Accidentally All the Reddits

by Aine C.

I started out writing an article about a free SCA event that I attended recently. However, all my SCAdian readers are gearing up for Pennsic. Also, this super awesome event doesn’t repeat until early September, and I don't want to risk you forgetting about it. Unless you’re really into historical hands-on, practical knowledge and you schedule months in advance - in which case here’s the link to the 85th session of The University of Atlantia.

Now for something - completely different: Reddit. Which makes this less a DC-centric post and more of an Internet Culture post, but if you’ll just bear with me for a moment. Let me start with the good. I’ve talked about how interacting with the miasma and sheer cacophony of Reddit has helped me encounter viewpoints I never would have otherwise (like Internalized Misogyny). On second though, maybe I should start this article off with a quick primer for those of you who aren't on the site - other Redditors, feel free to fill in or correct me in the comments below.

"What is Reddit?" That's kind of a big question...
(Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is  © Universal Pictures)

Ok, so say you've signed up. Now, despite what the etiquette guide would have you believe, if you like or agree with a comment or post “upvote” it, if you don’t then “downvote” it. If a post gets enough upvotes quickly enough, it is made more visible and worms its way towards the front page. Likewise comments make their way closer to the top of the thread. The site keeps track of your net votes, gaining or costing you "karma," fake internet points. If you want a soft starting point, skip the front page entirely and look at kittens on /awww.

Let's say you then go on Reddit to ask for advice, because you can trust them, they're from the internet. If the hivemind deems your request interesting enough, you'll probably get a few opinions, some bickering, but then (regardless of their applicability) a mantra-like recitation of the following three pieces of general advice:

• Lawyer up
• Hit the gym
• Delete your Facebook

I’ve always taken issue with the final piece. I mean, why Facebook? That’s where my real friends are! That’s where events are! Hell, that’s where all you awesome DC Geeks are! But, insidiously, the hivemind has already begun its corruption. 

Yes, because Reddit is the paragon of the internet courtesy.
(random Scumbag Facebook image from Imgur)

Facebook is all... real stuff. Adult stuff, job stuff, workout stuff. It’s all about how everyone feels old now, or fat now, or sad now. There's no escapism, and it's still driven by a mob mentality: join and socialize or people will think your an ice-hearted bastard. Very gradually, I started to believe that the only bright spots in my feed are week-old reposts from Reddit. I started "resharing" - shamelessly stealing Reddit posts just to have something on my feed. I justified it to myself, I mean, at least I linked back.

The Hivemind whispers, “Yes, maybe you should just delete it, you rarely check it anyway.”

Then, I checked my FB feed and a friend had shared some bit of new medical research or advice. I almost skipped over the post because I only saw it as a repost. But I noticed a lot of activity on the post; friends were commenting, thanking the poster, and mentioning how the information was directly applicable to their lives. I didn't immediately think, "Oh my god! Why didn't I realize that my friends might need to know this?" Instead, I had the Pavlovian response of, “Ugh, if I'd thought about it I could have gotten all those likes.” 

My kneejerk reaction was shameless karma like-mongering. It took only a moment before my Tiffany-Aching-esque Second Thoughts kicked in and kicked hard.

It's all fun and games until you realize you're kind of an asshole.
(Another common reaction gif, via Imgur)

Being only slightly hyperbolic, a Reddit internet media diet consists of 80% cats doing stupid shit, 15% sensationalized articles, and 5% giving a shit about the lives of people you actually know. That’s like living off of M&Ms because you had a french fry yesterday. One study claims that America consumes zettabytes of data each day, and I’m not exactly using my daily allotment wisely. D/M/V residents treat politics like it’s the local sports team, and (not being a true native) I have a long way to go before I can catch up.

Yet, even after this article, my reaction isn't to rush off and delete my account. It should be. My conscience is rooting for it, but a part of me can’t imagine abandoning over 8,000 imaginary internet points. After all, it’s just some harmless distraction. Is it any worse than someone who sinks their evenings into Farmville or The Last of Us?

What do you all think? Harmless? Is it all kittens and crazy Russian dashboard cams 'til you go full Socially Awkward Penguin?