I don’t know how many of you guys use the site Reddit but, I started using it about a month ago and it’s been an interesting experience.
So, Reddit is basically a social media site that allows users to post stuff anonymously on the internet. This means that you don’t really have friends like in Facebook or Instagram, instead you can share opinions with everyone on the internet (that is everyone who uses Reddit).
Hence, it’s kinda like twitter but more regulated. It’s mostly used to have discussions on interesting topics. So, you can read opinions form complete strangers, and also give your opinions on things without the fear of being judged.
It’s the true nature of the internet.
It’s the true nature of the internet.
And unfortunately, it is a dying breed.
See, in the early days of the internet, people used to surf the web anonymously. There used to be these online chat rooms where random people could talk, these blog sites where people shared their thoughts, and well sties that sold pirated music lol.
And most importantly, the internet was not hyper commercialized as it is today.
Heck, Youtube was used by people to share home made funny videos. There was no profit in it, people simply did it because it was fun. And that was the reason why people loved it so much: it felt real.
No one knew how to monetize the internet; there were no big corporations on it. Hence it was fun.
Ah it’s a nostalgic feeling!
But once people found out the true money that they can make from the internet, all hell broke loose. Until about 2002/3, there were no big companies trying to make money off the internet (or at least they were not very successful). However, after that the internet started to go downhill.
Companies like Facebook and Twitter came to life, whose main long-term goal was making as much money as possible. At first, they had no ads and it was still fun, but slowly the ads came in and ruined everything. The same story with Youtube. There were no ads on Youtube up until 2014 I guess, but after that, it has been getting worse day by day.
The sick internet.
These days internet is one of the worst places to be. It used to be fun, but now, it has all gone downhill. The corporations run the internet, there is too much censorship and since there is big money involved, companies like Youtube and Facebook have become more of a “cash cow” than social media sites. Not too mention that there are ads everywhere!
Everything is synthesized these days. Nothing seems natural like it used to be. Take Youtube for example. In the past, individual creators were the ones making most of the content for Youtube (and that is why it was creative and fun); they didn’t even know if they would ever make money from their videos but they made it anyways (just for fun). But these days almost all of the most popular videos are made by big corporations (or people who are ‘looking to make a profit from these videos’, who have a big production budget and profit motives behind everything). Everyone is begging for the most likes or the most shares and it’s honestly become toxic.
Creators are click baiting viewers, and some of the original content creators have become so rich and famous that they have started acting like corporations themselves! They care a lot about their “personal brand” and “image” these days, and act more like a “celebrity” than just another funny person (like they used to be). They are too scared to speak their minds, and talked in a very calculated way fearing they will upset their viewers/sponsors. It’s honestly sad.
Back in the day, no one on the internet cared about their “brand” lol. People didn’t even know if they will neve make any money out of the stuff they were creating.
Ah, it’s been going downhill and I don’t know how worse it will get smh.
Reddit: the last true internet heaven.
Reddit is probably last of the remaining great internet sites.
Just when I thought all hope was lost, I came across Reddit (yeah recently, and yeah, I’m not very internet savvy lol). I always knew that it existed, but I never actually used it. That was until about a month ago.
And it’s been awesome.
So, what’s so fun/admirable about Reddit is that it’s anonymous (the way the internet should be). So, you can freely express your thoughts and beliefs without the fear of your loosing your job (eg: just because you ‘offended’ someone). Hence, the conversations instantly become more “real”.
Second, there aren’t really all that many ads. Hence, no company is spying on you and pushing you to by their “latest and greatest product”. When there are no ads, it’s such a liberating experience. I only realized that when I started using reddit.
Third, it’s mostly run by the users. It’s a classic example of: for the people, by the people. The site is mostly moderated by users themselves (instead of a big faceless company who dictates what you can/can’t post). It feels so natural this way. It’s the closest to real life human discussion as we can get on the internet.
Fourth, there isn’t much censorship. You can pretty much post anything you want (in the designated place for it), as long as it doesn’t ruin the experience of other users. It’s community-based censorship, which is feels a lot more understandable and acceptable.
And lastly, it’s fun. People share their opinions on a wide variety of topics in designated groups (there are groups for different topics) and an actual discourse happens (unlike twitter where people just scream at each other).
Hence Reddit is a nostalgic memory of “what the internet should have been”. And I love it, so far.
So, if you it seems appealing to you then go check it out ; )
Cheers!
= )
Honestblogs 