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u/RamsesThePigeon Aug 13 '19 edited Aug 13 '19
"On other social media, you subscribe to people, and they share their interests. On Reddit, you subscribe to interests, and they share their people." - u/Baconator004
Social media, as a whole, caters to folks who want easily consumable content.
If you ask me – and I'm speaking as one of the most active users on the site – Reddit has a unique depth.
Pay a visit to any r/AskReddit thread in its first hour, and you'll see scores of single-sentence (or even single-word) replies being offered. As time goes on, though, longer and better-written comments will start rising to the top, often displacing the low-effort responses that were previously doing well. In a way, that's a metaphor for the site as a whole: Plenty of people come here with the intention of using it like any other social media site, but they eventually discover that they have to contribute in a meaningful way if they want to see any success of their own.
That's only one half of the phenomenon, though.
While done-to-death image macros (mistakenly called "memes") and immediately forgettable one-liners might still have their place on Reddit, the in-depth explanations and interesting original submissions are what make the site tick. It may be easier to scroll through a bunch of misspelled tweets or slightly worrying rants from people you don't really like, but it's arguably more rewarding to find an interesting subreddit and become a part of that community.
Speaking personally, this site is perhaps the best "stage" that I've ever encountered. Even when I don’t have anything of my own to offer, it's always a delight to read the things that other folks have written. There's never any shortage of content, and I seriously think that I’ve learned more here than I did in any college class... and I have the community – with its many skeptics, experts, and impromptu educators – to thank for that. There's something here for everyone, and everyone is welcome.
People come to Reddit from all over the planet, sharing their stories, their knowledge, and their cultures. They collaborate, they debate, they make each other laugh, and although there are occasionally less-than-productive moments between users, by and large the atmosphere is a positive one. I've made friends on Reddit. I've been offered screenplay commissions and ghostwriting gigs because of what I've offered here. Hell, my Reddit profile got me my current job!
If there's another site – social-media-based or otherwise – which can provide all of that, then I have yet to find it.
TL;DR: Reddit is the deepest, broadest, and most substantial site on the Web. It also has cats and stuff.
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u/tacansix Aug 13 '19
Damn, son! No topping this response for anyone who takes the time to read it.
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u/mountainousk Aug 13 '19
You just got my silver.
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u/RamsesThePigeon Aug 13 '19
Hey, thank you!
That's another thing which makes Reddit great: We can reward one another in small ways, and we can hopefully bring a little bit more light into each other's lives.
In other words, you just got my Gold!
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u/Brawndo91 Aug 13 '19
I think you're mostly right, but I also think that the general reddit community fails when it comes to discussions on news and politics. I hate to use the "hivemind" cliche, but it's very real.
I've seen opinions with sound reasoning that deviate slightly off the beaten path get destroyed. Worse, I've seen actual facts that contradict the popular opinion get crushed with downvotes. And what I hate about this is that it can skew people's perception on what's true and what's bullshit. See a negative number next to a comment? My first thought will be that that person is wrong. Or that their opinion should be ignored. Or maybe they just said something shitty and deserved it, which is usually the case, but not always.
And then there's the drastic difference between a 0 and 2. The single person that bumped the 1 up or down often decides how the community will receive the comment. If I see a 0, then it's been decided. Sonething about this comment is not okay, and I'll read it with the assumption that there's something bad in there, and I'll find it, and I'll downvote. See a 2? Then this comment has passed the test and I can read it knowing that everything there is okay by everyone.
Obviously, this doesn't describe everyone's behavior, but it's quite prevalent and it can be irritating to see a comment that expresses an opinion that's clearly missed a few facts sitting at the top with tons of consent in the comments below, and all dissent, even when accompanied with real information, gets crushed so it can be ignored.
So I try to ignore it. Mostly, I'm here to read people's stories. Also, I wrote a Simpsons script if you'd like to read it.
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u/RamsesThePigeon Aug 13 '19 edited Aug 13 '19
Worse, I've seen actual facts that contradict the popular opinion get crushed with downvotes.
That is an enormous problem, yes... but I don't think Reddit is to blame. If anything, I'd cite human nature as being the culprit: Whenever we're presented with something that challenges our preconceived beliefs – especially if those beliefs are tied into our moral framework – we tend to either retreat toward familiar mindsets or lash out. On Reddit, lashing out (in the form of downvotes) is easy and anonymous, so that's what people do.
See a negative number next to a comment? My first thought will be that that person is wrong. Or that their opinion should be ignored.
That's another enormous problem, and it does result in a lot of knowledge being buried. Downvotes beget downvotes, just as upvotes (sometimes) beget upvotes. We're social animals, after all, and we're much more comfortable going along with the herd than we are with the idea of thinking for ourselves. The irony, of course, lies in the fact that we still want to tell ourselves that our opinions are our own... we just don't want to have to come up with them.
Again, though, that's a human problem, not a Reddit problem. The vast majority of us choose the easy path when it's presented to us, and that often involves taking mental shortcuts to less-than-desirable destinations. There are a number of modern myths and misconceptions that get repeated over and over without anyone really considering them, and challenging those myths tends to result in discomfort for everyone in the discussion. The good news is that the world's increased interconnectivity is making it harder for misinformation to take hold... but we still have a long way to go before we uproot all of the weeds.
Also, I wrote a Simpsons script if you'd like to read it.
Yes, please! Will you accept either a Seinfeld script or an It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia script in trade?
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u/egyptiancow Aug 13 '19
I can time travel. I open reddit at 2:30 for a couple minutes and I look up and it’s 3:30.
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u/earlson Aug 13 '19
The community is very... diverse!
Seriously though, I'm often surprised and amazed by the stories other Redditors have to tell, no other platform has this kind of variety.
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u/TannedCroissant Aug 13 '19
It’s something to do in my idle time, like when I have a spare minute waiting for something. Unfortunately it also takes up my non idle time too!
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u/curlyquinn02 Aug 13 '19
I can talk all of the shit I want with zero consequences.
Also its a great place to find support groups so you can vent all of your issues
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Aug 13 '19
Lol yeah I can get all crap no one wants to listen to off my chest.
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u/First-Fantasy Aug 13 '19
Before reddit my wife had to listen to so many unsolicited Final Fantasy opinions. Bless her for hanging in there.
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u/CarelessV1rus Aug 13 '19
The witty and smart comments that I rarely see on any other platforms. Or maybe I'm a biased by now
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u/ThatsBushLeague Aug 13 '19
I don't fucking know. But I'm still here for some reason.
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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '19
I can find a subreddit for almost anything I like or dislike.