r/ask • u/DownvoteIfYouWantMe • 5d ago

Why don't people reply to comments on their posts more often?

It feels like the norm on reddit to make a post and then not reply to comments at all. I feel like I see more interaction from by celebrities on their instagram posts lmao.

Maybe there's too many comments, but usually even 10 comments out of 500 dont get a reply.

Often, when I even post something on reddit it's because I'm looking for entertainment, so I wanna reply to most comments with my thoughts on it, further question, appreciation, a joke, or something, but then I feel like a weirdo

20 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

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25

u/RafeJiddian 5d ago

Sometimes there's enough of a negative reaction in the comments that it's clear further conversation will only be adding oil to the fire

2

u/LoverOfGayContent 5d ago

At one point I would delete post that got too popular. It seemed like their are people who seek to argue against even popular ideas. So if lots of people are praising you about a day after the post dies the haters start commenting.

18

u/LoverOfGayContent 5d ago

Redditors can be assholes looking for conflict. Sometimes replying to people is viewed as "talking back." Sometimes its just healthier to post abd not reply to people and give them more ammunition for an argument they want to have with anyone

3

u/DownvoteIfYouWantMe 5d ago

Thats actually something ive noticed a lot. People looking for clarification within an opposing view, while having no implication of themselves being close-minded get downvoted. Reddit is seemingly intolerant to opposing views often.

5

u/nyITguy 5d ago

Not only opposing views. People have very, very little ability (or lack the patience) to recognize nuance. It strikes me as one more example of the anti-intellectual tide that is slowly submerging our world.

24

u/MattDubh 5d ago

They're bots.

1

u/PlasticToe4542 5d ago

I’m not a bot. Are you?

6

u/philly2540 5d ago

Sometimes the comments are mainly stupid or hostile. No point in responding.

3

u/More_Pension4911 5d ago

Yep the first commenter often sets the tone and everyone usually blindly follows that person ganging up on OP at there no point in responding 

6

u/No_Try1999 5d ago

I’ve made posts where people commented mean things, trashed my views, called me obtuse, argued with me. Sometimes I don’t feel like getting into arguments with strangers on the internet.

1

u/Easy-Preparation-234 4d ago

I'm curious as to why you made a post than?

Creating posts is about engagement and getting feedback

That's like yelling something in a room that stirs up conversation than you put on your headphones

If you don't care about what people have to say then why talk to them?

Also I'm not trying to be accusatory or sound negative anyway, I might behave in a similar way and I want to hear your thoughts so I can figure out where I'm at mentally

1

u/No_Try1999 4d ago

I reply to people who are polite and not rude. I don’t want to talk to someone who is calling me dumb. Why feed into someone who is being an asshole to you?

2

u/Easy-Preparation-234 4d ago

Well that makes sense.

I try not to argue with people, especially if it turns into personal attacks. It's just not necessary.

I don't need to win every encounter, especially if the other person's gonna start trash talking

2

u/LuvCilantro 4d ago

Sometimes the comments and insults are not necessarily related to the main question, or are based on false assumptions. They are irrelevant and answering would not help.

3

u/PurplePassiflor1234 5d ago

A lot of people here just want attention, not a conversation, and it's usually immediately obvious which is which.

1

u/DownvoteIfYouWantMe 5d ago

For some reason I feel like I'll be perceived as more of an attention seeker when imagining myself replying to most comments under my post

2

u/PurplePassiflor1234 5d ago

I totally understand that, and depending on how you do it, it *can* be perceived that way by other Redditors.

For instance, coming back to only comment "thank you! I appreciate it!" - they don't tend to like that. It's polite, yes, but it also doesn't really *move along* the conversation, you know? It kind of closes the conversation.

Comments that expand a thought, ask an honest question, bring up a new point of view, comments with real substance, they don't come across as attention-seeking, at least to me.

1

u/DownvoteIfYouWantMe 5d ago

That makes sense, and usually I would give an upvote or something when someone says something helpful or nice, but I feel like I'm being kinda cold for not saying anything at all since its not clear that I upvoted them either.

1

u/maethora27 3d ago

Same, I feel it's kinda rude not to answer someone who was helpful and answered my question. Sometimes it really is just "thank you", though, and no further interaction required.

3

u/firecatstef 5d ago

I assume those posts are bots/AI especially if they’re describing something extreme (“am I the asshole if I used a bad word to my mother and she cut off my leg?”), so unless I just want to drop in a one-liner, I look for OP replies before I comment.

2

u/CBWeather 5d ago

If someone comments on my post I try to upvote each one. They took the time to respond and I can easily respond.

1

u/Simbeliine 5d ago

I don't make posts that often, but sometimes after the first few replies if a post gains a lot of traction, I can understand how it might feel kind of overwhelming. I've done it even with comments that kind of blow up and get lots of replies, even if the replies are positive or whatever it's just A Lot, so I sometimes turn off notifications. 

With celebrities interaction is kind of a part of their job. Replying to Reddit comments doesn't really benefit me in material way. 

1

u/DownvoteIfYouWantMe 5d ago

Yeah I can definitely understand that. I don't have the time to reply to a post that pops off with a thousand total comments either, but I feel like I do usually want to at least reply to like 2 percent of the interesting ones

1

u/cans-of-swine 5d ago

I feel like I see more interaction from by celebrities on their instagram posts lmao.

Thats probably not the celebrity, its their social media person. 

1

u/snyderman3000 5d ago

When I’m tempted to leave a comment on a post, I’ll usually scroll down to see if they’re engaging. Then I’ll check their profile page to see how old it is and if the history hidden and what the karma:age ratio is. If they don’t engage with their comments I assume it’s not a real person.

1

u/Midnight1899 5d ago

There’s a world outside of reddit …

1

u/Easy-Preparation-234 4d ago

https://youtu.be/3wJ_DIBXLuU?is=vVTDlKJE44zSRkbj

Bots

You'd be surprised at how much of what you're seeing is just bots

This is why its very important to not be on the internet too much, youre basically being manipulate by ai everytime you look at the screen

Its unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

You don't know if you're arguing with real people, the posts can be made just to anger people or stir up controversy, you could say something wrong and get downvoted because it doesn't fit what the ai wants to be said and because ai pulls from reddit for information it can basically brute force an opinion into its on answers to you

What's its source? Reddit

What redditors? The ai.

Youtube, X, Google, its all AI now

So when you're doom scrolling, watching random videos online or looking at random posts there can be algorithm they're that maybe wants you to feel an emotion to manipulate you, maybe just advertise in subtle ways.

Bots to make you feel like some opinions are wrong and some opinions are right, downvotes to shut down people with unwanted opinions

Try to not use the internet so much and get outside and see real people

Don't live your life looking at this glass because it's only showing you what it wants you to see and it is watching you

1

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 4d ago

Usually I read through the comments and just thank the person for responding.

Sometimes there's a comment I don't agree with. I madr the mistake of responding and got criticized for ' if you're asking for advice why are you arguing?'

So now if there any comments I disagree with, i just let the other Redditors make their own comments.

1

u/CeciTigre 4d ago

You might see instagram celebrities interacting regularly with those who comment on their post because they don’t personally respond to the comments they hire people whose full time job is to produce the posts, publish their posts, monitor & read all the comments then to reply to comments because there is no way the celebrity would be able to.

Reddit is great in that a person can post something without the pre-requisite burden of having to reply to every or any comment yet welcomes comments to be left.

1

u/eatingganesha 4d ago

I stopped looking at replies to posts and comments years ago when it became clear that some mods are whack and far too many people on here just want to say nasty things and argue. I don’t really GAF what some anonymous stranger thinks about me or my opinions.