People Are Calling Out Industries That Are Actually "Scams," And It's Eye-Opening
A while back, we wrote a post where Reddit users shared the industries they think should no longer exist. In the comments, readers from the BuzzFeed Community shared more "problematic" industries they think are really scams. Here's what they had to say — as well as the original comments that started a huge discussion:
1."Corporations owning single-family homes. Airbnb. Both have destroyed the housing market."
2."Tanning salons. No one should be allowed to own a UVB booth/bed except for medical professionals like dermatologists."
3."Telemarketers. All of the telemarketing calls I get, either from bots or real people, call me using phone numbers spoofed from my contacts list. I can't refuse to answer a call from my daughter, but I'm really pissed when it's not my daughter calling but some scammer using my daughter's phone number."
4."I block any YouTube channel that makes videos about their family. You are selling your child's face and life for profit, and you don't deserve children. I hope the trend of family vloggers leaves one day — they are toxic."
5."Food companies who pay scientists to make processed food deliberately more addictive and then also pay other scientists to make 'diet' foods to get people addicted and provide a fake cure for the illness and dependency they created."
"Then, tose same companies blame consumers when the 'diet' eventually fails."
6."Fast fashion. Clothes that are made to be ultra-disposable. It's places that look at trends and make trendy clothes so cheaply that are going to fall apart in a year, but that doesn't matter to the consumer because next year they want to buy next year's trends, anyway."
"Fast fashion is terrible for the environment (fashion accounts for 20-35% of the microplastic that end up in the ocean), terrible for the workers (93% aren't paid a living wage, child labor, and bonded labor are not uncommon, and many of the factories are unsafe)."
7.Ticket companies are evil beyond evil. All the bots get the good seats, price them in the thousands and the fans are out of luck. Something needs to be done and fast!"
"Those ticket companies are disgusting, I bought tickets to a concert recently that included a soundcheck party and a meet and greet with the band. The band canceled the soundcheck party, and the ticketing company refused to do a partial refund, so I had to either cancel the entire ticket, including the meet and greet, or just lose the money for the soundcheck party. It's not my fault I'm not going to the soundcheck party — just give me my money back."
8."Everything as a subscription. As a tech worker, I understand why this is so popular, but god, do I hate it."
I can no longer use Microsoft Word because it’s a subscription, and my sister, who wants to go into graphic design, can’t use Adobe Photoshop because it’s a subscription. It’s ridiculous. How are people supposed to even try and get into the career they want when they can’t afford the tools? She’d be able to save up for a one-time payment, but she can’t afford the added cost every month.
9."The cruise ship industry. They’re not good for ocean life or the general environment. They’re floating Petri dishes."
—pol1
10."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 gray a-holes 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. In my opinion, getting rid of them could be legislation worthy, given that they interfere with federally owned debts."
11."COVID resulted in such an alarming rise of MLMs and other 'entrepreneur'/'be your own boss'/'girl boss' on social media that it honestly is mind-boggling. Ironically, and unsurprisingly, every person I know that got into one of these during COVID has gone onto a different, more stable job but did so only after going into debt pretty heavily."
12."Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Look them up. They’re basically bloodsucking middlemen who sit between hospitals and health insurers. They were 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."
13."Child modeling and anything to do with children being publicized on social media."
"I get children modeling children’s clothes for shops and stuff, but when they make 10-year-olds look 20 and 'sexy,' it's just creepy."
14."Breeders should not exist period. The thought of forcing your pet to get pregnant and have babies just to take them away is gross. Sorry not sorry."
15."The people who make college textbooks cost $2,000!"
16."Car dealerships. Give me my direct to consumer sales. Death to the sleazy middlemen!"
17."For-profit prisons. The problem is purposely targeting and incarcerating people JUST SO they can put them in a for-profit prison. If they didn’t exist at all, a lot of those criminals would never have been labeled as such in the first place."
18."Coal mining and associated industries. We can transition — it would be good for the economy, our health, and our future, but there isn't the political willpower to do it at the moment."
19."Gambling. It's a massive issue in Ireland and the UK; there's betting shops everywhere. I'm sure its the same in other countries and destroying lives. Can't go anywhere or watch any sport without having it shoved down your throat."
20."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."
21."Health insurance. I need medicine. Doctor says I need medicine. An insurance person with no medical training isn’t so sure. Maybe they approve it short term. It works. But insurance wants to be sure. So, it’s only approved for six months. Then, I have to fight every six months. I have to pay $7,000 every January. Insurance will pay the least possible to make my life semi-livable."
"Insurance is extremely profitable. And people die because some guy needs a third home and a private jet."
22."Single-use plastic bottled water. Water in convenient packaging is not itself a bad thing. The problem is more in how we've come to use them in an unsustainable way."
23."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."
24."Factory animal farming. 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."
"I was raised on a small family farm. I agree, factory farming has to go. Family farms treat their animals well and 'give them a good life.' They were bed and bedded every morning before we were allowed to eat. They all had a name. We knew less stressed animals made a better product."
And finally...
25."Child beauty pageants. I enjoyed doing one as a child. It was just 'dress up pretty' and 'walk on stage.' BUT there wasn't any heavy makeup or swimsuit contests or any super photoshopped photos."
What are some other industries that you think should no longer exist? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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