'Leaving your kids at home for the night': Things that were normal 20 years ago, but unacceptable today

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Mar 31, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the mid-aughts are now history—they're twenty years old, to be exact. No matter how many of us experience it, I don't think us human beings will get used to the passage of time that only seems to get faster as we get older. 

That being said, more often than not it is best to leave the past in the past. I sure as heck don't want to retain all of the ideas and influences I picked up as a kid in the 2000s, and neither does anyone else I know who is my age. 

For all it can occasionally seem like society is reaching new lows these days, we have to remember that we have progressed in some ways. This was the subject of a recent AskReddit thread that asked about everything unacceptable in 2024, but not twenty years ago. Some of these are real throwbacks.

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  • 01
    دو עם r/AskReddit u/Enough-Afternoon8011 • 18h What is unacceptable today that was normal 20 years ago?
    via Enough-Afternoon8011

    Header image credit: Sumeet Singh

  • 02
    vast_mortality 17h Going to someone's house without knowing if they are home. Back in the day we'd be out doing stuff and say "Hey let's go see if so-and-so is around." and head to their house, knock on their door and have no idea if they were home. Nowadays if you did that they'd either think someone died or was about to.
    via vast_mortality
  • 03
    Kits 134 18h The smoking section in restaurants. It was usually separated from the non smoking area by a short wall that did absolutely nothing
    via Kits134
  • 04
    Thatoneguyonreddit28 17h Paying $6 a minute to talk to someone internationally.
    via Thatoneguyonreddit28
  • 05
    ShawshankException 17h Waiting until the weekend to text your friend on a different carrier because that's when texts and minutes were free
    via ShawshankException
  • 06
    albertnormandy 18h 256 megabyte thumb drives costing $50.
    via albertnormandy
  • 07
    -God Hates UsAll 17h Midnight releases I guess. Everything is digital now and nobody does them anymore. I miss those
    via GodHatesUsAll
  • 08
    Creative_Win4310 18h Being out of reach and not expecting to contact/reach someone at any time of day
    via Creative_Win4310
  • 09
    rocker98 17h Pantsing other kids or adult friends. I remember seeing that on TV and in cartoons with everyone laughing and the person who got painted either miffed or laughing along. Now people would see that as close to sexual harassment. Especially since sometimes the person might have gone commando or just had the waist band of the underwear come down too.
    via rocker98
  • 10
    DrVagax 16h Mid budget movies in cinemas Now here and there a good mid budget movie ends up on the big screen but they mostly end up somewhere on Netflix, to be forgotten quickly. But back then your cinema had so many more movies playing that ranged from huge blockbusters like the first Spiderman movie to mid budget drama's like Good Will Hunting
    via DrVagax
  • 11
    Lazy_Willingness9285 18h Riding in the back of a pickup truck
    via Lazy_Willingness9285
  • 12
    _forum_mod 18h Using the word "gay" to describe things that are stupid or unpleasant. Edit: Folks, thank you for the clarification, but the OP asks what is no longer acceptable, this doesn't mean the word is completely eradicated and no one uses it.
    via _forum_mod
  • 13
    Skybodenose 16h Leaving your kids at home for the day or night. I work with some people who think 13 is too young for their kid to be home on their own.
    via Skybodenose
  • 14
    RustySheriffs Badge1 18h Smoking in the car with kids. It was already kind of not the best look but I remember driving around and there were adults smoking with their kids in the backseats.
    via RustySheriffsBadge1
  • 15
    meeyeam 17h Wearing a red hat without having to explain your political affiliation.
    via meeyeam
  • 16
    Alaurableone 16h Work drinks during the day and sales teams going on to strip clubs with clients. Seems wild now that that was a regular enough thing.
    via Alaurableone
  • 17
    theassassintherapist 18h Politicians changing their opinion. Labeling John Kerry a flip flopper was exactly 20 years ago from this year.
    via theassassintherapist
  • 18
    Obvious-Dish-8801 18h Waiting at home for somebody to call you.
    via Obvious-Dish-8801
  • 19
    treyflath99 6h casual sexism and stereotypes in the workplace
    via treyflath99
  • 20
    srslywatsthepoint 18h Being a fan of Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter. OGREthe Troll 16h And Bill Cosby! Reply 97
    via srslywatsthepoint
  • 21
    Suspicious_Air5950 18h ssmoking in public, spanking your kids and phone books
    via Suspicious_Air5950
  • 22
    RainbowsandCoffee966 15h Paying bills with a check. I used to write 15-20 checks a month. Now I write about 15 a year, 12 of them for rent.
    via RainbowsandCoffee966
  • 23
    Creative_Win4310 18h Letting your kids run around the neighborhood with no supervision
    via Creative_Win4310
  • 24
    Swordbreaker9250 16h Ringtones Back in the day people paid to get cute, quirky ringtones or use their favorite song as a ringtone. Nowadays if I hear your phone ring, I automatically hate you. Turn that thing off, it should be on silent in public. Nobody wants to hear your phone., mine is on silent even at home. A vibration is enough, I don't need added sound.
    via Swordbreaker9250
  • 25
    OU blameitonmyADDbaby 17h A 40k salary being enough for an independent person to live comfortably.
    via blameitonmyADDbaby
  • 26
    Expensive Plant9323 17h The sheer volume of bodyshaming on every magazine cover. Bodyshaming still happens today to an extent, but I remember being a kid in line at the grocery store, perfectly eye level with at least 8 different magazines spewing headlines about how a celebrity "let herself go" by going from a size 0 to a size 2
    via Expensive_Plant9323

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rules behavior 2000s history acceptable nostalgia askreddit unacceptable reddit thread Reddit
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