People Are Calling Out The Things That Were “Ruined” When They Became Too Popular

23.

“The term’ red flag.’ It used to mean something, and now, it seems like something people throw around to mean something they don’t like. I recently heard someone say that ‘giving homework is a red flag,’ which I’m pretty sure does not mean ‘if a professor gives homework, then that’s a warning that this professor is not a good professor,’ since at least where I go to school, some departments mandate that professors give homework (which, let’s be honest, is pretty gross) — and even if it’s not mandated, professors often give homework because we just don’t have time in class for everything, including going through problems. We’re most likely already behind on our curriculum.”

“I’ve also heard people say that a potential partner not being obsessed with everything they’re obsessed with and hating everything that they hate (including minor things, like ‘I hate olives on pizza, but you only sort of dislike it? Such a red flag’) is a ‘red flag,’ which, I don’t know, seems a bit of a misuse of the term? So, maybe the term ‘red flag’ itself isn’t bad, but now people just use it to describe everything they don’t agree with, from actual signs of moral failures to having differing preferences on minor things.”

—22, California