Change is inevitable, but it is not always for the better. There have been many disappointments from certain professions to pop culture icons in the past decades. We have compiled a list of things that were highly respected but turned into jokes, according to Reddit users.
COMMON DECENCY
Social media killed common decency, one Reddit user wrote. They explained, “Now it’s just a constant state of trying to ‘own’ or ‘one up’ someone else.”
ANTIVIRUS
According to Reddit users, the biggest joke among antivirus software is McAfee. Others pointed out that all other originals became just as big of a joke, with someone naming Norton as a prime example.
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
People are disappointed with numerous TV channels which used to be reputable. One user wrote: “The history channel should be renamed the conspiracy channel.”
TLC
A user who named TLC one of the biggest jokes today called it a “Terrible Life Choice.” It earned them nearly 16k upvotes and counting.
UK GOVERNMENT
Of course, many dislike the state of the world, but one of the biggest disappointments came from the UK. As a Reddit user wrote, “The office of Prime Minister in the UK government. It’s been a clown show for at least 6 years.”
SEARS
A financial planner wrote, “Sears is literally my biggest go-to “Giants fall” Others gave insight into the company’s downfall, from people in the position of power to the buyout.
BANK MANAGERS
Many bank managers agreed that their jobs were highly valuable in the past. The original poster wrote, “They used to have serious power in local communities. Now they have to be glorified customer service reps a lot of the time,” with people in banking echoing this statement.
DOC MARTENS
Many complained about the quality of Dr. Martens boots, with the original poster for this specific item writing, “their quality is a shadow of what it once was.”
LANDLINE TELEPHONES
This one is the easiest to understand among all the highly respected things that became a joke. One person said, “The house phone used to be a vital link to the outside world.” However, people do not blame only cell phones. As the person suggested, “once junk calls were allowed to spiral completely out of control, the phone became a nuisance.”
HOBBIES
Hustle culture is destroying “creating with zero expectations,” as a Redditor explained. They added how talking about hobbies “turns into a conversation about monetization or how I’m wasting my time on something.”
BILL COSBY
A person who mentioned former America’s most beloved dad received almost 14k upvotes. Their explanation was simple and well-known: “A comedian who once prided himself on only using clean comedy became the inspiration and subject of a thousand jokes on …” You get the idea.
THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS
Reddit user wrote that the “well-established and professional collection of every impressive human feat, now a quick ego boost for rich kids that have barely enough talent to balance an egg on their forehead for 15 seconds on a July Afternoon at exactly 11:55 AM while wearing a Hello Kitty onesie.” They have gained nearly 19k upvotes so far.
JOURNALISTS
A Reddit user complained, “There’s still real journalists out there, but no new ones are being born, very sad.” Another went to the core of the issue, “There are plenty of good journalists still around, but they don’t make money.”
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
A teacher spoke about working in an educational system. Though the profession still earns some respect, “working as one is a joke.” A high school teacher confirmed the statement.
JOBS AND LOYALTY
One Reddit user wrote how no one is loyal to their work anymore. Another said the problem is with companies: “Why should employees stay out of ‘loyalty’ when companies aren’t loyal or acting in their best interests?”
NETFLIX ORIGINALS
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Similarly to the issues with the UK government, a person wrote, “The American Presidency does NOT hold the same esteem it once did.”
HEALTHCARE
A person called the USA healthcare “a joke,” adding there have been too many changes in the past 20 years. Someone who has worked in healthcare for 23 years clarified, “When I started, the doctors ran the show. Now it’s just a bunch of suits sitting around all day having meetings about meetings”.
KEVIN SPACEY
Another fallen celebrity found its way among those who were once a big deal, but they are a joke now. Many claimed, “he was one of my fav actors for years.”
LAWYERS
A lawyer explained how it was a position of prestige once. Now it is “just the equivalent of ambulance chaser in the minds of most people.”
RUDY GIULIANI
A person naming a former NYC major received nearly 10k upvotes. As a Reddit user wrote, “Never imagined by the time I was full grown the guy would be such a clown.”
SHOPPING MALLS
While the poster named mall brands Macy’s, JC-Penny, and Sears, another added that shopping malls are no longer what they used to be.
FOOD NETWORK
People shared that Food Network was educational, but now it is “just nonstop competition.”
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
Some wrote how the pop culture magazine “in the past 20 years, it faded into irrelevance.” The person added that now, “they just wanted the rage bait clicks.”
FRESH PRINCE OF BELL AIR
A person named Will Smith and caused numerous intriguing comments. One Reddit user said: “How to **** up your life, career, and reputation in 30 seconds or less.” Another wrote, “He has power, mainly in his hand though.”
CRAFTSMAN TOOLS
Though they were of “superior quality,” Craftsman Tools are no longer what they used to be. A Redditor who worked in the company wrote, “Craftsman is far and away the brand of tools that get returned the most due to them malfunctioning or breaking. It’s crazy because my dad still has some Craftsman stuff from when it was a Sears brand, and they work great.”
QUORA
As a Reddit poster simply stated, Quora turned into Yahoo! Answers. Another added, “It’s barely even legible with all of the ads.”
ELLEN DEGENERES
The only woman in the most upvoted comments was Ellen DeGeneres. Some said, “Ellen’s fall from grace was pretty shocking.” Others asked, “wasn’t she always awful?” And some Reddit users reminded people of Ellen’s one successful career “Although we know Ellen sucks now, her stand-up was quite good.”
THE WALKING DEAD
A Reddit user complained about the show: “Pretty sure it went from #1 show on tv to on life support after the 4th season.” People loved this comment, though some were funnier than others, “I still can’t get over the fact that they were the walking dead. Like, virtually every second house in America has a bicycle in it, and they’re still huffing it on foot.”
YELLOWPAGES
BLIZZARD
Finally, there was Blizzard, with over 30k upvotes. Many recalled the video gaming company, with one user pointing out, “There is no Blizzard anymore. Only Activision wearing Blizzard’s corpse as a skin suit.”
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