10 things we really, really need to deal with, according to reddit users

2016 is lining up pretty nicely as an annus horribilis.

Cultural icons have died, presidential candidates of dubious quality have risen, British politics has been on a rollercoaster ride and the England football setup continues to be plagued by rank rubbishness.

There's a fair amount to complain about - so what are the genuinely important issues we should pay a little more attention to?

In a recent thread, reddit users attempted to answer exactly this question:

1. Plastic use

Eight million tons of plastic is dumped in ocean every year. And, according to a study, It's equal to five grocery bags per every foot of coastline around the globe.

-TheNewsGlobal

2. Rent

London is completely broken and the rot has spread throughout the south east. What's really sad is that London didn't completely overheat until circa 2009 i.e. this is a very recent and sudden problem.

- Eddie_Hitler

3. Antibiotics

People are stupid - the fault is the f---ing doctor's for being bullied into it. You're a godd--- medical professional it is your responsibility to stop the spread of antibiotic resistance by not caving to stupid people who insist on antibiotics for viruses. You spent decades in school learning and they don't, stop being a coward.

- Mulan__Rouge

4. Internet = truth

I'm amazed at the crap people believe these days. People close to me, who used to seem otherwise reasonably intelligent, see something on Facebook and believe it. 'But it worked for them!' Take 30 seconds and Google it. You'll see that those essential oils or fat-burning supplements don't really do anything except drain your wallet.

- MajorBummerDude

5. The dwindling middle class

The economic gravitation towards strictly rich and strictly poor without a middle class. It's starting to really become a problem.

- absolutelastusername

6. False memes

We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge. The entire wealth of information is at our fingertips, yet we share false memes and false stories all the time, without question. It is horrible.

- HogarthF

7. Bees

Bees are officially endangered. That's scary as f---.

- peasinacan

8. Industrial farming

Nitrogen pollution in particular. This is the biggest problem facing earth that hardly anyone knows about. This is also sometimes called nutrient or phosphorus pollution.

This issue can potentially...kill us all.

- bolthead88

9. Obesity

Not only is it a huge public health problem, for western countries (especially the US) it may soon become a defense problem as well, since the amount of people that are fit for military duty is rapidly dropping.

- Yebi

10. Celebrity culture

The majority of people will trust celebrities on a topic over an expert any day of the week. There's a serious lack of critical thinking and as a result Kanye West will probably be the next (next) president.

- kittenpops

We should probably get on with solving these.

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