Reddit Explained

“The front page of the internet” – We assume you have already guessed it!

Reddit is one of the most visited sites globally, with more than 500 million visits every month. However, many people still don’t know about the site or have only heard its name. Additionally, its reputation of producing viral stories attracts many beginners who want to start their Reddit journey.

So what is Reddit? Who uses Reddit? What are its concepts? If you are a beginner and want to more about Reddit, this guide will help you understand the basics of the platform.

What is Reddit?

Reddit is a platform where site members promote or curate content through voting. Users submit their posts, and others can judge the content by voting. If a post gets a higher number of “upvotes,” it moves up in the ranking, and Reddit displays the submission to more users.

Reddit algorithm works similarly to other social media sites. It rewards a post by promoting its rank based on the engagement it receives from the community members. Likewise, if a post gets a significant number of “downvotes,” it drops in the ranking and disappears from the user’s feed.

You can register on Reddit for free with your Google or Apple account. You can also use your email to sign up for Reddit. Additionally, you can upgrade your account to Reddit Gold, which provides additional features. A Reddit Gold member can disable sidebar ads and access members-only communities.

Additionally, you can create subreddits or sub-communities that concentrate on broader or specific subjects. For instance, you can create a subreddit for anything, and like-minded users can interact with it by joining your forum. In other words, Reddit is a giant forum that houses several smaller forums.

Who uses Reddit?

Reddit has a lot of users and is one of the most visited sites worldwide. However, Reddit keeps its user’s information anonymous and so it is hard to guess the demographics. Users only require submitting their username and email to be a part of this platform, making it an ideal social forum to express their views.

According to several studies conducted by different organizations, Reddit has more male participants than females. It also found that most users were 18 to 29 years old, and 70% were white. However, these studies may not convey an accurate picture of the user base, as you can find subreddits on any topic, inviting a wider reach.

Subreddits on topics like women, countries, ethnicities, etc., will appeal to different users, which means studies may fail to identify the diversity of Reddit.

What are Reddit concepts?

Reddit Gold

Like we mentioned earlier, opting for a Reddit Gold membership provides additional features to the users. Users with this membership can perform the following task:

  • Turn off ads
  • Create subreddits for gold members
  • Create custom avatars
  • Gift gold to other members or users

However, a Gold membership is not essential for using the site, and you can use most of the site features as a free user.

Karma

Reddit associates a karma score with every user on its platform. This score evaluates the quality of a user’s post or comment. If a user gets a significant amount of “upvotes” for his submission, the karma score goes up. Likewise, the score goes down if the post receives “downvotes.”

Additionally, it determines a user’s reputation on the site and rewards the user with a better ranking.

Ask Me Anything (AMAs)

One of the most popular concepts on Reddit is AMAs. Users can answer questions on any topic put forward by other users on the site. There are a lot of subreddits on AMAs that cover several topics and subjects.

Many celebrities such as Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Neil Degrasse Tyson have also taken part in these subreddits.

User profiles

Although Reddit allows users to stay anonymous, the platform can still track their activity. This record includes:

  • Your posts and submissions
  • Your comments
  • Karma score
  • Reddit Gold inventory
  • Achievements
  • Subreddits you moderate

Their new profile system works similarly to Facebook’s profile system. Users can set their profile pictures, add a bio, and write posts. Although many users were not in favor of the new profile system, they can remain anonymous.