Few topics get me as riled up as unpaid internships. They can take up the time of a full time job, making it difficult for some students who may need additional sources of income.
At the end of the day an intern is doing work for a company and they deserve to be paid for their labor.
But it's crazy to think about how much companies have normalized this practice. How many students do you know who are or were burned out by the stress of their internship, their actual job, and the need to keep up with their assignments?
Companies have normalized a lot, by the way, thanks to having the resources to produce enough propaganda.
People shared their thoughts after a Redditor asked the online community:
"What is something that's considered normal today but is actually successful propaganda made by corporations?"
"Attaching..."
"Attaching health insurance to your job and if you have a family and leave your job, you're f*cked."
Ennion
Ah, yes. The United States is quite behind compared to most of the world.
"I don't ask my mechanic..."
""Ask your doctor if JDGYRHKX is right for you!" WTF isn't that his job? I don't ask my mechanic or plumber if I need a certain product. Pharmaceutical marketing is a total ruse."
patches181
I can't imagine falling for one of those commercials. They really boggle the mind of people in other countries.
"Politicians being..."
"Politicians being a middleman for corporations to influence government policies, instead of middlemen for the people to influence government policies."
OneTwoKnow
"Sugar industry blaming fatty foods for obesity, sparking the low-fat trends and ignoring how bad sugar is for your health."
BlackSage8
Interestingly enough, being poor did wonders for my palate.
"People eating KFC..."
"People eating KFC during Christmas time in Japan because of KFC's marketing campaign that promoted their products as a traditional Western Christmas treat."
ClementinaGriffe
I heard about this from a Japanese person once and it blew my mind.
"Most products..."
"Most products made for the care of babies. Babies need very little in the way of furniture, gear, special foods etc. But people are so willing to buy so much stuff."
lexrp
The same is true for pet products too. It's a total money pit.
"Companies like Intuit..."
"Companies like Intuit have lobbied to make sure filing taxes can't be free and easy."
FunnOnaBunn
In Norway you only have to check the government’s calculations of your taxes and file any deviations or potentially unreported income/wealth.
They have it so easy.
"It was pushed..."
"Plastics Recycling."
"It was pushed by the plastics industry back in the early 70s when laws were about to be passed to deal with the environmental impact of plastics. In reality a lot of the plastics that have a little recycling symbol on them are not feasible to recycle at all."
"They are still pushing the lie to this very day."
FriendlyWisconsinite
When I learned about this, it filled me with rage.
"The way we celebrate holidays is much more of a production than it used to be - Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day. Just more excuses to consume crap en masse."
[deleted]
The commercialization of holidays is a big reason why so many people dislike the holiday season.
"Not discussing your income..."
"Not discussing your income with coworkers. At least in the US, employees are protected, so they are allowed to discuss income amongst each other without fear of getting fired for it. However, a lot of companies have kept the idea that it is taboo or that your job may be at risk for doing so and a lot of people still buy it to this day."
Chico119
Fun fact: Your employer can't stop you from discussing your wages. It is protected by law and you should do the work to keep such discussions as transparent as possible.
You're annoyed now, aren't you? It's astounding the amount of influence that companies have–and continue to hold–over our daily lives.
Have some thoughts of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
@_branmaraj/Twitter (
@badbusterboy/X
@Kanieh57/X
@DonaldJTrumpJr/X