People often reminisce about the “good old days” and the things they enjoyed back then. Simple joys that once pleased them have either lost their charm or completely disappeared because way too many folks started using them. But that’s just how the “overhype culture” works.

It can take the fun out of enjoyable things and leave original fans heartbroken when they disappear. Netizens miss many such things that were ruined by popularity. So when someone asked them to share on Reddit, they didn’t hold back. Some of them are quite relatable. Scroll down to see for yourself!

#1

In a way, traveling. Overtourism is an issue in part because idiots have no idea how to care for a space that they're in. Really, it's a privilege to travel, but these people treat it like a joke. Littering, getting drunk and trashing an area, not honoring local customs, being rude and more can destroy a place.

In addition to hurting the locals and their area, it hurts respectful travelers. One of my friends is super into national parks and has started carrying a trash bag with her to clean up after travelers.

tldr; don't be a jerk when you visit a place. Research the culture, don't liter and respect the space.

#2

Affordable college.

Anonymous:
i thought people were over-exaggerating when they said tuition went up. i graduated not even 15 years ago, and it wasn't even $1500/semester. i looked back at my own undergrad and in-state is now $16k+/semester.

#3

I used to work at Tim Hortons and we were located right beside a homeless shelter, so every night, we would take all the food that was still fresh and give it to charity. It wasn't a lot, usually like a box or timbits and about a dozen doughnuts.

Until one day, the regional manager came and shut the whole thing down. He didn't tell us why, only to *never* do it again or we will be fired. We never questioned it and just held the resentment of Tim Hortons in our hearts, like how cheap do you have to be that you would rather have us throw away consumable food!

A few months later a homeless man came in right as we were throwing food in a garbage bag. He goes, "Ahhh it's such a pity, I used to love eating your guys doughnuts until that idiot had to ruin it." My co-worker said, "yeah that's honestly messed up, corporation greed, you know?" The homeless man gave us a weird look, he goes, "nah, that's not what happened, one of them at the shelter faked choking on a timbit and tired to sue this store, that's why they cut us off.".

Cherished things can get ruined by neglect, but popularity can damage them just as much. I mean, something extraordinary that gets overused can quickly lose its original appeal and become as ordinary as anything else. Take the travel and tourism market, for instance, which has become one of the most competitive in the whole world.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), this sector is expected to contribute $12 trillion to the world economy, accounting for 9.9% of global GDP in 2026. Studies show this transformation is driven by the rise of the online travel market, the growing role of travel apps and mobile bookings, and the recent impact of artificial intelligence on travel.

Obviously, overtourism affects many simple joys, such as hassle-free travel, no long lines at security, quiet beaches, or secluded hiking routes.

#4

My parent's old apartment had this little dog park. Our greyhound loved it because she could go run every morning.

They closed it because people wouldn't pick up after their dogs. They would just leave it, despite management sending letters out.

I'm still salty about that one. Don't get a dog if you can't pick up their messes.

#5

Burning Man used to be a really cool, inclusive mini-society. Now it's just a bunch of people with WAY too much money, isolating themselves from other people in the desert by buying out huge plots of land, and excluding others from their clubhouses. Which is a stark contrast from what Burning Man was supposed to be in the first place.

#6

Youtube. Used to be about uploading amateur videos. Old school youtubers put out quality content as well. Now it's all corporate, with companies promoting their stuff, and majority of the content being bad.

EDIT: I think I should clarify a bit more -

Tutorial/Educational videos have always been good. I'm talking about entertainment. I like the newgrounds/early youtube era where people just uploaded random videos, not professionally edited with a big team working backstage and creating merchandise and whatnot. Not to mention people like Logan Paul who are just plain horrible. Also back then videos weren't click-baity or monetized.People uploaded for fun. I guess the internet just doesn't have that wild west feeling anymore.

It's why people still remember "Ah, I can't believe you've done this" over some new well produced video(although it maybe good).

Besides, overtourism can cause environmental damage or increase pollution, which totally snatches the true beauty of a place. Research from the University of Luxembourg states that tourism can lead to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, increased pollution, and overuse of natural resources.

It looked at the Toulourenc Gorges in France, where the influx of visitors (rising from 51,000 to 115,000 between 2019 and 2020) has caused significant ecological damage. Nature in that area is suffering because of tourist-driven changes. It proves that capitalism and commercialization are among the biggest culprits in driving nice things into the ground.

#7

Not long ago, most neighborhoods in the United States were surrounded by woods or meadows.

I'm not talking about formal nature preserves or national parks. These were simply open areas that businesses had not yet moved into. Kids could go there to build forts, catch bugs, and play elaborate hide and seek games. Nobody seemed to mind.

There was a patch of forest like this in my own neighborhood, up until I was about ten years old. It surrounded the back of a local baseball field.

These 30 acres included a creek where you could find salamanders in the springtime, and lots of big old hollow trees where songbirds built their nests. It was cool to go back there through each changing season. You could actually *feel* the wondrous changes taking place. I still remember the way the springtime puddles smelled, or the joy of raking up huge piles of autumn leaves to roll in. Halloween time felt extra spooky, and spring was always enchanting.

Then the land was sold to a company that wanted to build an office park. The whole place was destroyed. 18 years later, the office buildings are no more than an empty eyesore.

This same story is being replayed all across the country, and all around the world.

National parks are very important, but they offer a very different experience than "the woodlot down the street."

I see kids today in urban and suburban areas growing up with almost no access to nature. They think the outdoors are either boring or scary, because they've never had a chance to experience the beauty of unstructured play and discovery through the seasons.

I recently started up a conversation with a group of kids hanging out near the baseball field. They were amazed to hear what used to be there when I was little. It was like I was talking about a place from the world of Harry Potter.

All of them said they thought it was stupid to demolish the woods. They'd rather have a forest than an office park.
So... there may be hope.

#8

Ebay used to be this amazing multi-national garage sale. Filled to the brim with people selling their used stuff. Then people started filling it with garbage no-brand products and drop shipping it to the winning bidders. Then came the people that started using it as a store front and charging full retail value for NIB items. Now Ebay is nothing more than resellers that find it more affordable than developing an actual web store. Leaving me scratching my head wondering why people don't just order it from Amazon for $20 less, or walk to a big box store and buy it for the same price without shipping nor a wait.

I've permanently checking the "used" button and the search results have been far better, but there's still people that keep the original box and try to sell it in like new condition for full retail.

#9

Movie theaters. Etiquette is absolutely gone. My once greatest joy is gone to me because people are inconsiderate jerks who feel they can act like they're at home and ruin it for others.

I've incorporated a projector and a screen into my man cave and never looked back.

This is where the Disneyfication effect comes into play, where historical places, local customs, or other entities are transformed into trivial entertainment for tourists. When these touristy spots are changed for mass appeal, they don’t really stay the same, do they?

I mean, these businesses are after money, so they pull tricks to maximize revenue. Of course, they might see a surge in their visitors. But there’s no longer the satisfaction that comes with the original thing. That’s how we often end up falling into tourist traps, and it seems like they are multiplying by the day.

#10

Free cloud-based storage. Real tragedy of the commons.

There was a couple services in the mid 2000s which were offering free, unlimited digital storage. They were forced to shut it down after a single guy uploaded 75 *TERA*bytes onto one of these services.

#11

Fandoms. Used to be, there could be big fandoms without fights and ships were just for fun and no one trying to harass people into making them canon.

I don't care if my ship doesn't become canon. I will ship it anyways.

#12

Video games.

Now it's all about showing off how much money you or your parents have. Gamer mouses, keyboards, chairs, even gamer MATS. To hell with this whole 'hot gamer boi/gurl' nonsense.

Travel isn’t the only sector looking grim, as people feel education and housing aren’t what they used to be. Sadly, education has turned into a business. Research shows the US higher education market was valued at $6.84 billion in 2025 and is estimated to reach $7.62 billion in 2026.

Once something becomes a business, it runs on profit, and revenue takes priority over its original purpose, which is educating young minds. Students are treated like customers, and the admissions process becomes a marketing game for universities.

Rising admissions and textbook costs are hardly a surprise when educational institutions are after students’ money. No wonder 25% of American adults aged 18 to 39 years report having student loan debt.

#13

Rap.

Where do I start. Let’s make this simple.

In the 90’s rap used to be about people explaining about their lives and hobbies, with decent beats. They would talk about their life, friends, school, etc while trying to combine it to rap. Fascinating. Not only that, but you had to be a good rapper to get big on rap.

Nowadays? It is just all about Girlfriends, Money, Toxic relationships, and other things. Nowadays, all you have to do to become a famous rapper is to mumble and speak gibberish. It is really sad it come to this point.

#14

Unlimited data.. true unlimited data. I know there were other reasons obviously greed being one of them but people were torrenting like crazy off their cellphones data package and i believe it was a huge part of the moving away from unlimited data. Now obviously streaming has exacerbated the issue but people on their android phones torrenting movies and tv shows and god knows what else.

#15

We used to keep our church doors open 24/7. But then vandals wrecked that so we locked up at night. Then we left it open during the days on Saturdays and vandals wrecked that. So now we keep the place locked up except almost exclusively during banking hours and Sundays mornings.

Housing used to be a basic human need, but it has now evolved into a global commodity. According to the Harvard Business Review, “The US is experiencing a serious housing crisis, and has been for a long time. Rent growth continues to outpace overall price inflation. Mortgage rates have been at a multi-decade high. Tens of millions of households spend more than 30% of their income on housing.”

In fact, things got so severe that a National Housing Crisis Task Force was founded in 2024. Buying a house seems like an outrageous idea for many Americans. I mean, with the increasingly exorbitant rates, you can hardly blame them.

#16

Being a photographer... Everyone seems to 'be' a photographer... Meaning if you're an insta person or a celebrity, basically a big following you get booked for gigs despite not knowing anything about photography.

edit: I'm not saying people need to know technical side of photography! natural talent is brilliant. I mean bad photos being widely praised just because of a person's following.

#17

I belong to a small, local 24-hour gym. They used to have small white towels (hand-sized) that you could use while you worked out. There was a laundry basket you could throw them in as you were leaving. They’re weren’t great quality, in fact they were rather rough from being washed every day, but they were nice to wipe down your treadmill, wipe your face, etc.

Last month I enter the gym & there’s a sign stating that they’re no longer stocking the towels because people are stealing them. WHAT. Why would anyone steal these small, scratchy towels? It’s probably the gym rats who forget to put them in the basket and now have a huge collection in their trucks. Pisses me off.

#18

In Australia there are/were a series of giant inland lakes in the dessert - collectively known as Menindee Lakes.
Beautiful, natural diverse ecosystems, fun people-activities, and genuinely wondrous.
Then the Australian government sold farm up-river to water-intensive overseas cotton farms and didn’t restrict their water use. The river started flowing in reverse. Menindee lakes almost never fill anymore.

People believe social media is another thing popularity has sabotaged. It was fun when Facebook or Instagram was just to stay in touch with our friends. It was optional, but now it’s inescapable. Notifications, algorithms, and FOMO have hooked millions. However, experts have raised alarms about how these apps have become destructive.

Nancy DeAngelis, Director of Behavioral Health at Jefferson Health, claims, “Social media platforms drive surges of dopamine to the brain to keep consumers coming back over and over again. The shares, likes, and comments on these platforms trigger the brain’s reward center, resulting in a high similar to the one people feel when gambling or using substances.”

#19

The comfort of knowing that your children were safe from polio and smallpox and measles because people vaccinated their kids, because OF COURSE PEOPLE VACCINATED THEIR KIDS BECAUSE DUH.

#20

There used to be an annual free garage sale near me. People would bring in boxes of things to donate, volunteers would set them out on tables, and everyone could take what they wanted. Then a couple of people pretended to be volunteers and loaded the boxes of donations directly into their own cars. A lot was also stolen from the church that hosted the event, including the stool from their organ. They no longer have the free garage sale.

#21

Where i lived KFC had a policy where you buy one cup of ice cream for 1€ and you can refill it as many times as you want....

Some 15 yo's just came every day, basically lived there. It was evident that KFC would stop it.

Also, let’s not forget how these apps have turned authenticity into fake perfection to trap young minds. Researchers warn that social media is here to stay and will keep evolving and becoming more invasive. They also emphasize that it can negatively impact our overall well-being by fueling anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

It’s sad to see that what was once an innocent way to stay connected is now being misused as a tool of mass surveillance. It’s only natural that people who used the older versions of these apps miss how simple, non-political, and fun they originally were.

#22

Myrtle Beach used to be amazing. A few hotels, a bunch of houses and a lot of empty beachfront property with parking. Then the tourists found it. Now its a shithole that badly needs a category 7 or so hurricane to clean it really good. The same goes for most of the smaller cities and beaches north and south of MB. Pawley's Island, Murrell's Inlet, Huntingon Beach, Georgetown, all of them s**k now.

#23

School is pretty close to prison, we aren't allowed to stand in lunch, can't walk in the halls without escort, and can't go anywhere overnight for a senior trip.

#24

Buying concert tickets.
Professional scalpers ruined it; the internet made it even worse, turning regular people into scalpers... It's such a rigged system, but as our 'lawmakers' don't care about common folk stuff like this, they don't care.

While we have discussed some of the most common “once-good” things people miss, there are many others. Online gaming, driving, free perks in different places, and the job market are all also things people reminisce about from the good old days. But what about you? Can you relate to any of these? Let us know in the comments.

Also, if you enjoyed this list, you should check out these images to take you back to simpler times, or these pictures to bring you back to your childhood!

#25

Buying tickets online.

it used to be easy. now i have to choose all the squares with a car in them to prove i'm not a bot, log in with a password i forgot, get my password link sent to my email address, change my password, prove i'm not a bot again, pick seats, confirm seats, and pay an extra $20 for a convenience fee.

#26

Pensions, retirement & having a career with a company for more than 10 years. Stupid boomers, greedy corporate jerks & government ruined all that for everyone.

#27

Being a kid.

Time was you could roam around your neighborhood, ride your bike to a nearby park, explore the woods behind your house, or whatever.

On a typical summer day, you'd get kicked out of your house and told to come home when the streetlights came on.

You had freedom to roam and explore and create and play, and yes to get beat up by bullies and chased by stray dogs and maybe fall down and cut yourself.

But you were free to explore and learn and figure things out on your own, and it was awesome.

Now, we have the norm (at least in the US) that children ought to be under adult supervision every minute of every day. We take them from one supervised activity to the next, handing them off like some kind of nuclear code briefcase. Parents are afraid to leave their kid in the car while they run into the store for a few minutes because someone might call the police on them, and they can and have been charged with a crime. This is ludicrous to me, all things being equal. It's one thing to leave your kid sat in the car reading a book or playing a game on his tablet when weather is a concern; that could be neglect or a***e if it's too hot, for instance. But if it's in the shade and it's a cool 65F out and you're just picking up grandma's prescription real quick?

I just don't understand.

I don't get helicopter parenting, and how it came to be the norm, to the point parents can be charged with actual crimes for doing nothing more than letting their kid alone for a few minutes. It's just baffling to me.

#28

People used to read the articles and be informed. Now I feel like people skip to the comments to get the gist of what was actually written/said. So whoever invented the comments section ruined reading.

#29

Manners a lot of the time. Extremes on both sides ruined it. People made saying "yes sir/ma'am" some kind of domance issue and the other extreme made people who say "yes sir'ma'am" are just lame tools.

#30

When I was young, the internet had netizens.

People who were like me. People I'd call friends even if we hadn't met yet.

Then the rest of you jerks showed up.

Now only smouldering heaps of memes remain.

#31

Deviant Art, at least 10-15 years ago. It used to have a lot of great art and now it's overrun by furries and Sonic. I have nothing against furries, but now there's a ton of low quality doodles/f****h art. I don't browse art sites now, but towards the end of when I still would, I'd go to pixiv instead for more quality and diverse content.

#32

We had free vending machines at work awhile back. You could have some chips for your lunch if you forgot some, a drink, maybe a snack to tide you over before work was out... And then people would empty the freaking machines taking stuff home. Thanks, guys.

#33

Extremely generous return policies at places like REI and Costco.

#34

College Books, my dad spent ~$50 per semester and my great uncle spent ~$20. I’ve spent $500. I know inflation bumps up the price every few years but Jesus have the a******s in the industry been f*****g us over.

#35

Facebook. I'm not saying it was amazing but it was so different my freshmen year of college. It was fun to upload photos and connect with people you met in class, etc. Now there are a ton of middle aged people with their political opinions (on both sides) and acting like they're better than everyone who is mourning Mac Miller (while you're crying over this celebrity, I'm thinking of the 3 veterans who commit s*****e every day, repost to show you care!). Just really sick of all of my aunts & uncles on Facebook with their stupid opinions.
ETA: obviously I can unfriend those people and I have. I'm just saying the whole "vibe" of the site is different. Maybe its just me getting old but I'll take first day of school pictures over politics & "buy my MLM" s**t any day.

#36

Decent discussion about politics. It’s literally only shut-flinging and is almost completely counterproductive and just divides people.

#37

I watched my childhood apartment pool get filled in with literal tons of cheap sand because people kept a*****g it and the landlords didn’t want the hassle of maintaining it anymore.

#38

Online Gaming......... used to be fun until hackers and overall toxic beings ruined the experience.

#39

Comedy and/or fun - oriented sites like Cracked and...well, 9GAG (please have mercy, it used to be my go-to site before here). Used to be hubs for some pretty hilarious original (and even sometimes informative) content. Now they're just copy-paste ripoffs just as bad as Buzzfeed that primarily get their content from Reddit.

#40

Nature. Big cruise ships require dredging in fragile caribbean ecosystems. In Indonesia I climbed Rinjani and the guides burned their trash and just left whatever sitting around after. In Thailand I watched people on the train just toss their coke bottles out the window into the forest. I've seen the same thing out west. Pick up after yourself and if your idea of vacation is a cruise, just blow a fan in your face and snort some sunscreen.

#41

Having a beer on the beach (grew up in SoCal.) 99% of people were fine and responsible. Only took a select few i****s to get hammered on a 100 degree day, leave bottles everywhere and then go drown.

#42

Documentaries on anything sort of complicated.

I am incredibly interested in aviation, and some things just make me mad. Take this as an example: there are two documentaries on YouTube about the DC-3, one older one when DC-10s were a common sight, and a newer one made by the Smithsonian. Guess which one is shorter, has little to no music, and gives you the point straight up. Now guess which one is filled with epic music, tense scenarios, 45 minutes long, and diverts to different planes many times. There is also something called “The Propeller, Explained” which is a very informative 25min film that looks like it was made in the 1980s about the physics of propellers.

Now try and see if any documentary film made today accomplished what the old DC-3 documentary and “The Propeller, Explained” did.

#43

Free condiments in fast food restaurants. Europe already pays and I'm starting to see it in America. I blame the a******s who would steal a gallon of honey mustard.

#44

Toys in cereal boxes.

#45

Driving. Now there's too many d**n people on the road, most of whom do NOT need to be licensed to drive, that cannot use common sense, move along, follow traffic, and understand that they are not the only vehicle trying to get somewhere.

#46

I had 2 xbox 360s. But limited editions and both gifts from my wife years apart. I had a good friend that was going to collage and sad he did not have a xbox. He was going to be able to buy one but it was going to take a few months. So I lent him the one I was not playing. He had it for several years. Which is fine except that he has a dumb@&' friend who basically treating it like garbage. Got it back and it was banged up, disk tray motor worked like c**p, memory card slots were broken. I was so pissed, one ok f my favorite gifts from my wife due to the meaning behind it. I had to sell it because every time I looked at it I would get so upset. Still mad that he let his friend treat other people stuff so bad.

#47

My Little Pony. Two of my best friends introduced me to it in college when I was in the middle of a breakdown, and it was so cute and wholesome and good and made me feel like not everything is horrible.

And then the brony nation attacked.

#48

VH1. They used to have great shows like Behind the Music, Pop-up Video and Classic Albums. Plus they made some really good original movies as well. Then literally overnight they turned into E!, but only stupider if that's even possible.

#49

Anyone mention kinder eggs in the US?

It may not be a super nice thing, but I remember how much I loved them growing up in Canada. I live in the US now, and a few years ago when they got banned I was incredibly upset! It was so fun when my mom would buy me a little chocolate egg with a small toy inside. The chocolate isn’t bad and it was a fun little surprise toy during a time when my mom and I didn’t have much.

I still buy them when I can. I may not play with the toy like I used to, but I tend to hang onto the toy for a long time because it’s a little piece of home.

#50

My hometown turned a recently vacant Bus Depot into a street art center. The walls were open to be painted on, you could do events there, and it was open normal park hours (dusk til dawn usually). Within the first months or so of being open it was covered with all sorts of art. Then towards the end of the summer during the first year, some kids beat the security guard with their skateboards. Been closed since AFAIK, I moved away a few years ago.

#51

Teleworking,

we use to have one day a week, that got taken away. We then went to situational teleworking where if you had a Dental, Doctors appointment, or sick family you could take the day.

But someone decided to start teleworking 25 out of 40 days after receiving teleworking.

Now nobody gets teleworking privileges period.

#52

Micro Machines. One of my favorite toy collections that now aren't around because of choking probably.

#53

Minor auto accidents, fender benders, when people shrugged, exchanged insurance info, and got the damage fixed. Now too many people call a personal injury attorney and try to get "all the money they deserve" for injuries that don't amount to anything.

#54

Dating and flirting with people at work and school, even being affectionate in any way. So many people have a****d their power situations over the years it's just easier now to make a blanket rule against everything.

#55

Wine tasting.

It used to be that if you were planning a nice dinner or picking up wine for holiday meals (or for whatever reason) you would go to the winery and they would suggest pairings for you, you would taste a few samples and then buy the bottle(s) you wanted. Or you would politely tell them you are going to try a different winery.

The word got out that wine tasting is "free" and every s******d who wanted to get drunk for "free" showed up. Nowadays every winery (in California) charges for tastings and instead of having a nice experience, you have to fight yuppies and their dates, bachelorette parties screaming and wooooing, etc...for space at the bar.

#56

I'd say "Geek/Nerd Culture" was a place for bullied outcasts to hang around. Then ten years ago, said bullies jumped on the bandwagon and bought their toxicity with them.

#57

Making a joke without some being offended.

#58

L.L Bean used to have an unlimited return policy (lifetime warranty), but then a**holes started to take advantage of it and they stopped doing it.

#59

The internet. There could have been a ton of low-cost services that could have been ad-free, easy to use, fun to use.

We are so intolerant of advertisements, and so resistant to paying for anything, that the whole way we pay for any service on the internet has to be secretive, underhanded, and deceptive. Internet services cost money, and we refuse to directly pay the costs, so they 'steal it back' from us, by data gathering, and manipulation of content.

Imagine if large social media networks were 'really cheap' instead of 'free'. Then, Facebook, Google, Reddit, and other big firms would be making money by having billions of little payments, instead of manipulating every bit of content, or monitoring every bit of data. We wouldn't have to worry about privacy, or being watched. Websites would be attempting to be more useful and pleasant, instead of being so controlling.

#60

Rick and Morty, I can't even watch the show anymore without cringing at myself.

60 Simple Joys People No Longer Take Pleasure In As They Were Ruined After Becoming Mainstream

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