The Most Dangerous Kids In The Room | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

The Most Dangerous Kids In The Room

Why Reddit’s identity crisis is more important than ever.

3
The Most Dangerous Kids In The Room
reddit

A few weeks ago, Reddit announced they were finally taking a stand against online bullying and harassment. But did they do enough?

The popular website that blends the lines between message board, social network and news received massive backlash from users after it blocked five parts of the website dedicated to, among other things, fat-shaming, transphobia and racism.

Reddit calls itself "the front page of the Internet," but to many it also serves as the gutter, the back alley and the place your parents warned you about. Over the past few months, I’ve started using Reddit more and more, and have seen firsthand both its awesome potential and its devastating reality.

The website consists entirely of user-submitted content, such as text posts or links to other websites on the Internet. The site is organized into sections called subreddits — which are like small communities that range from discussions on Game of Thrones to a place where users can submit things they’ve written and get instant feedback and technical advice. Unfortunately, it is also home to subreddits that preach misogyny and white supremacy.

But Reddit is not all bad. There are hundreds of subreddits devoted to helping people with things like personal finances and losing weight. There is even a subreddit called millionairemakers where users are randomly selected to be given money by members of the subreddit and can do with it what they wish.

This week, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced that the site will be hiding some of its worst content and require users to make an account and log-in if they want to actively seek out those subreddits. Anything that violates “common decency” will be sheltered from casual users.

This move comes less than a week after former CEO, Ellen Pao, resigned amidst a flurry of negative attention stemming from some of the policies she helped implement. One of the most controversial decisions was the dismissal of a popular employee who helped run the site's Q&A subreddit.

In an open letter to users after her resignation, Pao thanked her supporters and reminded everyone else that she is "just another human.”

Reminding people she is human seems like an exercise in futility. All one needs to do is scroll down to any news article comment section to see that humanity and the Internet rarely coexist. Such vitriol is exactly why Reddit’s identity crisis is so important.

Users of the site now have the opportunity to decide what kind of experience they want. Hopefully, their vision of moving forward is one of civility and community.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2073
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1290
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

415
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments