What Parents Need to Know about Reddit. A free online safety guide
Reddit describes itself as a ‘social news’ site where users connect and share stories, opinions and support; debate issues; ask questions; and chat to people with similar interests. Discussion topics are organised into communities (known as subreddits) that are created, run and populated by users, who remain anonymous throughout. Free speech is encouraged and users – or ‘redditors’ – can vote posts ‘up’ or ‘down’ so they get more (or less) attention. Reddit is free to join, although signing up to Reddit Premium unlocks an advert-free version of the platform.
In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as harassment, trolling and fake news.
This is part of our Social Media category.
Most exchanges on Reddit are interesting and entertaining discussions of technology, sport, health or pop culture. The site has attracted controversy and criticism, however, for communities sharing depictions of violence against women, leaked or stolen explicit images (including those of minors) and online hate (particularly racism).
Because of its popularity, links to Reddit frequently turn up among search engine results – so young people may be exposed to the site’s content even without purposely looking for it. The relative lack of moderation – especially given the aforementioned subject matter – is just one of the potential issues raised in our #WakeUpWednesday guide to Reddit.
Reddit is free to join, although signing up to Reddit Premium unlocks an advert-free version of the platform.