People Are Revealing Things That Were "Ruined" When They Became Too Popular, And It's SO Real
We recently wrote a post where people shared popular things that were not worth the hype. In the comments, more readers revealed things that simply turned out to be a little...well, disappointing. Here's what they had to say:
1."Chicken wings. Back in Buffalo, they used to cook 'em up and mix them with the ORIGINAL wing sauce and serve for free in the bars. Now, it’s like $20 for a good serving of them. The same damn food!"
2."Star Wars. Geez. I remember when there were three movies. 1977–1983. That's it. Now, they keep finding more and more ways to keep milking more and more out of the used-to-be great movie saga. Stop already!"
3."Carhartt. As a working guy, I used to pay a premium for good, strong gear that would last through hours of hard labor. Now, it's a fashion trend. The 'rural look' or the 'blue collar look.' They changed it up so that it's not heavy-duty or work gear anymore — and they raised the prices."
"Screw that. I'll keep my good, old Carhartt that still holds its strength after 30 years of use."
4."Nashville isn't by any means the only place that has become a rat race and much more expensive to live in. I'm a Richmond, Virginia, native; I still live here, and my small city with the small-town feel is now one of the most expensive places to buy a home in the whole country."
"I'm of mixed mind, really; my city is growing up, but it's also overwhelming."
5."Austin, Texas. It used to be a city for weirdos and artists that was cheap enough to live in while doing art, music, or whatever you're into. Now, it's expensive and overrun by influencers and tech bros. They pushed out everyone that made the city what it is and traded it for corporate jerks and money. I get that money talks, but that city is basically mini LA now."
"The roads are horrible, everything is expensive, and they tore down Austin staples for high-rises. It's truly sad how that city sold its soul and changed in a decade."
6."Horror movies!!! I've been watching them since I was four years old, and I grew up on the '80s classics like Freddy, Jason, Halloween, etc. Then came the tremendous mess that Hollywood has been pumping out for the last 20 years or so (how many crap horror films are they going to regurgitate with the same damned theme?! Looking at YOU, films about hauntings and demonic possessions), and I realize that all originality and what made horror flicks so enjoyable to watch has turned to nothing."
"Especially when it comes to the fact that a large percentage of what's been coming out has been reboots, sequels, and dumbed-down versions of great foreign horror films that were great, thought-provoking movies (true for all great original movies, not just the one genre). It's just become about money, and it takes all the soul out of a great flick that's already been made when they cast piss-poor actors and crew members because the execs are greedy."
7."BookTok. I'm all about getting people interested in reading, as I've been a bookworm since I was a kid. These books are not well-written, but they get super popular because they're 'spicy.' I see so many self-published books getting popular, and it's just like there's a reason they probably had to self-publish because it's not well-written at all!"
"Like, to each their own in terms of taste, but most of these popular BookTok picks feel like a middle schooler's Wattpad fanfic. The whole publishing industry right now feels like quantity over quality."
8."Subscription everything drives me nuts. It used to be that you could buy a disc to install a program once for, like, $150, and you were good for a few years until an update came out. I may only need Excel on my personal laptop once or twice a year. Why do I need an expensive yearly subscription just for that?"
9."'Existing.' Paying for rent was ruined by being prohibitively expensive, thanks to collusion, algorithms, and everyone being turned into renters. Buying a house became unaffordable for just about everyone. Paying for food and rent in the same month was ruined. Just about anything meant for people with limited incomes was or will be made prohibitively expensive."
10."Etsy. It used to be a great platform for small businesses and quirky items that were well-made. Now, it’s difficult to find the small businesses that genuinely care about what they’re making over the imported crap using small businesses' pictures. The same goes for likes of other online marketplaces — they’re exploiting small businesses by taking their products and making them cheaper with awful quality."
"On that note, eBay has also just become a platform for bigger businesses to sell, when it used to be a great place to get second-hand items. I was recently looking for bedside tables and didn't have a lot of money, so I thought I'd go for second-hand. You now have to trawl through pages of the same item from different sellers to find a decent second-hand item!"
11."Using words like 'toxic,' 'gaslighting,' and 'narcissistic' a lot to the point where they lose their meaning. There are constant articles about toxic relationships or people with narcissistic personalities, and it's good to be aware. Still, I feel like the words have lost a lot of meaning because they're often used just when someone says something someone disagreed with."
"And these are serious, powerful, and important things we are saying. Powerful words."
12."Most of the crap that people call 'tacos' aren't even tacos; they're poorly made."
"As a Mexicanm I laugh a lot with the taco complaint."
13."It's gotten incredibly crowded in places like national parks, and people don't seem as respectful of nature or the locations they're seeing as they used to be. This applies to places outside the US, too; people trash public beaches, campgrounds, and trails and don't seem to care that they're doing it."
"Like, it used to be something to climb Mt. Everest, but there are so many people doing it now that the main camps look like garbage dumps. Or, the people who think it's funny to knock over stacked rock formations or graffiti over petroglyphs. Or, the person who hitched their truck to a historic feature at a park because they drove off marked roads and got stuck in mud. These all used to be problems, but they were much more manageable before the sheer increase in the number of visitors some of these places have been getting."
14."Crafting. People have been hassling me for years to sell the things I make, so I tried it this year with some pins and keychains. I gave away little freebies because I wanted to be nice, just little tins or pouches; people were HOUNDING me for them and got nasty when I didn't have any left."
"One girl sent a very demanding message about only wanting the freebies from a separate listing to one she had previously bought, so I had to shell out US postage to send her the stuff because she was about to tank my reviews. Luckily, (hah!) my health got bad, so I shut the store and am making stuff just for fun again."
And finally...
15."I saw Taylor Swift tickets for good seats in Switzerland for $89. If it's cheaper to fly to a foreign country, get a hotel, and see an artist for half the price than in your state, there's a problem."
"Concerts. I just saw that Chappell Roan was playing some shows near me. I said, 'Huh, I like her first album; let me see how much tickets cost.' It was $500 for the back row. Who has this disposable income, especially for a new artist?!"
What other things got "ruined" when they became too popular? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
