With technology and nearly everything around us developed in leaps and bounds nowadays, it’s clear that innovation has become one of the driving forces for change in our world. However, not all inventions or innovative solutions have resulted in positive change only, which is why some people would rather that they weren’t invented in the first place.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed what things they would like to “dis-invent” if they had a chance. With answers ranging from cigarettes to social media, netizens provided some interesting perspectives, which you can find on the list below. Scroll down to view their answers and learn what inventions might not have changed our world for the better.
This post may include affiliate links.
Influencers.
Why can't I upvote this more than once? Influencers are a boil on the a**e end of humanity.
Pop-up ads.
ChefExcellent13:
The creator of them even apologized for creating them.
Mandatory cookies to view websites.
Or if you can opt out, not making it as simple as “object all” on 95% of websites, often hiding extra cookies under legitimate interest without making it clear you need to object to those too.
Certain dog breeds, like all the brachycephalic (flat-nosed dogs such as frenchies and bull dogs).
The tipping option when I check out on those computers at the checkout counter.
Euphoric_Wolf7227:
Maybe tips in general. Just pay people for the work they do.
Never had one do this to me.... Yet. But yeah, self checkout, NOPE!
Those nearly-blinding, unnecessarily bright car head lamps.
I hate them... with a passion! I get blinded every time, because not only they're unnecessarily bright, but people are jerks as well and do not set them at a lower angle as to not be so disturbing...
Spam calls, robo calls, phishing emails.
I started blocking them one at a time as they called. It took a long time, 9 months to a year of blocking consistently, but I don't get them any more.
Cars with screens on the dash. Give me back my buttons and dials goddamn it!!
For Real! The old buttons were clunky but you could feel them without looking at them!
Planned obsolescence.
Jealous-Network1899:
Here’s my go to planned obsolescence example. My mom bought her first microwave in 1984. It’s traveled to 3 houses and still works perfect. She redid her kitchen and got all new appliances EXCEPT for a microwave. I have lived out of the house for 23 years and have had at least 7 microwaves. They keep cr*pping out and I buy a new one. That is planned obsolescence in a nutshell.
Landmines. Seriously. They f**k up people long after wars are finished.
Redshift_1:
There’s an estimated 800,000 TONS of unexploded ordnance still in Vietnam, that would take hundreds of years to clear out. For context, the bomb dropped in Hiroshima had a yield of about 15,000 tons of TNT.
The medical insurance industry.
Perturabo_Iron_Lord:
The problem with modern insurance is that it’s been completely corrupted with the drive for profit. In a pure form insurance has the potential to be incredibly beneficial to the people who use it, but the profit incentive causes companies to use every trick and loophole in the book to not give out what is owed.
Insurance should be 100% NON-PROFIT! Like Social Security and Medicare.
Our two-tiered justice system; One for the wealthy and politically connected, and one for the rest of us.
That dumb paper sticker that gets put on stuff that is IMPOSSIBLE to remove cleanly.
Subscription services. Either let me try it for free then buy it full Price or let me rent it and charge me only for the amount of time I used it for.
Of course, it doesn't apply to everything. Subscriptions make sense for something like Apple Music, Xbox Game Pass or Costco, but I don't want to have to pay Adobe 60 dollars a month for Photoshop when I could just rent a license. You don't subscribe to a car, you just rent it for how many days you need it for.
Well, some of the car manufacturers are trying to introduce subscriptions for some features.
Phones and computers in which you can't easily replace the battery.
I remember those times. It was dead easy to change the battery, and there's no advantage in today's phones for the customers.
Social media.
DestinyInDanger:
This! It was innocent in the MySpace days. Then Facebook came along and everything after that ruined it. I don't see anything good that has come of it. Nothing but toxicity, hate, division and arguing.
We don't need to dis-invent it... Just stop making it the center of everything! If it loses relevance, then it loses power/influence! It worked for me, and I don't have any social media account for the last 5 years or so!
Nuclear bomb probably. Let's put that back in Pandora's box.
The nuclear bomb was the better of two bad options. Had it not been used against Japan to force an end to WW2, the US was fully ready to invade Japan. Conservative estimates of the casualties from such an invasion would be well in excess of 1 million US soldiers, and untold countless Japanese civilians and soldiers. It was enough that the war department commissioned some 2 million purple heart medals, expecting to have to issue them for the one invasion. Those same medals are still being issued today, and no new order for medals has been given since 1945.
Patents for Insulin.
lutz164:
I'd say medicinal patents In general, let the prices fall, and the diabetics rejoice.
The packages they put scissors in… that you need scissor to open. Wtf?
Household appliances that are tied to subscription services.
Then don't buy "smart" devices, lol! Vote with your dollars instead of complaining.
Vapes. Tossed mine in the trash an hour ago, though.
Yeah, nah. I've had mine (which required a prescription) for 2 months now, and in that time I have not smoked a single ciggie. Prior to getting it I was smoking up to 30 a day.
A lot of inventions mentioned here that have had positive outcomes alongside of negative ones. HOA’s however may look good on paper, but hath wrought no good to this world.
Glitter. I seriously consider it to be the worst human invention.
The worst human invention? Not lie Phosgene ot VX or White Phosphorous? Glitter huh?
CAPTCHA. That's not a motorcycle, that's a moped. And I still don't think the rider should count as part of the motorcycle.
I remember getting one that said "crosswalk".... We don't have those in the country I live in (although we have similar). I was baffled, as to whether the road markings, signposts and overhead lights all counted as "crosswalk"
AI.
OftheGates:
AI for practical purposes like medicine is great. But generative AI in the way we're mostly seeing it applied has the dual effect of putting us in an information dark age by making anything able to be fabricated, while also ruining industries based on art. Hands down my choice for what needs to be disinvented.
Advertising. The primary goal of advertising is to manufacture desire, and the Buddhists are on to something with the claim that desire is the root of all suffering. It’s the enemy of being content and satisfied with your life. It’s an omnipresent lie that’s repeated over and over that says this or that product will finally make you happy when it never will. It’s contributed to the worst parts of consumer capitalism. Cigarettes, the obesity epidemic, and more generally the mass overconsumption that has led to the rapid degradation of our planet.
Plastic.
Kozakyw:
A gift, and a curse.
Plastic is the best invention. Single-use and disposable and non-biodegradable is the problem.
Agent orange, the chemical not the band.
This one gets me hot. My dad served during Nam and now he has diabetes and neuropathy. The government gives him an extra 200$ in benefits a month. This is total BS!
The algorithms used by real-estate moguls to buy up new homes the moment they're listed on the market.
My sister is looking for a house in Minneapolis. A house they found was listed on a Thursday evening. By the time they submitted their offer on that Sunday morning (3 days later), there were 22 other offers on the table. 5 of them were higher than hers with no contingency on inspection.
Everything that Thomas Midgley Jr invented - specifically leaded gasoline and CFCs (the things that destroyed the ozone layer).
He is the person in history who can be directly attributed to the most environmental damage done by the inventions of a single person.
Leaded gasoline didn't cause as much environmental damage as you might think. At least, specifically, not in relation to the ozone layer, and pollution itself. The issue with leaded gasoline was it released elemental lead into the air which had a marked affect on brain activity and higher crime rates.
Autocorrect. It's like that well-meaning friend who jumps into your conversations with totally off-base corrections. You’re trying to type something heartfelt or important, and it’s over there like, “Did you mean 'duck'? No, Autocorrect, I did not mean to tell my boss I'll have the report done 'ducking soon.
Micro-transactions and live-service games have completely ruined the videogame industry and I don’t see it ever recovering.
40 hour workweek. F**k that guy.
Before the 40 hour work week there was the 50 - 60 hour work week. Working Monday through Saturday was the norm.
Note: this post originally had 59 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
This should absolutely be the number one answer,lol😋
Load More Replies...
Surprised no one mentioned Amazon. People complain Amazon kills local businesses and mistreats workers but you won't stop buying from them.
And Walmart. Payment so low most of the workers on medicaid.
Load More Replies...
Notice how "influencers" is #1 and landmines is #12? We humans certainly have strange priorities.
Yes, but we are more touched by influencers than landmines. If I lived where landmines were it would be higher in my priorities.
Load More Replies... This should absolutely be the number one answer,lol😋
Load More Replies... Surprised no one mentioned Amazon. People complain Amazon kills local businesses and mistreats workers but you won't stop buying from them.
And Walmart. Payment so low most of the workers on medicaid.
Load More Replies... Notice how "influencers" is #1 and landmines is #12? We humans certainly have strange priorities.
Yes, but we are more touched by influencers than landmines. If I lived where landmines were it would be higher in my priorities.
Load More Replies...