Some different products or ideas lose popularity, or fall from grace. Maybe it's no longer relevant, or simply wasn't as good as it was marketed to be. These things were once highly regarded—even overrated—but turned out to be very short-lived.
Do you know of any ideas or products that were once touted as great or even necessary, but now nobody buys it anymore? Keep reading and let us know if you agree with the list of useless products we've put together.
McAfee Antivirus
McAfee Antivirus is a subscription-based antivirus defender that helps scan and destroy threats. In the past, it may have been a good thing to have to help secure your computer. But now that there is so much new and better antivirus software and cloud storage, McAfee antivirus must seem like a big joke to some Redditors.
One person stated, “The internet in general is obscenely safe with just Windows Defender. I don't think I or anyone I know has gotten a virus in nearly 10 years.”
A second commenter replied, “Unless you install McAffee and friends. Then all of a sudden your PC has issues, finds viruses all the time and causes issues with program and game installation and running them, to the point that it messes so much with files that some updaters for programs end in an update loop because the files were moved without permission. Not to mention the impact on performance.”
Another Redditor added, “I do some tech support for some software I maintain, and McAfee has been by far my biggest antivirus headache. Occasionally Windows Defender will ruffle its feathers at me, but McAfee just nukes executables without mercy and periodically forgets its whitelist.”
The History Channel or Reality Show Channels
One person stated, “TLC now (unofficially) stands for Terrible Life Choices (or with a few of their stars, Touching Little Children).”
Another person replied, “TLC is very uncomfortable to watch. It is the modern day equivalent of a freak show imo. I routinely feel bad for a lot of the people who’ve been on there, especially kids.”
Another commenter added, “The history channel should be renamed the conspiracy channel.”
The Food Pyramid
The Food Pyramid is a food guide to help you achieve a healthy and balanced diet. It is divided into five layers, and guidelines state that you should consume the foods in each category each according to a percentage.
“In the U.S. the food pyramid is largely based on what we produce rather than what we actually should be eating. The U.S. produces a lot of corn and wheat because these are cheap crops that can feed a lot of people. That's a great thing, but if I eat the amount that the food guide pyramid suggests I'll be farting every second of every day and probably have diabetes from all that glucose,” one Reddit user shared.
“Some kinda…pyramid scheme!!” another commenter added jokingly.
A third person replied, “I think everyone is taking the wrong lesson from the food pyramid. It isn't a balanced diet like it was marketed, but it also wasn't a triangle full of the highest bidders. It's a relic of the fact that the government's #1 job is Continuity of Government. If you have a couple hundred million people to feed (with the risk of revolt if that doesn't happen), your job is to get calories into them, not to optimize all of their health. They identified all of the most easily produced foods in our industrialized agricultural sector and whipped up an infographic to tell us that it conveniently coincided with what our diet should be.”
Bank Managers
One person stated, “They used to have serious power in local communities. Now they have to be glorified customer service reps a lot of the time.”
A second Redditor replied, “I’m on the lending side, but I definitely see branch banking has become horrible. The turn over rate is just as bad as retail, pay rate is the same, and people are treated just as poorly all while having much more responsibility and compliance stipulations because they’re handling money.”
Another person added, “This is how I pictured banks and bank personnel through media representation. Most banks I walk into irl are sad looking establishments about as prevalent as a McDonalds.”
Martens’ Boots
Dr Martens' Boots are known for their high-quality materials that will last for many years because they are designed for practical purposes. However, according to Redditors, it wasn’t as respected as it was in the past.
“A British institution, you bought a pair, they lasted for years. Alas, ‘private equity' got involved, manufacturing was sent offshore, and the quality went down like a submarine. You are better off buying a pair of boots from the company that used to make them for DM, than a “genuine” pair of DMs nowadays, their quality is a shadow of what it once was,” one person stated.
“Can attest to that, as a teen I used to be obsessed with having a pair of Dr. Martens', and then growing up I remember buying a pair because I had the money, and regretting it almost immediately when it started to show signs of usage and whatnot from the first few months. It felt like there was something wrong with the material, the sewing/stitching, the way the shoe fit and rubbed against your feet, etc, and after about a year or two I had to trash them. I switched to a local brand I've been wearing for 5 years straight now (the same pair) and not a single tear with the same design, actual leather and the sole is hammered in with nails,” another person replied.
Pushing People to Make Their Hobbies as a Side Hustle
“I am a hobbyist musician, and will never try to make money off of my music. I simply enjoy creating it with zero expectations. Hustle culture ruined a lot of that because now every time I share my music with people, it turns into a conversation about monetization or how I’m wasting my time on something. It’s hard to even find like-minded people who want to collaborate without it turning into some big thing. Time enjoyed is not time wasted,” one person stated.
Another redditor replied, “My partner does this and doesn't realize why it bothers me. I've stopped talking about my hobbies with him because no, I don't need to become an influencer on X because I like doing it a couple of times a week. I have no issue with side hustles—I've had a few—but sometimes I can do something for the joy it gives me.”
Landline Telephones
The dying relevance of landline telephones is a byproduct of innovation—once you'd be respected for having one in your house; now it’s almost as if no one is using them anymore.
One person said, “The house phone used to be a vital link to the outside world. It’s how you’d talk to friends and family far away, interact with businesses, call for help in an emergency, etc. But once junk calls were allowed to spiral completely out of control, the phone became a nuisance. As someone I saw said a while back, a Gen Z person would sooner jump on a live grenade than accept an incoming call from an unknown number… and that’s in the context of mobile phones, which don’t get nearly as much spam. Wired phones are almost completely useless today.”
“In India we have landlines bundled with Broadbad. I keep the instrument disconnected because no one has the number anyway. Guess where the spam marketing calls come? On my Mobile number. And yes it’s got to the point where I don’t pick up unknown numbers. The etiquette here generally is to text politely and chat, before calling,” A second person commented.
Wells Fargo
One person stated, “Modern Wells Fargo is not the same as stagecoach driving, Wild West Wells Fargo. Norwest Bank acquired Real Wells Fargo in the late nineties, but kept the Wells Fargo name as it had better brand recognition. All of the recent scandals have occurred since the takeover, in the Bank Formerly Known as Norwest.”
Another Reddit user replied, “I worked for WF for a time, and all the Norwest holdovers would get a far off look in their eyes when telling us how much better things were before the acquisition. Even the higher-ups that would sacrifice their first born at the altar of capatilism would reminisce about how awesome it was before it became such a corporate pigsty. Good times.”
The Guinness Book of World Records
The Guinness Book of World Records is supposed to have the best collection of incredible humans who can do amazing things to their bodies or are even born with a unique feature.
One person said, “Once a 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.”
Another commenter replied, quoting Bill Bailey’s words, “The book of records used to be feats of amazing skill and talent, now it has records like ‘who can put the most clothes pins on their face' all you have to do to beat them is have a bigger face.”
Working in Education
One person stated, “Being a teacher still sounds worthy of respect, but working as one is a joke. Kids are free to do whatever they want, you're barely allowed to punish bad behaviour in any way, school politics stop from changing anything, parents always blame you etc.”
Another commenter replied, “I feel so bad for teachers. Their job is one of the most important in our entire society, yet they get paid scraps and saddled with all kinds of crap from politicians. Many of mine worked incredibly hard and genuinely loved their jobs, but you could tell they were exhausted. And the schools I went to were damn good as far as public schools go and they still struggled with funding. I can't even imagine what goes on at the worse off ones. Or even the same schools currently, my state's governor has been cutting education funding like no tomorrow.”
A third Redditor added, “Exactly my point… as a teacher, you have all the responsibility (unruly student—your fault; students break something—your fault; students won't learn—your fault etc) but none of the necessary means to change anything. If a student attacks you, for example, you may be legally allowed to fight back of course, but you'll likely still be reprimanded by the school because you failed to prevent, foresee, or stop the event before it got serious.”
Staying at a Job out of Loyalty
“More like companies being loyal to employees, providing a good wage, raises, benefits, pensions etc. Why should employees stay out of “loyalty” when companies aren't loyal or acting in their best interests? It's a JOB. The entire idea of loyalty to a job is a joke,” one person said.
“Loyalty has to go both ways. Most companies see their employees as disposable, so we see them the same way,” a second commenter added.
Do you agree with the things listed here? Let us know in the comments which one you relate to the most. Check out this Reddit thread for more.
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