18 Outrageous Things Americans Are Ready to Ban Forever
As times change, many Americans would wish certain things weren’t around anymore. Their list of things to get rid of includes daily annoyances and outdated practices that serve no purpose.
These have frustrated and gone out of place to the point where people are willing to move on from them. Reasons calling for these bans are pretty straightforward: they’re annoying, not necessary, or simply don’t fit into today’s world.
On that note, here are some things Americans are ready to ban forever.
1. Daylight Saving Time
Many in the United States are ready to get rid of Daylight Saving Time once and for all. You may well be one of them, at least if this twice-a-year time change wreaks havoc on your sleep schedule.
The initiative that began by saving energy grew into some sort of annoying tradition, which just doesn’t make any sense nowadays. People get frustrated and have health problems due to shifting the clocks.
You might have heard about the rising car accidents and other issues during the time change. With more and more states considering keeping time uniform all year, banning Daylight Saving Time is becoming quite popular.
2. Robocalls
Most Americans are simply fed up and would like to ban robocalls. Daily life is disrupted each minute by these annoying rings and messages, mostly marketing calls or scams.
Though it takes a minute to answer them, the robocalls have invaded the privacy and disturbed the peace of mind of many Americans. The people want stronger rules to block these intrusive calls for good.
3. Single-Use Plastics
One huge problem that most Americans really wish to see banned forever is single-use plastics. These include plastic straws, bags, and utensils that, though only used for a few minutes, take hundreds of years to break down.
You might use them every day without giving it a second thought, but ultimately, they do pile up in landfills, dirty oceans, and hurt wildlife. People have just about had enough of seeing single-use plastics everywhere when better alternatives can be available.
4. Spam Emails
For most Americans, spam emails are something they would rather ban. You know how annoying it is when you open your inbox and realize that it is full of unwanted messages.
These e-mails fill up space, waste your time, and sometimes bring other risks like scams or malware with them. Continuous filtering of these e-mails can even mean you miss an important message from your insurance or bank, for example.
5. Celebrity Gossip
Celebrity gossip is something that many of us Americans are ready to leave behind once and for all. You must know how celebrity gossip dominates news, social media, and even casual conversations.
It’s all about who’s dating whom and what recent scandals have taken place. It’s endless speculation about people you don’t even know. Continuous focus on celebrities is exhausting and distracting from meaningful issues.
6. Loud Commercials
Loud commercials can get frustrating. You know those that suddenly come on at full blast from your TV or from your radio, startling you right out of your show or your music?
It is a real pain to dive for the volume button, especially when you’re trying to unwind. These overly loud ads disrupt your peace and really degrade your viewing or listening experience.
7. Unsolicited Advice
Unsolicited advice is annoying and perhaps unwelcome. You must have come across somebody who gives his or her opinion or advice if not asked for. That definitely is intrusive and makes any person feel uneasy, especially when the advice is not of any help or holds no relevance to the situation.
Sometimes, all people want is to be heard or understood — perhaps not told how to do things. You could have more meaningful and supportive conversations where your thoughts and feelings are listened to without unsolicited advice.
8. Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is not only annoying; it’s dangerous. If someone texts when they’re at the wheel, then they’re not paying attention to the road and risk endangering everyone around them.
You have no doubt witnessed it yourself — a driver weaving or suddenly hitting the brakes because he is more concerned with his phone than operating his vehicle in safely. Many people feel that this practice should just be ended once and for all.
9. Overpriced Concert Tickets
It’s gotten to a point where people are really frustrated with the price of concert tickets, and some are even demanding an end to ticket scalping. It’s an act of buying up tickets to resell at inflated prices.
Fans are tired of not being able to see their favorite artists because they get priced out by scalpers and ticket bots. That’s why many are calling to ban ticket scalpers and want the tickets to be resold for a fair price.
10. Junk Mail
Many Americans are tired of dealing with junk mail. Is there anything more frustrating than opening the mailbox and finding it full of unwanted advertisements and promotions instead of real letters?
You know that you are going to throw most of it right into the trash, like searching through all that paper, which is such a waste of time. In the process, your home gets cluttered and it hurts the environment.
11. Automated Customer Service
Automated customer service is probably a thorn in your side. You call in for help, and you have to deal with endless menus and robotic voices. It can be such a hassle.
The process of getting the help you need is most often really challenging. Sometimes, you spend more time listening to prompts than actually solving your issue.
12. Pop-Up Ads
Pop-up ads that blink or interrupt the browsing experience make the top list of hated ad formats, and people generally consider them intrusive. Most Americans won’t mind abolishing these ads for far less invasive marketing methods.
It’s not just the fact that they’re interruptive but the fact that some of them may be touting malware or other unwanted downloads. The more ad-blocking software comes into its own, the louder this call for a pop-up ad ban will become.
13. Influencer Culture
It can be tiring to see how influencers on social media push products or lifestyles. Endless promotions and perfect images might be too overwhelming and unreal. To the point of it being very hard to trust anything on the internet.
So many of us are genuinely prepared to go beyond the influencer culture. It is time for real relationships and authentic content — not just a feed full of ads and unrealistic depictions of life.
14. Automatic Tips
Automatic tipping is becoming such a frustration to so many people. You eat out or go to an event to find out they have already added the tip to the bill, which is unfair, especially not having had the kind of service you would pay for.
Maybe what you want is simply to have the freedom to decide how much to tip, which will always depend on how good your service is. Several people see the abolition of obligatory tipping as a move toward a situation where dining out and other service experiences are transparent and fair.
15. Online Trolling
Outrageous things that Americans are ready to ban forever include online trolling, which is a serious matter. Probably, you have been trolled or have gone through some nasty comments that really distract you from being online. Some may even influence your mental health.
Many people believe the internet would be a much more positive and respectful place for everyone without trolling. Online trolling is mostly being argued to be banned or strictly moderated to save users from its negativity and harassment.
16. Food Waste
Food waste is increasingly becoming a problem, and most Americans are now supporting bans against practices that cause this. For instance, food outlets like supermarkets do get rid of perfectly good food. Sometimes, people buy more than they can use and end up wasting food unnecessarily.
The extra food is donated and composted, and people are told to become aware of what they eat. People have become more environmentally and ethically conscious, which has generated a public outcry to do something about food waste.
17. Unhealthy School Lunches
Many people are frustrated with the unhealthy school lunches dished out. You may have noticed that many of these meals contain too much sugar, fat, and processed ingredients, which are harmful to health in the long term.
Because of this, there is a growing cry to ban low-quality school lunches and a demand for better-quality ones. You want school lunches that are nutritious and support kids’ well-being.
18. Predatory Payday Loans
One of the major problems that many people wish to see abolished once and for all is predatory payday loans. These loans normally have very high interest rates with hidden fees attached, trapping their clients by pushing them deep into debt.
If you have ever had a situation requiring payday loans, you will understand how quickly it may get out of hand. Huge pressure is building up to abolish these terrible lending practices.
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