When I think about changes in human behaviors that can lead to a decreased exposure to microbes, the first thing that comes to mind is children that do not get vaccinated. I know some vaccines work by exposing us to a weaker form of the microorganisms so that we could start to build antibodies against it. However in recent years there has been more hesitation on people receiving vaccines based on other media outlets. Another thing I think leads to a decreased exposure to microbes are children not playing outdoors as much as they used too. I remember when I was a child one of the things I used to look forward to was going to the park to have fun and nowadays most children do not go out as often because of new technology, they mostly just stay indoors and watch tv/ play games on their tablets. I know some new mothers have also posted things online that say they do not let others hold or touch their child after birth for a couple months because they believe that their immune systems are too weak and that they could catch germs from family members.  I think this could definitely limit the exposure a newborn would have to microbes. I think not eating a wide variety of foods can also play a role in not gaining exposure to microbes, for instance if someone never includes probiotics in their diet (in a regulated amount) then they aren’t exposing themselves to beneficial bacteria.  Unhealthy diets can also play a part in reducing the diversity of the gut microbiota which we talked about in class. I recently read somewhere that alcohol consumption can also lower the variety of microorganisms in the gut microbiota but I did not look too much into it. I would also assume that physical health and activity could lower someone’s microbiota if they were not healthy.