by Frank Frakes

A recent study led by a professor of sociology at San Francisco State University has come to the conclusion that the majority of people who spend significant time on Reddit lack creativity, basic critical thinking skills and take comfort in groupthink. Dr. Gary Rogers came to the unsurprising conclusion after a multi-year study involving several social media platforms.

“Reddit basically functions as a comfort zone for followers and low performers,” he declared at a social trends conference in Anaheim. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Reddit, it is a site where users can post on message boards on an endless variety of topics. Reddit is divided into thousands of topic-specific subreddits, which are moderated by volunteer users. Subreddits can cover any topic, from news and politics to sports and entertainment. The biggest problem Dr. Rogers discovered was that there was no real qualification to become a moderator. Posts can be removed by moderators on a whim and he suspects a lot of the volunteer moderators have very limited to no knowledge of the topics they are moderating which begs the question – what’s the point of using the platform?

“We tested this theory by having experts in a variety of fields interact on a multitude of subreddits,” he explained. “It became obvious after a couple of months of interactions that the more knowledgeable you were on a topic, the more likely you were to get banned from that subreddit. Reddit is definitely not a place for deep discussion or to challenge ideas. It’s a place where the bar is lowered and groupthink rules,” he continued.

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

“Groupthink is Reddit in a nutshell,” confirmed Dr. Rogers. “If you just want to go to a site seeking camaraderie among teenage mean girls and boys, then Reddit is the place for you but it’s definitely not a place for lively discussion of challenging ideas.”

There is talk of a Reddit IPO this year. We asked Dr. Rogers about how he felt about Reddit becoming even more popular and adopted by more users.

“It’s sad and definitely a big negative for society as a whole. Whenever a platform results in the dumbing-down of society, which Reddit obviously does, we should seek to remove it from our lives, not expand on it.”

Dr. Rogers’ presentation at the social trends conference in Anaheim caused quite a stir. His findings that Reddit users lack creativity, basic critical thinking skills, and take comfort in groupthink were met with both laughter and some anger.

The debate over Rogers’ presentation continued online for days after the conference. Reddit users on both sides of the issue took to the platform to share their thoughts. Some users defended Reddit, arguing that it is a place where people can come together to share ideas and learn from each other. Others agreed with Rogers, arguing that Reddit can be a breeding ground for groupthink and echo chambers. Most of those users were permanently banned from the subreddit.

Rogers finished his presentation by declaring that Reddit is a serious threat to our democracy. A healthy democracy requires a diversity of viewpoints and a willingness to engage in critical thinking. If we allow Reddit to continue to spread group-think and echo chambers, then we are in danger of becoming a society where people are no longer able to think for themselves.

“This is worse than George Orwell’s 1984 could have predicted,” he said before walking off the stage.

On a side note, Dr. Roger’s website has been blocked on Reddit and he has been permanently banned from all subreddits. Be on the lookout for a Reddit IPO later this year.