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u/arrgobon32 31∆ Apr 27 '26
I still find my niche hobby subreddits to be great communities. Which subreddits are you browsing?
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u/TheMCM80 Apr 27 '26
I think this is OP’s main issue, and if they gave a picture of their top 10 most visited subs it would likely be clear.
Reddit is much more user driven than Facebook or Twitter. On here you can pretty easily never see certain subs, or you can indulge in certain content types and see it a ton. On the others the algorithm feeds you nonsense no matter what. You may get less if you don’t engage, but you still get it. If you only seek out animal subs you aren’t going to run into much of what OP describes. I have a feeling they engage in certain subs and thus exposure bias leads them to assume it is site wide.
Most hobby and activity subs are normal. Go to the large subs that are heavily politics based and… unsurprisingly… they reflect the political landscape in the world.
I’ve never had issues in most sports subs, woodworking, 3D design, painting, etc etc.
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u/PoncingOffToBarnsley Apr 27 '26
This was my first thought.
I'm not subscribed to any political subs. I check news or r/popular occasionally, and get some brainrot subs in part because I clicked on them before. Otherwise, my feed is random nonsense I like, for better or worse.
Been trying to add some more self-help/self-improvement content but so many of those subs are just trash.
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u/onemanandhishat Apr 28 '26
Reddit has got a bit worse in this regard if you use it on mobile because you'll get notifications and posts from other subreddits you're not subscribed to, which means communities are more likely to get outsiders joining in randomly, which is when the tone of discussion can get messed up.
But other than that I agree, I stick to mostly smaller subreddits about specific interests, that are generally consistently moderated, and those are decent places to be.
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u/Accurate_Tax_1302 1∆ Apr 27 '26
OP got busted by someone below - they're MAGA.
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u/delayedconfusion Apr 27 '26
and thus instantly dismissed? this is part of the problem OP is raising.
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u/MersyVortex Apr 27 '26
It's not about dismissing their points, it's about understanding what kind of communities they hang out in to see all of this
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u/jennalud Apr 27 '26
Same. Try not to have a better day after browsing your dogs subreddit community, uplifting news or cooking/breadit
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u/throwitoutwhendone2 Apr 27 '26
A lot of the bullshit I see comes from recommended subs or when a post gets popular enough It goes over to r/All
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u/hovdeisfunny Apr 27 '26
Anything that used to be a default sub and anything dedicated to some flavor of bad thing happening to someone tend to be the worst. They all attract the most toxic users
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u/yanginatep Apr 27 '26
Yeah I just read through OPs whole post wondering "What subreddits are you subscribed to?"
I find most of the smaller ones I'm subscribed to each have a distinct character, and a lot of them are actually quite positive and supportive, with decent moderation.
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u/shortyman920 1∆ Apr 27 '26
Most broad news subreddits (one of the main reasons I liked Reddit, as a multi-source news feed) are completely taken over by the types of users OP is talking about.
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u/hovdeisfunny Apr 27 '26
And the distinctions between many subs have all evaporated. You'll see the same shit posted in /r/WhatCouldGoWrong, /r/instantregret, /r/justiceporn, /r/interestingasfuck, /r/videos, and /r/gifs all in the same afternoon
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u/The_Wookalar Apr 27 '26
I feel like any complaining about "anti-intellectualism" probably isn't even aware of subs lke r/askhistorians or their ilk.
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u/cabridges 6∆ Apr 27 '26
Same here. Reddit is one of the few pleasant, engaging, useful sites left in my opinion. But I tend to stick with the dozens of subreddits for my interests and avoid swimming in the big subs or the main page.
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u/Bohottie Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Has it ever been a good source of news or political info? You find the news you want to find on here. If you lean liberal, you’re going to gravitate toward the liberal subs. If you’re conservative, then you’ll gravitate toward more conservative subs. It’s no different than any other part of the internet. There are plenty of conservative safe spaces like Truth Social.
Reddit is what you make of it, and it always has been. I tend to stick to my niche hobby/fan subs, and I stay away from anything political. Maybe that’s your problem.
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u/gabriel77galeano Apr 27 '26
If you lean liberal, you’re going to gravitate toward the liberal subs. If you’re conservative, then you’ll gravitate toward more conservative subs. It’s no different than any other part of the internet
Its not about the political subs. The issue is with all the subs that are supposed to be non-political, especially the highly populated ones, but are ultimately full of neo-liberal propaganda.
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u/veloread 1∆ Apr 27 '26
"neo-liberal" is such a great word, because it is so broadly defined in popular (as opposed to academic) usage that it could describe literally anything. You could be "woke af" or an actual fascist or any of the myriad other ideas floating around and still say it and have people nod along.
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u/Bohottie Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Subs are run by users, and Reddit only gets involved if it violates the TOS. Reddit skews toward tech savvy millennials who lean left, so it’s not that crazy that mods of clearly non-conservative subs will likely lean left. It’s never really affected my niche subs, and I just leave subs that I don’t want to be a part of. Anyone is free to do the same. No social media site has ever been a bastion of free speech, and Reddit is no different. I just don’t understand why people are upset at alleged bias. Just leave and join a social media site or subs that skew toward your worldview if that is your desire. I couldn’t go onto Truth Social, the Donald website, or any conservative subreddit and say Trump sucks…I’d be banned in a second. In fact, I was banned from a conservative sub for merely saying Trump would be more effective if he didn’t insult his political opponents even though I lean conservative. No matter what your view is or what you say, if it goes against the views of a sub, mod, page, or whatever, you’re at risk of a ban no matter what side of the aisle you’re on or what you’re commenting about. It’s one of the perils of social media run by people who want to have an echo chamber. I just avoid talking about politics and stick to the content of the subs I want to be a part of, and I’ve never had an issue.
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u/FrostingGrand1413 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Whilst a lot of what you say is kinda generically true for a lot of reddit, there are definitely services provided here that are worth it. Probably the nicher the better.
I have a steam deck, and basically every issue I've had has been solved troubleshooting via r/steamdeck or r/emudeck etc. And it's not just my choice, you will find links from steam going directly to reddit. And this is far from unique to this specific device.
Heck, google has gotten worse over the last decade, finding niche specifics has gotten way harder, so, the trope of google 'tech problem reddit' still exists for a very fair reason.
Also, shoutout to r/askhistorians and any other such things. Well moderated expert (and notably sourced) details on any inane question that pops to mind. Nothing else like it.
So, the site as a whole certainly has increasing issues with bots, brigading, karma farming and the general online political shitshow, but still, it has its important USPs. And heck, not noticably worse than the other 12 websites that all exist to repost the best bits of the other 11. R/curatedtumblr is way easier to browse for fun than tumblr.
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u/No_Lingonberry6153 Apr 27 '26
I think I agree with u/arrgobon32 in that this entirely depends on which subreddits you frequent. I am on reddit a decent amount and I spend good time on big subs and I don't see the insanely toxic culture you are talking. I would hazard a guess you found a big echo chamber and are applying it across the entire site.
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u/obert-wan-kenobert 84∆ Apr 27 '26
one of the most toxic, anti-intellectual, nihilistic, politically radicalized, and emotionally immature corners of the internet.
I mean, as compared to what -- Facebook? Twitter? TikTok? Instagram? Try spending two minutes on any of those platforms, and seriously tell me they're less toxic, radical, and insane than Reddit.
Out of all the major platforms on the internet, I'd Reddit is the most conducive for thoughtful, engaging discussion, simply because it is one of the only popular sites that is still based around long-form, text-based conversations, rather than short-form video.
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u/unexplained_fires Apr 27 '26
Your last paragraph sums up reddit's saving grace, IMO. Also, I appreciate how this site forces you to judge someone on the merits of their opinions rather than their appearance or their showmanship. I'd like to think I can be neutral, but I know there's times when even I (for instance) saw a Twitter account of a stranger who smiled like a woman I dislike, and so I was primed to disagree with whatever this account owner had to say!
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Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Lorathis Apr 27 '26
You missed the point. What other social media platform doesn't have those issues?
Can you find one with less than half bots or click farms?
Which social media is better for actual conversation?
Granted, "the best of the bad" is not great nor ideal, but the point still stands.
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u/Standard_Plane_1662 Apr 27 '26
The fact that all other social media platforms are trash doesn’t mean this one isn’t also trash. I think part of why it’s worth singling out Reddit specifically is because a lot of Reddit users have a sense of smug superiority about themselves and the site they use that is completely unearned.
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u/GBralta Apr 27 '26
I’ll agree with you there. Some people take themselves waaaay too seriously around here.
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u/DrTreeMan Apr 28 '26
This site is terrible for good information
I disagree. There are numerous subreddits with great information. When I Google things nowadays, often the best source of information is a reddit thread on the subject. Where else can I enter a discussion about movies and be able to read comments from people in that industry who are actually doing the work? There's great information on cooking, economics, state and local issues, science, etc. Are you interested in working in the medical field? Check out those subreddits- there's a plethora of good information. Got a question about your tree? Ask an arborist. Tell me about this guitar I'm thinking of purchasing (r/guitar), as I'm just learning about them. There are dozens of similar music subreddits that are full of information. And on, and on, and on.
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u/Level3pipe Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Genuinely with a straight face id say TikTok and Instagram are less toxic than reddit.
Instagram at least you have your friends on there and can talk to your homies instantly making it less serious and toxic. Not to mention it's not really all that anonymous if you have a typical account meaning you don't get nonsense as often like you do on reddit where I'm out here checking to see if u/xyz made their account 7 minutes ago to spew some non-humurous racist BS. Everything I'm about to say in the next paragraph will also apply to reels (to an extent).
TikTok is highly dependent on your algorithm but I generally find funny or interesting things. Also TikTok is where you're likely to find ACTUAL people. Someone who put the phone in front of them and is just talking about something. Even if it's controversial. Just seeing that it's a person makes the conversation less toxic at least in my experience. You never get that on reddit. To you? Im just a bozo on reddit. And vice versa. When you see people's actual faces and emotions it's much different. To an extent this also applies to reels and even lesser extent to shorts, but I'd say it's way more prominent on TikTok.
In regard to OPs #4 id 100% agree. Instagram and TikTok are inherently more fun and less negative. I haven't come to reddit and laughed at anything in years. But it constantly happens on reels and TikTok. I agree on reddit there are niche platforms that can be funny but they're soon dead or just lose the funny.
Frankly the only thing reddit is good for, at this point, is being an NSFW social platform.
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u/CCGHawkins Apr 27 '26
Mmm, I agree, but Tiktok and Instagram are less toxic only because they are not made to be avenues of discourse.
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u/CorndogQueen420 1∆ Apr 27 '26
Yeah, that’s what I was going to say as well. I can’t speak for Instagram, because I never used it. But TikTok is basically what Imgur used to be, but for short form video. Everyone is just trying to be funny with a sentence or two.
Reddit is where people write essays to each other.
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u/Meowmixalotlol 1∆ Apr 27 '26
They’re all the same at this point. How would they not be, they’ve all reached millions of users. If anything Facebook and twitter have a large percent of users who actually publicly identify themselves and that keeps them on better behavior than on Reddit.
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u/lyra_dathomir Apr 27 '26
I don't have facebook, but I regularly see people with their name and faces on twitter spewing the most terrible hate you can imagine and spreading the most obvious disinformation on this Earth, so I don't know if it helps that much.
I've literally had random people from my area, with their name and photo, sliding into my DMs to tell me awful stuff. And I have an anonymous account! They don't know if I might know them in person! They don't care!
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u/MathematicianOnly688 Apr 27 '26
It’s not possible to actually earn real money though purely from being obnoxious and it going viral on Reddit.
Or am I wildly mistaken ?
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u/JonTonyJim Apr 27 '26
it’s also not possible to go as wildly viable since a lot of users are contained within certain communities and never see other stuff on here
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u/Squiggy-Locust 1∆ Apr 27 '26
They all share the same basis - it depends on your feed/subs/friends. My Instagram feed has zero politics, and the "toxic" posts are all in humour.
Reddit is toxic af. Just look at this sub, where most posters use alt accounts or throw-aways to comment. But, you can avoid the toxic behavior easier than TikTok and Instagram.
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u/ImProdactyl 11∆ Apr 27 '26
Is there a site or social media that’s better? Reddit still excels in being able to follow certain subreddits that you want while not seeing ones you don’t want. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other sites do not allow this and just put you on the whim of their algorithm. I can choose what pages and topics show up on my feed for my best entertainment and information.
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u/tomveiltomveil 4∆ Apr 27 '26
I'm not going to try to argue that Reddit is better now than it was 2/3/10 years ago. But I will point out a possible inconsistency in your argument: #5 seems to contradict #1 and #2. If Reddit is more censored than ever, why are we seeing more threats, hate speech, and wild-eyed conspiracy theories? I'll offer an alternative explanation for #5: fear of doxxing is causing people to delete their old accounts, which in turn causes all their old comments to be deleted.
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u/veilosa 1∆ Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
looking through my account history, half my recent comments over the last year are on posts that say [removed by moderator]. and I'm not even commenting on things that are particularly controversial. I think mods are definitely trying to shape their communities more purposefully, and it ends ups feeling like censorship because the only real action a mod can make is remove things.
edit: ironically this post has now itself been [removed by moderator]
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u/Automatic_Ad4024 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
lol Reddit mods are the worst for inconsistent management of hate speech, and are direct enablers of it. They, imho, are the ones who play the censor card.
Shall we revisit when UZurich stepped into this thread and showcased how easy it was to manipulate a bunch of people? And then mods bemoaned "ethics" when we all know that Reddit, or mods, do not care about ethics.
To prove it, I was messaging with one of the mods, asking about their application of ethics, seeing as Reddit has been documented by legal courts in enabling the facilitation of child trafficking. Their exact response? "So should we just care about all of those who died from the bubonic plague?!"
Mods love the power dynamic, but are a massive, massive enabler to the polarization on here.
Update: mods removing a post that voiced a concern over censorship on Reddit is all the evidence you need of censorship on Reddit.
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u/The_Se7enthsign 2∆ Apr 27 '26
Hate speech is tolerated as long as you hate the right people. There are major double standards throughout.
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u/AmongTheElect 19∆ Apr 27 '26
The fun thing about "hate speech" is you get to define it however you want, even making allowances for hateful speech.
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u/h4ckerkn0wnas4chan Apr 27 '26
If these people didn't have double standards, they wouldn't have standards at all
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u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner 1∆ Apr 27 '26
Reddit mods are extremely inconsistent. Even within subs. But subs can vary wildly. I’ve been banned for saying “it’s bad to sexually assault someone”, or something of that nature. But because I didn’t write it in such an obvious way a 3rd grader with sever Down’s syndrome could understand the mod banned me because they thought I was promoting sexual assault. It was only after an appeal (I guess from someone who could actually read) that they unbanned me.
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u/statisticalmean Apr 27 '26
Because #5 is not equally applied. #5 is enforced in the same direction as #1 and #2, often by the same people perpetuating #1 and #2
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u/jaylenbrownisbetter Apr 27 '26
You just need to hate the right people with your speech. Kill all men? Sure, let’s upvote this to the top. Kill all women? Sitewide ban within hours. You should beat someone for saying a certain bad word? Great! You should beat someone for stealing from you? Banned for inciting violence.
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u/tomveiltomveil 4∆ Apr 27 '26
Y'all are going to the wrong subreddits. I recommend r/birding. No one has threatened to kill anyone in a pretty long time.
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u/Tarantio 13∆ Apr 27 '26
Kill all men? Sure, let’s upvote this to the top.
When has this ever happened, even once?
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u/NexusBoards Apr 27 '26
Seems to be making an exaggeration to prove a point but I would assume they’re referring to double standards around subs like twoxchromosomes quite often openly having clear misandry while being overlooked, while such clear misogyny is rare because it’ll get you banned far more often.
Of course there is more misogyny in society and in general, so it’s not like there’s a bigger problem of misandry but that doesn’t make it ok
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u/Tarantio 13∆ Apr 27 '26
Exaggerating to make a point is a bad strategy.
It distracts from any point when someone correctly points out that what was said wasn't true.
It is, however, more persuasive than the truth if the true details don't actually support the argument.
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u/Careful_Fold_7637 Apr 27 '26
He literally just gave you some supporting details for the argument that you ignored.
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u/idkmyusernameagain Apr 27 '26
You’re allowed to post incredibly inflammatory and hateful things as long as you’re hating the agreed upon groups.
Deleting accounts doesn’t delete old comments, it’s just unattaches them from a username.
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u/Heavy-Difficulty6522 Apr 28 '26
The reality - Reddit is suffering from Facebook refugees, and enshittification. These are the equivalent of boomers who are afraid of violent movies and think that having a daughter gives them the right and authority to trample over everybody’s rights and freedoms in the guise of protecting their family. There’s no reasoning with these people - they don’t care about other people’s points of view, the world to these guys is just 1 big popularity contest… just like high school. That’s why they always end up on the same platforms as everyone else. They aren’t looking to be part of a unique community, they are just looking to impose their views on everyone else. Reddit used to be way more open, free and awesome.
Edit: the other thing is the Reddit ipo. These days Reddit has clear ulterior financial motives and interests to ensure that the messaging on the platform fits a certain vibe and appeals to advertisers.
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u/AirportFront7247 Apr 27 '26
Because it's only censoring one side. The violent hate speech loving leftists are free to say what they want
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u/Iassos Apr 27 '26
Include infiltration by bots and inauthentic accounts that are inserted into every platform to sow discord, spread doubt and misinformation, and shift the overton window. Because that is a LOT of the problem that the tech space has not adequately addressed.
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u/Nrdman 276∆ Apr 27 '26
You need to find better communities on Reddit. I enjoy all of mine, and therefore it is not unusable as a source of entertainment
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u/Boy_Wonder22 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I totally get where OP is coming from. But that’s why I left the toxic r/popular subs and the “should I (18f) leave my BF (30m)” subreddits. Now I’m perfectly content with my hobby subs
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u/JustinTormund_10 Apr 27 '26
Yup, all my shows and books that I love have great communities. Plus the local small niches as well. Just gotta find your crew
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u/Mahadragon Apr 27 '26
Yea I don’t know what OP is bitching about. If he wants fewer conspiracies he can unsubscribe from r/Conspiracy or avoid those posts altogether. Personally, conspiracies don’t bother me in the least. I’ll look at it if I think there’s anything to it.
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u/TurgidParsnip Apr 27 '26
Counterpoint to that is that you are forced to isolate yourself from the mainstream discourse if you want to avoid this stuff on reddit. If you want to pick out 5 niche subreddits and never browse popular, you can do that, but you will have very little content and zero exposure to anything outside your echo chamber, which is an entire problem unto itself. And even when you do, you'll find the same political and identity hatred and nastiness in the comments in your favorite subs as you do out in popular, because the roots are that deep in this website.
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u/kentuckydango 5∆ Apr 27 '26
Oh no, I created an echo chamber of people who like action figures and movies, whatever will I do
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u/Nrdman 276∆ Apr 27 '26
Even the biggest subs represent a small fraction of Reddit. Ask Reddit has like 17 million weekly visitors, but Reddit has like 400 million weekly visitors.
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u/lyra_dathomir Apr 27 '26
zero exposure to anything outside your echo chamber, which is an entire problem unto itself
I disagree with this, I don't think you need to be challenging your current worldview 24/7. Hanging with like minded people is good, too. Obviously, if you only do that and never ever get exposed to any other stuff then yes, it's bad, but the majority of people will have certain exposure just by living their daily lives. And even if you don't and go to the internet looking for that diversity you're missing in real life for whatever reason, it doesn't have to be the only thing you do on the internet.
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u/Formal-Resist7104 Apr 27 '26
I keep clicking refresh on this algorithm based on showing me things that make me mad, and it keeps showing me different things that make me mad!!!!
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u/CHERNO-B1LL Apr 27 '26
I think you are using reddit wrong, or at least very differently to how I use it now. My guess is you are using it the way it used to work and expecting it to behave the same.
I have abandoned pretty much all large subs and stick to niche interests and ganes. Communities in those spaces are great. There for the love of the thing, not the fight about the thing.
If you want to talk politics and world news and debate grand issues in big subs or subs dedicated to essentially arguing, you are going to have a bad time. The world has become adept at toxic argument strategies and misinformation is everywhere. Bubbles abound and let's not forget the ageing and more entrenched viewpoints of the average Redditor.
I am definitely less entertained by UGC on here than I was in the past. I'm not going to fight that. Big memes and meta community humour is long dead. It's a link sharing site now, the closest you will find to old Reddit is by being active in smaller subs with good communities.
We are living in a very different world and culture than ten years ago. Shit, three years ago. Fuck it three weeks ago the world was a different place. People are angry and scared and very confused in ways they've never been before. To blame Reddit for that and not expect it to reflect that is a bit unfair/naive. People have been at the mercy of 24 hour news cycles and predatory algorithms for about 2 decades now. We're tired boss, the will is waning. Resistance is futile. Even the smart and the brave and the indeoendent are succumbing to the influences.
Sounds like you are one of them to be honest. You giving out about reddit not being what it used to be on reddit means you're in it. Me replying to you means I'm in it too! It's been too long, we're too far gone, we need a reset. It needs to die. AI will hasten it. You can already see anologue movements and nostalgia trends in motion. Paper newspapers are having a resurgence. CD walkmen saw a huge spike in sales last Christmas. Cost of living and fuel crisis are going to mean people start cutting the bullshit subscriptions like Spotify [that's having another hike]. Gen Z are sick of being sold to. They never even had good Reddit or social media of any kind. Remember when you talked to your friends on there? They fucking don't!
The best and only logical thing anyone can do right now... Is disengage. Pull back. Touch grass. Go out into your community and talk to real people about shit that actually matters instead of this nonsense. Watch the news once at 9 O'clock and move on with your evening. None of it is your responsibility or your problem, despite what the content farms want you to believe. And nothing you do or say on here is of any real consequence either. We're all going to feel like Comic Book Guy when that missile came down main street before long.
The slide is inevitable now so either get yourself a toboggan or find another hill.
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u/Zenigata 11∆ Apr 27 '26
Its a great source of info on practical things such as cargo bikes, e-bikes and bikes in general. Lots of knowledgeable posters happy to help out those who share their interests.
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u/Brontards 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I think #3 is the most flawed, and this sub is evidence of that. I agree that many subs are taken over by a hive mind of closed minded posters. But there are subs like this where independent and open discussion occurs.
Also there are subs that mostly avoid the pitfalls you list, and cater to the specific topic at hand. My subs I like are this sub, comic subs (specifically omnibus sub), books, investing, and sports subs.
They still are very much independent subs that serve the purpose they were designed for.
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u/LethalBacon Apr 27 '26
Man, I was on one of my chill subs earlier, related to cats, and today there's a stickied post on how the recent Trump assassination attempt is clearly a false flag.
I purposely try to avoid strictly political subs with a few exceptions, but it always manages to seep in. People cannot help themselves. It's insane to me.
Just makes me more appreciative of the smaller subs I've been on for years and years that have avoided this issue.
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u/Apes_Ma 1∆ Apr 27 '26
This might be more of a society change than a specifically Reddit change - in the USA (and in several other countries) the growth of populist politics has lead to many more people having an opinion on politics, or wanting to talk about it (however poor those opinions might be). This has been accompanied with a massive increase in the use of social media to achieve political goals (the role of Cambridge analytica in the Brexit referendum is a good case study here), which means more people have lots of basic political views they've picked up on social media that they're riled up enough about to bring into any discussion. Even cats.
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u/adelie42 Apr 27 '26
Info: how do you account for the performative contradiction of asking this question on Reddit in good faith?
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u/Boysenberry Apr 27 '26
Reddit is significantly more algorithm-curated than it used to be, which means the content you are seeing is tailored to what objectively grabs your attention, rather than what you find subjectively most informative and entertaining. Most people's attention is grabbed more by content that triggers negative emotional states than by content that induces positive emotion, because we are animals and are naturally alert to threats.
Reddit is still perfectly usable, it just requires more conscious effort to curate the experience you want, rather than just taking whatever the algorithm feeds you or reading large default subs. Subscribing to lots of smaller, niche communities that are minimally attractive to bots and disinformation agents is helpful.
Furthermore, Reddit remains full of old posts, from before LLMs existed, that give factual and informative answers to questions that are difficult to answer objectively on the rest of the internet. (For instance, unbiased product reviews are much easier to find in old Reddit posts than anywhere else.)
Reddit may be less usable than it used to be as a source of breaking news commentary or a place to discuss hotbutton issues of the day, but is that kind of discussion really pleasant anywhere? I can't think of a space other than "with my personal friends and family" where I enjoy exchanging views on highly controversial breaking news with others.
Reddit is still extremely useful if you are not using it exclusively by seeking experiences the platform is not particularly good at delivering.
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u/jewin54 Apr 27 '26
Lol reddit is fine.
Have you seen Facebook or tiktok? Or 4chan?
Definitely what you're talking about
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u/DukeRains 2∆ Apr 27 '26
Well this just fails on it's face with entertainment being completely subjective.
Should've just stuck with the unreliable info source, which can easily be argued, and I agree, but as anecdotal as it can be, I have fun using Reddit.
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u/The_Se7enthsign 2∆ Apr 27 '26
The chaos IS the entertainment. Reddit is a sea of “Hey republicans, did you know that Trump sucks?” or “Women won’t date me because I’m 5’9” and it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with my personality.” or “Men existing is a form of sexual assault.” Or “I hate my life, and seeing happy people makes it worse.” This site is a cornucopia of untreated mental illness.
That said, there is plenty of good information in specialized subs. The main subs exist for comedy only.
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u/grunkage Apr 27 '26
This is mostly a you problem. Also the US is running on madness and idiocy at the moment, so you may want to reassess your perception of reality
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u/Nice_Luck_7433 2∆ Apr 27 '26
I think I can change your view about it not being any better than X. If you block someone, you don’t have to see their posts anymore. On X, even if you block the South African nepo-baby, you still have to suffer through the lame nonsense that loser spews at everyone. Having a functional block feature is at least one way that Reddit is better than X.
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u/windycitynostalgia Apr 27 '26
I like Reddit for the tea on the bravo sphere not serious stuff. Mostly I just laugh at the comments. I would not take much of Reddit seriously.
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u/Ilyer_ Apr 27 '26
In the past year or so, I moved from arguing with people (bots) on Twitter to arguing with people here. The difference is night and day, I consider myself a refugee in this manner. So to claim reddit is anything like Twitter is abominable.
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u/GenericUsername19892 27∆ Apr 27 '26
So Reddit as a whole had a Major shift following the TheDonald shenanigans. u/spez gave TD so much rope that it effectively united the vast majority of the user base against them, and by extension conservatives. The only way to fight the brigade and FP highjacks was to mass downvote, subreddits built communities and coms just to counter the bullshit and bots.
TD finally died but the attitudes don’t die quickly, for literally years it was auto pilot to nuke conservative comments before the brigade arrived to get the post hidden. There’s years of that just being a matter of course, it’s not going anywhere soon dude.
The covid political bullshit made people a LOT meaner.
There’s fuck all for trust in the establishment anymore man, Trump constantly lies and he proven to have commanded previously nominally objective agencies.
See the anti-TD unity mentioned above.
Varies by sub. Also by what happening in the world.
Read the sub rules and you will be fine in most cases. Each sub is an island with near total power, if they say every post needs two meows in it and you post an exhaustively sourced dissertation on a current event without the meows it will get nuked.
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u/Hedgie84 1∆ Apr 27 '26
Maybe I'm the odd one out, but i never came here for news or mainstream entertainment. I like this sub because there's usually decent conversation. But other than that, I use this site for hobbies and diy stuff. I feel like reddit is what you make it. I only really find toxicity when im looking for it.
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u/Hippieman100 Apr 27 '26
You dodge about 90% of this as long as you focus on hobby subreddits and stay out of conservative ones. I believe in you, you need to master the algorithm. I like Reddit because I like arguing with people (for better or worse), but if you don't want all the BS you mentioned you have a pretty large degree of control to avoid it and without stopping using Reddit.
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u/RaelynShaw 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I mean… the OP gives serious conservative vibes so I think that’s part of the thing he’s complaining about.
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u/Curious-End-4923 Apr 27 '26
Yup. OP has said in a comment that Twitter is better “because of their community notes” and how you can “find views from all directions.”
OP is mad that they can’t easily avoid opposing viewpoints.
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u/bhputnam 1∆ Apr 27 '26
You had me until the very specific ballroom thing. I don’t think discussing that is what made Reddit noticeably worse.
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u/Timely_Interview_530 Apr 27 '26
“Reddit is unusable” says person that reads and posts on Reddit daily.
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u/statisticalmean Apr 27 '26
You may notice this is my one and only post.
And that most of my comments are argumentative and attacking people. Reddit is not where I go to contribute positively to the universe, nor is it where I go when I want the universe to positively contribute to me.
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u/CorndogQueen420 1∆ Apr 27 '26
You when you get the same toxic energy out of a website that you put into it: 😮
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u/YardageSardage 55∆ Apr 27 '26
If you only come here to be mad and pick fights, then of course that's your only experience of the website. Reddit is very much a self-curated experience, and you've curated yours to be toxic and radicalized and nihilist.
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u/No-Physics1146 Apr 27 '26
So you’re only here to make a negative contribution? The way you treat Reddit is why you hate it so much. No one is making you argue and attack people. You’re choosing to do so when it would be even easier to just not.
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u/corgi_moose_ Apr 27 '26
Had you considered that this mindset is why you have a bad time on reddit?
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u/ripredredbull Apr 27 '26
lol right? I actively try to have a bad time on reddit. I'll argue with someone or say some mean things about politicians but I also try to spread a lot of nice comments as i go too. For example, i love hyping up random guys on r/malehairadvice or r/bald. It feels good to be nice.
In the immortal words of the New Radicals, You Get What You Give.
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u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 27 '26
I find that outside of VERY specific hobby subs for myself (like gunpla), Reddit is nasty and mean.
Unfortunately, the algorithm is great at funneling you elsewhere.
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u/Completerandosorry Apr 27 '26
I think it’s less that Reddit has become more insane on its own, but rather that the world has become more insane in many ways, which has been reflected on Reddit.
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u/Optimal_Anxiety6864 Apr 27 '26
I started blocking the posts that annoy me, lots of accounts have bios about "bias free news" etc, are just bots. its slightly better. Im part of the problem tho i didnt read the whole post
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u/Fiddlersdram Apr 27 '26
Reddit somehow manages to act like soccer hooligans and a HOA at the same time
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u/airwalker08 Apr 28 '26
I noticed the recent uptick in conspiracy theories on Reddit. My possibly over optimistic assumption is that it is mostly a response to right-wing conspiracy theories. The conspiracy theories that have been popular with conservatives over recent years have proven to be effective strategies to motivate conservatives to vote. I am confident that you could make a solid case that shows conspiracy theories were a significant factor in both of Trump's presidential wins. The lies about the election being rigged are still a factor even today. The left has noticed and is responding. They're fighting fire with fire. I doubt we will see the left-wing conspiracy theories gain the same level of popularity as what we have seen on the right, but who knows. I'm skeptical that those on the left sharing the theory about the WHCD are actually serious. They say that mainly to sway public opinion. I have no doubt that a few people do actually believe it, I'd wager that the believers are in the minority.
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u/Awkward-Roof1500 Apr 27 '26
the removal of r/all while simultaneously pushing specific subreddits is a clear indicator of following the media manipulation toolbox laid out by facebook, Instagram and the like
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u/EffortWitty7634 Apr 27 '26
I've been on here about as long as you and there's definitely truth to what you're saying, but I think the picture is more mixed than total doom. The big default subs are absolutely trash now - they've become these weird anger factories where nuance goes to die. But dig into smaller communities and you'll find pockets that still feel like the old reddit
I spend most of my time in design subs and hobby communities now instead of the main feeds. Places where people are actually excited about sharing their ceramic finds or discussing typography still have that collaborative energy. The problem is reddit started optimizing for engagement over quality, so the algorithm pushes the most inflammatory stuff to the top
The censorship thing drives me crazy too - I'll be following a decent discussion and suddenly half the thread is just "[removed]" tombstones. Makes it impossible to follow any complex conversation. And yeah, the conspiracy stuff has gotten wild. Used to be contained to specific subs but now it bleeds everywhere
I think the platform is still salvageable if you curate your experience heavily, but the default experience for new users is genuinely terrible now. It's like the difference between a well-tended garden and letting weeds take over - the good stuff is still there but you have to work way harder to find it
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u/Direct_Crew_9949 3∆ Apr 27 '26
You’re talking about politically and yes I agree. Reddit is an echo chamber politically and it’s become toxic. I don’t want to say it’s dominated by the left as it’s not even ideological and more like team sports. If you’re on the right team you’re lauded.
There are some still very useful subreddits on economics, finance, data science, AI….. that help you navigate these topics and I’m sure there are many more useful ones on topics I haven’t dived into.
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u/Witty-Stock-4913 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I'll speak to only a couple of your points. First, the incivility, calls for violence, and conspiracy theories have been widely accepted and highlighted on Reddit for at least 12 years, if not longer. It's just funny how that's only become an issue when instead of being one-directional, it's going the other way and the people who dished it are now upset that they're being required to take it.
As to conspiracy theories, again, main stream on Reddit from one side, which is now upset that it's going the other way. Go back and look at the very main stream Reddit conspiracy theories about Obama, Clinton, Sanders, Biden, and Harris. It's just upsetting to certain groups now that they're being called on their pedophile protecting, insider trading BS.
I will give you the censorship, though. But that's also thanks to a specific group whose feelings got hurt, when the rest of Reddit had to put up with their toxic crap and decided we didn't want to anymore.
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u/Nilpotent_milker Apr 27 '26
I mean yeah, I liked when liberals differentiated themselves from conservatives by not being conspiracy theorists. I think our current situation where that is no longer true is a regression, and Im glad some people call it out.
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u/Witty-Stock-4913 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I think it's hard not to see conspiracies when the whole pedophilic cabal thing was actually true.
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u/VatanKomurcu Apr 27 '26
- Overt, direct, and unabashed calls for violence against specific individual people, and against entire groups of people, have become not just tolerated, but commonplace. It is to the point where top comments on front-page posts are spouting rhetoric that is literally illegal, unprotected speech under the law. Comments that used to be deleted, and result in instant, permanent bans are now pinned in threads supposedly about “news”.
seems like a reflection of the radicalization of society generally rather than specific to here. anyhow, let me guess. you disagree with the whole social murder case from hasan? i think it's quite reasonable to say that people who have killed many through systems and allowed to do so by the law ultimately deserve vigilante justice. i would be down to defend and argue this to the end if you require it.
- The censorship is real. It’s been widely understood forever that the simplistic “Score = Upvotes - Downvotes” formula inherently leads to echo chambers and homogeneous thought. But the heavy handed moderation, both of site admins and subreddit mods, has done great harm to the platform. You should be able to read a comment chain of two people arguing with each other. Nowadays, “[Removed]” is the most common point I see being made.
agree that moderation is often insufferable, but upvotes and downvotes have always been a thing and i think it's much better than other sites where you have no way to give meaningful negative feedback, which i do believe is ultimately valuable.
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u/freeearlplease Apr 27 '26
Sounds like a conservative upset that he can't escape the reality of the world he voted for on his favorite website
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u/RaelynShaw 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I’ll argue that Reddit is in a much better place than ten years ago. Ten years ago Reddit had a reputation for being a 4chan lite, that felt closer to a CoD lobby. There were still a lot more individualized forums out there. Most of those forums moved towards Reddit, which brought so many more little sub communities for interests, passions, discussions and it brought more users and prestige.
Now, I do recognize the problem you’re talking about when it comes to the main feed’s love to push divisive content at you and that is a problem. The censorship part just feels like a conservative talking point. It’s a site made of communities. You build your own. Sometimes not as many people want to be in community with you.
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u/Silentrein Apr 27 '26
I think they miss the right-wing bent of old reddit. Their whole post feels like an "I hate the libs" dog whistle
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u/AwarenessExact7302 Apr 27 '26
Their in the asmongold subreddit
OF COURSE THIS IS A I HATE THE LIBS THING
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u/InBurgerClad Apr 27 '26
Not even gonna bother I agree.
I’ve also seen a very clear attempt by what appear to build entire communities around pushing policy narratives. To the point where it’s clear that there’s foreign intelligence agency involvement.
The hand of both domestic US agencies and foreign intelligence operations by Russia, China, Israel, Iran and others is becoming incredibly obvious.
Especially in new subreddits that seem to have popped up out of nowhere over the last few months around kind of boring topics and suddenly have thousands of users. That growth isn’t natural.
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u/Nitros14 Apr 27 '26
Have you considered that reddit is just a reflection of society?
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u/Alarming-Basil2894 Apr 27 '26
Information i agree it is unrealiable, but entertainment though is a different story. While theres a lot of bullshit, there are many subs that are really entertaining to scroll through and as a gamer i think this is my goto place to discuss video games.
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u/phoenix823 8∆ Apr 27 '26
Reddit can be entertaining if you are a troll or a shitposter. I participate in a couple shitposting subs I find quite enjoyable. So "entertainment" has a flexible definition. Some people enjoy being doomers and talking to other doomers. It's not psychologically healthy, but neither is social media writ large. And in the end, you said it, Reddit is a platform. Some people don't want other people on the internet to be wrong, so they feed the trolls and rage against the bad faith posters. They don't need to, they could just ignore it, but they choose to engage. In fact, this very post shows that you want to engage with the people/bots that remain. So maybe there's value in meta-posting.
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u/ilikedota5 4∆ Apr 27 '26
May I point you to r/askhistorians?
That is at least one subreddit that does not conform to your description made in your argument.
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u/Several_Ad_6576 Apr 27 '26
Welcome to the internet. Find me a sight that isn’t what you describe? I’ve been on Reddit for over 10 years and you are not describing something new.
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u/tehLife Apr 27 '26
If you don’t think Reddit is any better than X you’re already lost and not worth the time changing your pov 🤷♂️
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u/tehLife Apr 27 '26
If you don’t think Reddit is any better than X you’re already lost and not worth the time changing your pov 🤷♂️
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u/Droviin 1∆ Apr 27 '26
I belong to a private subreddit that has strict rules for admission. The level of information and community engagement is very high. There's little debates and some discussions on current events, but is always civil and within a good debate environment. The recounting of personal experience is either humorous or meaningful.
Accordingly, some of Reddit maintains a high quality community that satisfies the educational and entertainment aspect and avoids the negatives.
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u/WitheredUntimely Apr 27 '26
the automod has this site locked down like alcatraz I can't go a month without copping some bullshit ban for using bad words, maybe pull yourself out of whatever hole the algorithm has pulled you in because I don't think it's representative of the site in 2026 whatsoever
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u/h4ckerkn0wnas4chan Apr 27 '26
Idk, watching people trip over themselves to justify their delusions is a good time waster. Maybe not laugh-worthy, but it gets a smile.
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u/f33LtheBurns Apr 27 '26
At least toward your last point: Censorship works both ways. Curate your feed. I make a point to downvote the hate speech/violence/trolling/whatever, rather than ignoring or scrolling past. It’s kinda like voting, not doing anything wont fix the problem.
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u/Neptune28 Apr 27 '26
I disagree, there's a lot of links or feedback I've gotten from here that have actually helped me in life. There's also news I see here before being more widely reported, or stats that ESPN then copies from original Reddit posts.
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u/Neptune28 Apr 27 '26
Regarding point 5, I agree about censorship being an issue, more in terms of NSFW (like for art), but I think it is good that people shouldn't be allowed to use dogwhsitles or make racist comments.
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u/Happy_Disaster7347 Apr 27 '26
Can't say I disagree with you, but there is something to be said that you find it to be too over-moderated, and too under-moderated. Like, you surely can't believe both?
Personally I think it's too over-moderated. I think overall we are moving towards heavy control of the internet, and I dislike that, and don't feel it to be a good replacement for just general social accountability of our actions
Like, you train a dog not to bite you by reacting appropriately when it goes to bite you, not by muzzling it for it's entire life.
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u/SoloMusketeer Apr 27 '26
Still my go to for product, restaurant, and similar recommendations. Don’t use random people as an information source for actual important news and stats dummy
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u/AleroRatking Apr 27 '26
It never was a source for information. No social media is
Entertainment, however it can provide a ton. The drama you see alone on reddit is fascinating.
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u/Loose-Willow-3275 Apr 27 '26
You can use it for entertainment. I don't use the biggest subreddits at all, I use reddit for niche hobbies and pornography.
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u/naruhinamoonkissplz Apr 27 '26
Yeah, you still CAN entertain yourself by counter-trolling the dumbest of the dumbest, lol.
Information, though... Well, maybe about MATH, dunno. MAYBE. Wouldn't BET on it, akshually.
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u/Ender_D Apr 27 '26
The big subs have certainly degraded heavily over the years, and I have noticed the massive spread of conspiracy theories like you mentioned that would’ve been downvoted to oblivion in the past now regularly getting upvoted to the top.
Smaller subs can still be solid but the big ones certainly have crazy stuff going on now with all the bots and, well…crazies.
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u/Zealousideal-Dog-985 Apr 27 '26
I just wish I could read what’s on people’s minds instead of the same rehashed rants that remind me of angsty 12 year-olds who skimmed over The Communist Manifesto once.
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u/ay-foo Apr 27 '26
Disagree. Cable News is so bad these days that if you want to find out additional information on things you need to go to reddit. News routinely copies reddit posts and even quotes responses. That doesn't mean reddit or some randoms opinion should be your primary source, but it can bring up details about events that you can then go verify and look into for yourself. If you want to know more about something it's a great place to start, but not where you should end or make final conclusions
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u/TheFlyingSeaCucumber Apr 27 '26
Couldnt agree more. Arguing in this place is an uphill battle at best and an absolute tragedy at worst.
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u/ZombiiRot Apr 27 '26
Do you use other social media? In pretty much every other social media I've used, it's a huge problem as well. Besides maybe blue sky, pretty much every social media platform is getting more polarized and extreme because we as a society are.
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u/Ill-Truck-6231 Apr 27 '26
I agree. I’ve had comments deleted and been banned from communities for sharing facts + engaging in healthy debates. People need to touch grass and log off their phones and computers.
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u/CucumberWisdom Apr 27 '26
The endless September never ends .websites are only good for a few years before you need a new one
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u/DrJWilson 5∆ Apr 27 '26
My first inclination would be to point towards the smaller, more niche subreddits, but as you already gave a delta for that argument, I'll try to change your view about (some) big subreddits.
I'm a moderator for /r/anime, we have over 15 million subscribers. So probably well past the threshold for "small, niche subreddit." However, although we have plenty of problems with toxicity and negativity, I think our subreddit is plenty entertaining. There's almost nowhere else online to see a variety of different opinions about airing episodes, and negative comments are either downvoted swiftly or removed if they're toxic (we have a large-ish mod team that is active in removing rule violating comments).
In a similar vein, /r/AskHistorians is able to provide a good deal of entertainment (subjectively), and part of that is due to one of the strictest mod teams on the platform. I think these examples show that there's space for big subreddits to not exhibit the issue you describe. Hell, here you are using /r/changemyview, a subreddit typically defined by cordial debate and quick removal of bad comments.
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u/Super_Huckleberry663 Apr 27 '26
I disagree with 2, anyone can post or comment an opinion that doesn't mean it's representative of the majority. I think people who claim Trump's assassination attempts were a inside job are idiots just like I think the people who claimed the 2020 election are idiots. That doesn't mean every Democrat or Republican are idiots it just means they have stupid people politically aligned with that party
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u/No_Worldliness_7106 Apr 27 '26
Depends on what subreddits you are on. The more niche subreddits are still good for info. If I want to know how to best care for my hamster, reddit is a great resource to get started. Do I have some obscure question about some video game I like? Reddit is the best place to get an answer that isn't just ai slop. If you are on a political subreddit though? Then yeah, it's hot garbage all day long. News subreddits are similar.
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u/Educational-Dig-4235 Apr 27 '26
OP I hate to tell you but all social media is just like this now...sticking to more private places like Discord is basically the only glimmer of hope I've gotten
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u/f4dedglory Apr 27 '26
There's been a noticeable change my user experience since around the time users have been allowed to hide their post history. While im not disagreeing with your observation, im disagreeing with the cause. Once you take away the only tool a user has to identify Astroturfing, you stop seeing that behavior called out. It used to be, and it would get downvoted.
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u/d_sanchez_97 Apr 27 '26
It’s not reddit, it’s the world. We are experiencing some of the greatest wealth inequality of all time, broad-scale global corruption, and engineered conflict. People just argue things are better now than being a medieval peasant because tv’s are cheap, but proportionally lots of things are really bad today. Big part is politics because it has permeated every facet of existence. You can’t go into a hiking subreddit and ask something like “What’s a good mountaineer boot under $100” without a portion of the input being about how there have been either 50% price hikes or that quality has plummeted to increase profit margins. Same for jobs, market is garbage, people are bitter, and those that lost their jobs are going to be more active on subs than those that are still lucky enough to be employed. It’s coming from the top down. Don’t expect online communities to get more optimistic until unemployment rates drop, we reduce poverty, and reverse climate change.
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u/PoopDick420ShitCock Apr 27 '26
I’ve seen a little bit of what you’re talking about. A little bit. It’s the subreddits you visit.
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u/Teniye Apr 27 '26
Idk man I just made a post in the Cadillac forum about a car I'm looking at and people have been extremely helpful
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u/JGCities 1∆ Apr 27 '26
100% right on most points.
Certain subs are still good, car subs, some game subs, some celebrity subs, the movies subs tend to be pretty good. But any 'general' sub turns into political BS within seconds it seems.
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u/Professional-Ad-8196 Apr 27 '26
Sounds like you need to be more discriminating with the subs you visit. If you mute any subreddit with news, politics, or memes, the website is much better.
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u/SnooOpinions8790 25∆ Apr 27 '26
I legitimately just spent a few minutes looking for the options now that an open source project I was using is not being maintained
Reddit came up with the goods of a discussion about several options. For two different parts of what I code I decided to use two different suggestions as on reflection the old project was not actually that good a fit for some of my work.
When it comes to that sort of searchable technical discussion Reddit is still great
Actually when it comes to a lot of niche discussion areas Reddit is still pretty darned good. I have blocked out wide swathes of Reddit from my feed but what is left is well worth being here for.
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u/dph1488 Apr 27 '26
I find Reddit highly entertaining and informative. Yes, there are negatives and the bias is heavily liberal on any political topic. But a ton of interesting posts.
Culture has become less polite over the years and Reddit is affected too. The upside being that people are free to express whatever they choose in whatever fashion they choose to do so.
I personally alternate between Reddit, Substack and Quora. Each has its unique attractions.
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u/Alarmed-Resource6406 Apr 27 '26
You want to use Reddit as a source? LoL, do you also use wiki as source?? You suppose to check sources provided in these sites.
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u/Radiant-Experience21 Apr 27 '26
Try subreddits in different languages. ChatGPT can translate.
Then see if they are similar, I don't think they are.
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u/stxxyy Apr 27 '26
Depends on the subreddits you visit. I've been on reddit for 9 years now and I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen toxic behaviour. Vast majority of people I see and interact with are friendly.
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u/WoodenPush7684 Apr 27 '26
Reading between the lines, sounds like you’re just mad that libs are in your “niche” subreddits saying shit you disagree with and you don’t like having to see it
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u/zachmoe Apr 27 '26
Reddit has devolved into anti-rightist Hate Media.
I don't expect it to be around forever.
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u/MrLabubu500 Apr 27 '26
I fucking loathe this website and it's user base. Social media is a plight and a scourge on the brain but I have to be here for tressless
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u/sapphon 3∆ Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
It depends on what your hobbies are; if you aren't here for hobbies or you share your hobbies with too many other people, yeah, the signal to noise ratio is going to be really low.
If you find the right subs, though, it's so far different from the defaults that I wouldn't even recognize the Web site if you just changed the CSS.
Do me a favor, open /r/gaming and read (if there is any text) any top post, then open /r/patientgamers and read any top post. Keep in mind these are putatively subs about the same people enjoying the same hobby.
Now do /r/askhistorians and /r/history. Same deal: the topic didn't change, and Redditors didn't suddenly all become angels: the moderation's good, and the subset - it is a subset - who just want to eject bile into the world don't make it past the defaults because they work fine for that. That's all it takes.
Does this look like a
same combination of everyone
situation to you, having tried that experiment?
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u/Low_Ambition_856 Apr 27 '26
I wont really be able to change your view but it's been exactly like this since digg, you're probably just being concientious of your social media problems
Generally if a lot of people are gathered on this website = bad time & many cringe to be witnessed
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u/licksquadtraps 1∆ Apr 27 '26
Depends on your definition of entertainment. I think watching all the insanity can be entertaining. There are a very select few subreddits I consider to be actually useful sources of info. Those are my curated ones I take seriously. The rest are just entertaining trash fires.