Lately I have found myself annoyed as all get out by some of these ridiculous trends. Come on, you know you are sick and tired of these, too. What would you add to my list?
- Fancy clothes for pets. I mean really, I can live with the fancy pet toys and the expensive pet food. But recently I saw fur-trimmed pet clothing. FUR! As clothing for, you know, animals! Anyone else see the irony?
- People wandering around in public without enough clothes. Pu-leeeez, lady, put some pants on! Those shorts are so short I can see, well, a lot more than I want to see. And sir, I have no desire to see every single fat cell in your belly. Would it kill you to wear a shirt long enough to cover it up?
- Closely related to the lack of clothes phenomenon, though not as egregious, are the jeans worn so low that they are dangerously close to falling off. Seriously, how hard is it to pull up your pants? I find this “fashion trend” completely incomprehensible. And yet, it takes place in my own home. Remember, I am the parent of a teenage boy.
- “Make a video for [fill in the blank] and win” contests. OK, at first it was clever. Get the consumers to make the ads, to feel like they are somehow part of the brand. I hate ads anyway, but the multitude of “enter to become a spokesperson for…” type of campaigns has really gotten under my skin.
- Loud cell phone conversations in public places. I once heard a woman on a cell phone on the train discussing her agony over whether or not to have an abortion. Seriously, I would not kid about something like that. I felt terrible for her, as she was obviously in the grip of much emotional pain. Still, I didn’t need or want to hear her conversation.
- Over-sharing of photos. You know what I mean. I love looking at photos of my friends’ kids, vacations, and events on Facebook or via email. Being able to share photos electronically, easily, and quickly is fantastic. 5 photos, I love it. 10 photos, wonderful (I’m a sucker for a cute kid in a photo). 200 photos? Please, please, just say no!
- Antibacterial everything. Obviously, I’m in favor of hand-washing before eating, and after using the bathroom. Hospitals are a place where I think extra precautions are reasonable. But I feel no need to Purell every time I leave the house. When I was kid, we actually got dirty. And somehow or other, we did survive.
What fads and trends are getting under your skin? Please share them below in the comments.
1 Sentence Diary 
Eww…fancy clothes for pets is definitely on my list!
I think you’ve hit all the high notes! The fancy pet clothes definitely drive me up the wall as well.
I think all the anti-bacterial stuff may have done or may be doing more harm than good by assisting in the creation of more bacteria and other bad things that are immune to all that stuff. What ever happened to plain old good hand washing?
I agree with you there. A good handwashing with regular soap is plenty good enough for me. 🙂
I don’t know if it’s a generation thing, but I feel like many people’s spelling/grammar has deteriorated. Are we just too lazy to figure out how to spell that word (especially now, when you can google it!!)? Did we never learn the difference between they’re, there and their? Does no one else care as much as I do? Maybe it’s because my sister was so OCD about it, and then I married a guy who is meticulous about it as well…but that really bugs me!!
Oh and PS, my MIL is such a fancy dog clothes person. She even MAKES clothes for her walking, barking doll.
Oh my gosh, I should have added the grammar thing to my list! I mean, it’s one thing to have a typo, but basic grammar is not optional. And please, please, can writers please learn how to use an apostrophe properly?!
I don’t know why it irks me like it does, but grammatical errors on signs are my pet peeve…did they NOT have someone with some sense proofread before they paid hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars for signage??????
I think the grammar and spelling is more because of the electronic age of typing as pposed to writing things down, and even better yet, typing from the brain as opposed to the written word. When typing, you try to “see” the word not the individual letters, which can mean know comes out as no. Unless a person goes back and rereads what he’s typed, they are not going to catch it.
That’s just my too sense 🙂
Mindy Jeanne
Or would that be: “to scents” ? 😀
I agree with all of the above! I especially can’t stand people using carefully chosen “new” words to politically calm people down, like the word “troop” instead of “soldier”, or “gaming” instead of the more charged “gambling” (uh oh, did I spell that right?) People are payed big bucks to come up with these gems.
Another trend I find really disturbing is how rudely and disrespectfully people (especially teenagers) are being encouraged by movies, TV and even advertisements to treat others. Especially girl on girl horribleness. They are led to believe that it is OK and even think that it is funny to call each other sluts and whores (as if it is not the most common thing in the world to be sexually active ), and at the same time boys crow to anyone who will listen about their conquests, and even if they are lying their status goes up.
Oh yes, those politically correct vocabulary words really seriously annoy me. I find it everywhere, even in business situations where they describe something as a “challenge” because they don’t want to say that it is nearly impossible.
And the disrespectful thing — horrible. Which reminds me of another hated trend: TV shows and movies geared for kids which show parents who are completely clueless. How does it help children if they believe that adults simply will not understand?
My pet peeve beyond it all, is the need for society to over-compensate. The feeling that if one over-compensates for something gone wrong, that somehow they’ve gained some control over the situation. The need for anti-bacterial everywhere, is a direct result of the H1N1 virus scare 1.5 years ago. Our bodies need to learn to fight off bacteria, it’s why good pediatricians, will not prescribe antibiotics at every sniffle, it’s actually counter productive for the body.
I really wish I had the time, energy to address soooo may other things, but sadly I doubt y’all would want to read about it. Suffice it to say, the human mind is unfortunately far too limited, in far too many.
If stirrup pants would leave too, I would appreciate it!
Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day. I do think all girls have some sort of self-perception issues, we just have to find the best ways to help them see their true beauty.
Oh, and if we could get rid those half-boot-half-flip-flop shoes, that would help too.
Stirrup pants, oh my. Definitely added to the list! I don’t think I’ve seen flip-flop-boot-things, but they do sound awful.
The pants thing is one of my huge pet peeves – I DON’T NEED OR WANT TO SEE YOUR UNDERWEAR KID! Luckily my Kiddo is still in the phase where he likes his pants pulled up to the proper place. 🙂
Just wanted to say thanks for dropping by my review of OUTCASTS UNITED – if you decide to read it yourself, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
Just wait, Heather. Suddenly your sweet little kid is 14 and you can’t really control whether the pants sit on his waist or not. It’s kind of frightening!
That’s a very comprehensive list Barb – I have to agree with you on the majority of those… and incorrect grammar and spelling mistakes drive me nuts too!
Diva makes a very good point about the stirrup pants (They may have their uses when horseriding, but as general street wear… come on people, have some self respect!!).
i agree with everything on your list and several of the other ones like the anti-bacterial soap (wasn’t soap designed to be anti-bacterial?), spelling and grammar (says the woman who’s too lazy to use capital letters), being overly pc and especially flip-flop boots. one trend that i would be happy to send packing? anything and everything having to do with jersey shore. another trend i would exile to siberia would be every quasi-celebrity thinking he/she is an author. just because you were in a movie or raised by a famous parent does not mean you should write a book!
there are a lot of trends/fads that i would love to see finally come to an untimely end. great list, barb!