the way, I had the same problem with the downvote trolls and the same lack of interest from the mods (you don't think my name is actually Suzy Creamcheese, do you ;)).
Load More Replies... What exactly did the American readers do to the Bored Panda writers to deserve getting isolated and bullied every day. No wonder we are so depressed. I hate starting days like this. They’re just so mean sometimes. They keep pushing acceptance of others but I guess it only includes everyone but Americans. I miss the days where they focused on art and comics annd cat pictures and nobody felt like everyone hated them for reasons out of their control. I’m sorry I am frustrated. It hasn’t been a good last few days. Im only sad about the writers, not you guys. You guys are pretty nice.
Same feeling. Commenters are 90% awesome people, but BP articles are tiresome. Also, they often fail to identify that some of these things occur in Canada, which reallllly hates being lumped in with the US despite the fact we're fraternal twin nations (I grew up on the border, calling it as I lived it), soooo.... Monday morning hug to you. To us all. :-)
Load More Replies... Per usual , downvote the whole article from the main BP page to get it knocked off the primary page. Also, refrain from commenting or downvoting anything within the article since activity shows the ad companies they are popular and so BP will continue posting this garbage.
Fellow Pandas, if you think American portion sizes are big? YOu ain't been to restaurants in enough other nations. One meal at a restaurant *run by and for* locals has, in half a dozen nations, shown that they'll serve up justt as much as us Americans.... all.. the.... time.... Seriously, a day's worth of food is a meal. In some places, it's the work culture (physical labor) or the transit culture (you walk it off, believe me). You also find that people are rude, bullying, drug-dealing, manipulative jackasses everywhere, too. But *MOST* people on the planet are doing their best, and I salute them. All 7-plus billion. Whatever their language, nation, or belief system: Thank you, humanity in general, for not being judgmental twits.
I am always so confused by the American portion size thing. I’ve traveled pretty extensively through Europe and find portion sizes are comparable to most restaurants in my area and all over the states.
Load More Replies... As someone from Europe (I’ve lived in a few European countries), Australia has some quite American-esque stuff going on. It’s like a half way house between the UK at one end and USA on the other. Which is strange really, because most Australians I’ve met are staunchly convinced that Australia is the opposite of the USA (even if they’ve never been!). I’ve lived here in Oz for 4 years in 4 different states and travelled round extensively for a couple of years on top, so I don’t think I’ve got a narrow view of the country. NZ is more down the UK end of the scale.
Imagine If this article was titled "things in India that are weird compared to other countries." Downvoted on the spot. But no, because stereotypes are ok as long as they don't affect you! I know I'm gonna get downvoted, but this is just so cruel. Portraying america as this horrifying dystopian hellscape like everyone carries a gun and will shoot you in the head if you don't pledge allegiance to the flag, america is far from perfect, but jeezes Christ BP!
This list is full of poop. Anti US-rhetoric and I expect better, Bored Panda
Ok, I'm not American but I'm tired of these posts. Those are aspects of America well known everywhere, and some of of them I think they are hated from most of the Americans themselves (healthcare, upper education, weapons availability). Those posts aren't giving any new information anymore, they have just the goal of bashing America for things that can't be changed in a pair of years. Or you start to give some new interesting facts that I don't know, or I'm done, I'm not going to read them anymore
You forgot: 'Having an imaginary friend who lives in the sky and tells you what to do'.
I think the gist of the story is do not come to America, we suck. We eat to much, our politics are horrible, we are extremely loud, we do everything wrong. Find another country to go to because apparently only America sucks and has negative things about it. Hopefully I have cleared this up for everyone. Please stay away.
Most of it is cultural differences, nice to see one that is not Americans trashing other political parties.
I like how the commentors read the title, skipped to the comment section and ranted about things that weren't said.
Wow guys I mean me too, I thought that's common sense, I don't understand how I got here but ok keep disliking ig. I like how people just assume things about each other lol
I’m assuming you’ve never stepped foot in the US because I promise you tens of millions of people in the US are shattered, gutted, and completely behind outraged when any shooting happens here.
Load More Replies... Mystery Egg: I've never heard of anyone saying the US has an, "obsession" with IQ, or is more concerned about it than other nations. In fact, since 1/3 of US families/students don't care about school grades, my guess is that IQ might be more of a topic of conversation outside of the US. . . . . . . . . . . . As a final note, I'd add that in the US, a lot of humor is based on gender differences whereas in the UK a lot humour is based on class difference (which has an IQ component).
Load More Replies... Hi Roland, how would you like your country made fun of or your cultural shat on every single week. You wouldn't then stop calling people salty! It's obnoxious and cruel and makes you also look pretty prejudiced against a country and people. Also, not all of us commenting are from the United States. ~signed a Scot who is sick of stereotypes and lazy writing on this site.
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