People Reveal What They Think Will Be Proven Harmful Years From Now - Yahoo Life UK

I’m a lifestyle and pet writer with over a decade of experience in copywriting, covering viral animal moments, well-being topics, and lifestyle trends.

Knowing what we know now, it can be hard to believe that people in the past used toxic chemicals as makeup or went sunbathing for hours on end without a drop of SPF.

At the time, though, these habits were completely normal and not even worth a second thought. That got Reddit user u/tiredblind wondering, "What do you think is today’s version of asbestos: something we’ll only discover is harmful decades from now?" Readers did not hold back when answering the question, and these were some of their top answers:

"We already have microplastics and PFAS; also, pseudo-hormones are a good contender."

"Polyester clothing is the leading source of microplastic pollution in our oceans and household dust. It’s depressing."

"Replacing critical thinking by leaning entirely on AI."

"Scented air fresheners."

"UGH, or those laundry scent boosters. Those things make it feel like someone is attacking my sinuses with a potato peeler."

"Social media (especially algorithmically pushed). Okay, to be less completely flippant, it's mostly the algorithmic, rage-bait-inducing fight for likes and awards. I mean, asbestos was written about as a miracle product in Little House on the Prairie, and they were super sad they couldn't buy asbestos napkins. It seems fine until it isn't.

"Energy drinks. I see so many people basically addicted to them."

"It's undiagnosed ADHD people."

— u/Purple_Excitement167

"Wealth. We're currently in the 'finding out' phase of what happens when some people are allowed to hoard unsightly amounts of wealth and power."

"Long-term effects of COVID."

"I came here to say this one. Many viruses cause long-term harm or cause issues later, so I don't know why people think COVID will be different. Chicken pox causes shingles, EBV is linked to autoimmune diseases and lymphoma, HPV to cancer, and polio causes post-polio syndrome...

Not to mention the effects we're already seeing in people with long COVID."

"Disappearing second and third spaces. People are drinking less (a good thing) and working from home more (also a good thing). Lots of bars and offices are being closed as a result. While there are obviously benefits to drinking less and working remotely, the bad thing is that this is taking away a lot of in-person social interaction. People have fewer friends, fewer relationships, less sex, and are physically moving less. This is a big part of what’s driving increasing mental health issues, especially among men."

"My friend quit smoking 25 years ago. 11 years ago he picked up vaping. 9 months ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to his brain. He died 3 months ago.

It’s anecdotal, and correlation isn’t always causation. But damn, that one sucked."

"All the lint that disperses into the air when you clear out the dryer lint trap. Dryers are rock tumblers for clothes. And with so many fabrics being synthetic now, it’s microplastics straight to the lungs!"

"Spray foam insulation."

"Man, I hope not. That stuff underwent a ton of environmental review in development and is about as close to perfect as you can get for building shell sealing. If found to be a problem, it's going to have to come from a genuine class of chemicals that we don't even know to check on yet."

"Silica dust…a number of tile and countertop guys are gonna die."

"Eating factory-farmed meat. I don't know how to explain it. The mental well-being/energy should be more humane, more positive, and more natural. The meat we're eating now, they're not really even, especially, chickens anymore. So fat they can't walk, then butchered. All for what? Because we're brainwashed to think we need meat every day, every meal, or it's not a real meal; it's disgusting. My main point: I think the bad energy is in all those animals, and we absorb it in more ways than we know."

"I kind of agree. My family and I hunt, and I am so glad we do. Those deer have a great life and are killed quickly and humanely. They don't go through the hell of knowing that they are going to the slaughterhouse, crammed in a truck just to wait in line to be snuffed out. No meat gets wasted; all of it is eaten in some form or another."

"Something seemingly harmless that everyone takes. Like melatonin. Unfortunately, a lot of parents already give it to their kids instead of teaching them how to self-regulate."