1. Open discussion of money and financial stress. Pay-transparency laws are expanding across the US and EU, labor economists consistently find secrecy increases inequality, and white-collar layoffs are now broad-based. The stigma is already eroding.

2. Nonlinear careers without stigma. OECD labor data shows shorter job tenures, more midlife pivots, and repeated reskilling driven by automation. “Starting over” is becoming normal, not pathological.

3. Openly choosing not to have children. Fertility rates across developed countries are well below replacement, and longitudinal research on voluntary childlessness shows no decrease in reported life satisfaction. Social pressure usually follows demographics, not theology.

4. Asking for help outside family without shame. Sociological research on social capital shows diversified networks outperform nuclear-family dependence, especially in mobile urban populations.

5. Explicit, transactional honesty in relationships. Relationship studies consistently show unspoken expectations drive conflict more than clear terms do. Norms tend to shift toward what actually reduces failure rates.

6. Visible aging without social erasure. Demographics alone make sidelining middle-aged and older adults economically irrational. Participation will expand out of necessity, not virtue.

7. Talking openly about death and decline. Palliative care research shows engagement lowers fear and improves outcomes. Cultural avoidance is already weakening.

8. Stepping back from constant productivity. Burnout data and declining marginal returns in knowledge work are forcing a reassessment of nonstop output.

None of this is moral progress. It's pressure from reality. Norms usually change after pretending they won't.

Edit:

Some more "groundbreaking" things that may be acceptable in 30 years:

Public acceptance of opting out of family obligations:

Cutting off parents, siblings, or extended family is still morally condemned. But longitudinal psychology research on trauma, abuse, and boundary-setting already shows improved outcomes for people who disengage from harmful family systems. As mobility rises and kinship weakens structurally, loyalty to biology will lose moral primacy.

Normalization of saying “this institution no longer deserves respect”

Openly dismissing religion, marriage, academia, journalism, or even democracy itself is still framed as nihilistic or immoral. Trust data across institutions has been collapsing for decades, and historically, once legitimacy drops below a threshold, deference flips from virtue to naivety. Disrespect becomes normal after belief dies.

Social legitimacy of doing nothing for long periods

Extended non-productivity is still treated as failure or pathology. But labor economics and cognitive research already show diminishing returns in knowledge work, widespread burnout, and productivity plateaus. As AI absorbs output, opting out will shift from shameful to rational resource allocation.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5814885&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5310880#49545463)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5814885&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5310880#49545474)