While traveling in Spain with the only plan for some weekends being the name of a city, I have reclaimed Google as a friend and have a newfound appreciation for open forum sites like Reddit. It’s my new favorite way to find the best places to go out, simply by asking strangers on the internet. It turns out I’m not the first tourist to be lost in Spain. After Reddit proved its elite taste in food and drink, I explored further and found both a rocky coast and deep sanctuary of comfort among voices of the internet.
Before social media and open forums, there were letters-to-the-editor pages in newspapers, and before newspapers, people would gather in town squares to hear public opinion. This community unmasks the technicalities and powers our society has in play, under which we obey but cannot always control. With the emergence of online forums such as Reddit, Quora, X and other social media platforms, people find real answers, or at least they aren’t alone in confusion.
Those open discussions are not always factual or trustworthy, but no one is maliciously misleading or listing off a supposed top 10. According to Statistica, as of January, Reddit has 1.22 billion users worldwide, more than X with 335.7 million. Reddit was also ranked the fourth most trafficked website in the U.S. for 2024, below Facebook, YouTube and Google. It is mainly known for never-ending “subreddits,” of niche discussion topics to read, comment or post on. These can range from R/meme (with 2.5 million members) to R/showerthoughts (31 million members). There are even subreddits for most locations and schools, including R/OhioUniversity.
Not everything on Reddit is pretty or helpful, but it’s a place to find honest answers from the world, or to speak your mind and be heard without suffering repercussions of personal association. Due to its inability to successfully promote influencers or enfold a social hierarchy of followers and photos on one’s profile, it remains an unfiltered commentary catalog from real people. Social anxiety or theatrics are nonexistent due to its disregard for individual profiles, and opportunity for anonymity, disconnecting it from the web of social identities.
A study on social media toxicity described its source to be more from human behavior than the technology or platform itself. It also discussed the effect of an echo chamber that forms in places of online discussion. Anonymous commenting is a slippery slope, making it easier to be hateful and aggressive, and comments are often read to be more offensive than the writer might have intended. On the other hand, with places like Instagram or Facebook laying the foundation for one to extend their sense of self, it’s more difficult to ask hard questions or give the hard answers when they could fall back on one’s profile.
A simple internet search can solve most questions, but the difference with places like Reddit is the element of helpful humanity. Answers come from real people who experienced something similar firsthand instead of a vague (frightening) diagnosis with 20 different possible symptoms.
One subreddit I found was for older generations to give advice to those in their 20s, and the advice was phenomenal. One user with the handle “weinermcfartface” gave the most beautiful response with timeless, poetic advice for anyone.
One of the last things the mysterious guru said was, “Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off and painting over the ugly parts to recycle it for more than it’s worth.”
Like any social media, never share personal information or use anonymity for hate, but Reddit, despite its rollercoaster ride of literary freedom, might just have some answers.
Libby Evans is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Libby know by emailing her at le422021@ohio.edu.
