to think that 'first world problem' is a pretty shit thing to say?

[Mallorie]

For so many reasons...

• do you really think people in 'third world countries' are so busy being poor that they don't care about what their hair looks like in the rain, or what kind of drink to serve when their friends come over, or which school to send their kids to, or what car to buy? This shouldn't be news to anyone, but people in Brazil and Nigeria and bloody Finland (yes, Finland is considered a third world country in the original definition, check out the wikipedia age) care about their hair and schools and cars and it just sounds classist/racist/ignorant to use a tired joke over and over that doesn't recognise this.

• are you blind to the massive levels of inequality and poverty in your own 'first world' country?

• the original divisions of the 'worlds' are based on this: 1st: UK/US and their important allies. 2nd: China/(then) USSR and their allies 3rd: Everyone else, which conveniently were mainly British and European colonies at some point. So, for us here in the UK to express our superiority to these countries every time we complain about non-life threatening problems just seems nasty.

There's a poster right now who's annoyed because her husband got £200k after someone died and they've paid off their mortgage and secured the kids' savings but she will have to wait until next year for a new car that she doesn't actually NEED and she's also annoyed at the husband's suggestion they take the children to Disneyland.

She claims to know it's a first world problem....

"my friend said it to me once when I was complaining that my rotary washing line kept bashing into my quince tree"

That made me laugh! I agree, though, I think it's fine when it's used in a genuinely jokey or self-deprecating way to give some perspective on a minor problem. Used as a way of belittling someone with serious concerns, it's awful though. For instance, it's not OK to tell someone who is struggling with serious anxiety that they are experiencing a 'first world problem' because they have a house and food. (I have heard this happen).

Whiskey

Glad to make you laugh!

I agree, having serious problems or concerns belittled is unkind.

Who on earth would say that your husband cheating on you is a first world problem?

Surely that's a problem everywhere?!?

as pp have said a first world problem is something trivial and you shouldn't get annoyed about but do.

Using the term 1st/3rd world is incredible out of date anyway now as 'the third world' doesn't really exist anymore if you look at socioeconomic wealth of the world now. There is no defining line between the two and it could be considered bigoted to do so. watch this ted talk on the subject.

www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty

I completely agree with you OP.

In the 1950s there was a clear grouping at the top and the bottom of the wealth categories. it simply isn't the case any more which is why we now use the term 'developing nation' instead. it isn't just political correctness it is a much better description of countries progressively moving out of poverty.

I would think that much more is the self-indulgent agonising that goes on over food and weight. There I really do think the focus should be on appreciation and responsible use of resources.

Also as a PP has said it's the implication of the existence of a 'third world', which is an outdated and imo offensive phrase.
Professionally offended? Yes I am. There are a lot of shitty things in this world and I am offended by all of them.

It isn’t a phrase usually use different as gentle teasing. In reality none of life’s challenges in the U.K. compare to those of the villages we’ve passed through today where women still carry water on their heads from a communal well, where the nearest doctor is 78Km away and your only transport is your feet or a neighbours oxen cart. The villages where human waste mounts up in the street as there is no sanitation, where people feel very well off if they earn £5 in a week. They save the money to educate their children. Our driver works a minimum of 75 hours a week for less than we pay for lunch.
We do need to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have been born where we were. To count our blessings/fortunes and not sweat the small stuff....... and no, these women don’t worry about rain affecting their hair. They worry about not having rain.

Using the term 1st/3rd world is incredible out of date anyway now as 'the third world' doesn't really exist anymore if you look at socioeconomic wealth of the world now. There is no defining line between the two and it could be considered bigoted to do so.

Completely agree.

I think it’s a mean thing to say on here and meant in a mean way.
Everything on here is a first world problem if you drill down but that doesn’t mean they are invalid problems.
“I want a new coat I saw online, shall I buy it” first world problem, just be lucky you have a coat
“My son was shouted at at school and humiliated in front of his his class” first world problem, he’s lucky he gets any education at all
“My mums got cancer” first world problem, we are so lucky with the nhs, you die in a field with never knowing in Africa
“My husband has left me and I’m 35 weeks pregnant with triplets” first world problem, in some countries you would be married at 16 and be one of 10 wife’s
“I have five weeks to live” first world problem, do you know how many people are already dead? Be grateful you have five weeks to enjoy
And so on.......
So I mostly see it as a bitchy comment. Yes there’s always someone worse off. Always.
This isn’t a third world country ( yet)
This isn’t a forum aimed at solving or discussion of third world issues.
It is however rammed full of people who take great joy in ripping Others apart some times.

I think it is fine to acknowledge that in the big picture, this particular problem you're dealing with right now is fairly minor.

In some cases it is also ok to call someone else out, I think, e.g. if a group of friends came together to support one of the group who is having a crisis, and then another of the group monopolises their time by moaning about something insignificant. But this calling out is a bit tricky as it can verge onto dismissing someone's (real) problems and heaping guilt.

I think what OP is concerned about is not the 'putting into the big picture' aspect nor the 'belittling of someone's problems' aspect, but rather the language used, the particular phrase used. And I totally agree with OP that referring to the 'first world'/'third world' in this way to signifiy superiority, really, is out of date and bigoted.

There is a lot of language we use without meaning anything by it, but that does not make it ok.

It doesn't mean we 'can't say anything at all' for fear of offending someone. It just means that when we become aware of the problems with a particular expression we've always used without thought, we take it on board and find a different way of expressing what we mean to express.

Crumbs In reality none of life’s challenges in the U.K. compare to those of the villages we’ve passed through today...

Erm, I think they do actually. How are you measuring this? Someone with severe PTSD that goes unrecognised in our system who freezes to death homeless on our streets after a lifetime of abuse?

How about 'a more economically developed world problem' then? I don't think using 'third world' is bigoted, and I am getting really tired of language that is common use suddenly becoming 'bigoted'. I think people want to be professionally offended these days.

Using 'third world' or LEDC just shows you are aware that there are those who don#t have the day to day advantages that we have, like health care, education etc, provided by the state, or who don't live under the rule of law as we do. Third world/LEDC is just a short hand for that.

I am constantly amazed by peoples continual dedication to reading in to a phrase or taking something so literally until they find something offensive or whatever.

Massive overthinking OP.

Usually said very flippantly and to take the piss out of myself.

And no I'm not going to look up on Wilkipedia if Finland actually qualifies in the original definition of a third world country. Dear god.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone use this about a persons husband cheating on them, more like my face brand of shampoo has been discontinued

Well it depends. If it's like "oh my boilers broken" and someone says "at least you have a boiler, some people can't access any water. First world problem". Then it's a shit thing to say. If it's "my diamond shoes are too tight and I missed Corrie and now I am going to have to watch it on playback ten minutes after everyone else has watched it" and someone says "oh dear, who will play you in the movie? First world problem" then that's acceptable.

We here in the 'first world' have the priviledge of not having to care about how the framing of the world into categorisable spheres of 1st, 2nd, 3rd (and sometimes 4th) world affects people, politics, lives.

Elsewhere, this categorisation may have real, felt, negative effects. People may not have the luxury to ignore these effects.

We have the priviledge to say 'it is just an expression' but we might just as well choose an expression that doesn't carry so many assumptions with it. This is our choice.

I think the OP meant that the phrase is offensive to those living in developing nations rather than offensive to those it is used against? Which is an interesting point.

I take it to mean "yes my diamond shoes are too tight", not "this is something no one in the Third World would ever care about".

There was uproar online when Wetherspoons didn't have any steak for steak night (a bit ridiculous admittedly, but it was a supply issue)

THIS is a first world problem IMO

Youshallnotpass Nope, not at all. That sounds more like a second world problem lol, I mean something like this is more likely to happen in a second world country, isn‘t it? And people there complain about it all of the time.

I must say I have learnt something from the OP. I always thought "third world countries" were poor countries! Looking at this list of the 15 richest countries in the world, 7 of them are "third world countries". fortune.com/2017/11/17/richest-country-in-the-world/

I never knew Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia etc were third world countries.

Having said that, I think people in general (myself included) think that third world countries equal poor countries. And it is just a figure of speech at the end of the day.