Ready for Reddit?
Emoni Harris, Mishelina Iracheta, Raul Valladares
What is Reddit?
Reddit, which sounds an awful lot like ‘Read it’, is a context and discussion board website that you are encouraged to post images, videos, links, and comments to. Otherwise known as the “front page of the internet”, the 2005 start up allows users of the site to interact with each other by voting up or down on any forums they view all across the platform. Topics found on the website range from food to politics to news, you name it. Each topic is separated into categories known as ‘subreddits’, allowing a more convenient layout for it’s members and viewers. The more a topic is upvoted, the more likely it is you’ll come across it. The most popular remain on the homepage. Just after a year 500,000 impressions daily, creators Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, took Conde Nast’s offer of $20 million for their very own, Reddit.
If you are unfamiliar with Reddit but seem to take an interest in it, Jake Wildman and Will Nicol dive further into depth about what Reddit really is what it has to offer.
News and Reddit
Reddit users define Reddit as easy and free when it comes to browsing the website. However, when it comes to news and Reddit, the crowd seems mixed. Considering the platform is solely user generated, so is the news. Though news is a side feature for Reddit, the risk of propaganda and extremism can be high. Even with Reddits thousands of moderators, constantly trashing subreddits that don’t meet community guidelines, subreddits that are user generated can be of any perspective on any topic. Joey Rentz, a college sophomore attending Southern Illinois University, mentions a particular problem he finds when spending time on Reddit.
“But Reddit has problems with mob mentality, especially with anything politics related.”
Luckily, with the persistent use of moderators, Reddit has cracked down on the immense amount of fake news towering over the Internet and it’s site. One subreddit in particular focuses on non-bias, real and informative news articles primarily relating to the United States. With this, users are able to post hyperlinks to news articles without the spread of misinformation.
Keeping Reddit a place that emits credible and valid information seems to be of high priority. As I mentioned previously, moderators are constantly monitoring threads and redacting those that don’t meet the community guidelines. Although most threads primarily include links, photos, and videos, news is mainly distributed through links from direct news sources such as CNN or NBC. Finding anything news related is something users have to seek out on their own. Occasionally, news related articles will appear on the front page, but are geared more towards sports and entertainment than politics and worldwide conflict. Armin Nikravan, a student attending DePaul University, talks about the convenience Reddits layout is.
“Since there’s dedicated subs for topics it’s nice that if you know there’s something you wanna see, you know where to go where people are talking about that thing.”
Armin continues to talk about the convenience Reddit allows it’s user when browsing the site, a key component to why he favors it over other social media sites. As shown below, the community is allowed to share threads and forums by clicking the ‘share’ button which then allows you to copy a link or embed it.
The People of Reddit
All walks of life tend to find their way to Reddit. I had the opportunity to talk to a few users who enjoy the opportunity it’s susceptible to.
Matt Thomas, a student attending Chapman University, talked about the variety of content on Reddit. He acknowledges how content is carefully strict and reveals the proper guidelines followed followed on every subreddit.
Matt goes on to talk about how he uses Reddit for both news and entertainment purposes. He admits he doesn’t seek out reports but if a story peaks his interest, he isn’t inclined to ignore it. He communicated that if he did explore news willingly, Reddit would be a site he could pursue.
“It’s a good collection of news from all over the internet so it’s convenient.”
Another student we interviewed mentions the freedom and fluidity of Reddit. Rayne Bowe, a senior at Lyons Township High School, finds the layout unappealing as opposed to others.
“It lets you join thousands of communities with people who are just like you. And every Redditor is involved with each in some form”
Rayne continues to talk about how he also uses Reddit for news and entertainment, even indicating the website is divided in three main parts, entertainment, news, and NSFW.
After all, Reddit seems to appeal to those of a younger age, interested in all sorts of topics from gaming to science. News tends to include those who live in the United States over those who don’t. Overall the theme implies an invitation for those who want it, no matter who you are.
