The Reddit Blackout and Why it Reflects Society’s Difficulty to Fight for Change
I write this story without being a sociologist, psychologist, historian, or journalist. But I am a Communicator, a user, and someone who can’t stop thinking about how frustrating the situation is.
I have had my Reddit account for a few years now, but ever since I opened it, the single-use I had for it was to ask technical questions on video editing. Yet, once Musk took over Twitter, I knew I had to leave the blue-bird social network I had used for over a decade. I found in Reddit a somehow more moderated place that felt freer and more tailored to what I wanted to see.
Therefore I am not an expert on Reddit. I only came to understand a little of how it works in scale. But one thing was clear: I loved using Reddit because of Apollo, the app that Apple developers and power users loved and praised. I had never used such a smooth app before, and one that provided me with all the personalization I wanted without it feeling overwhelming. Best. iOS. App.
Now, I’m not here to bouche for Apollo or try to explain what happened (Christian Selig has already explained it in depth on an interview with The Verge); but to express my course of thought regarding how frustrating the situation is, not only because of Reddit’s malicious conduct but also with the user’s lack of determination to actually make our voices heard and be able to take a decision that aligns with our beliefs regardless of what that results in (unless it’s a life or death thing, of course).
Reddit’s CEO words about it never being designed as a place for third-party apps are incredibly wrong and a slap in the face to people who have dedicated time and talent to develop their own apps. Yes, Reddit should have made it clearer since the beginning that third-party apps needed to pay for access to their API (or allow them to run Reddit ads or pay for their premium subscription, no?), but they didn’t. It’s not a fair game to change the rules after so many years and with such short notice. Additionally, Reddit is the place it is because users contribute with content and engagement, and even more so, because moderators are volunteers who simply love to do it for free. So what is Reddit without its users, that also turned out to be developers, casual, and power users? What about moderating bots? Or accessibility features from third-party clients?
And yet, that’s not slightly the most frustrating part of this. It’s how many users simply don’t seem to care enough. I’ve seen countless comments basically saying that it’s useless to protest, that no matter how much we do it, Reddit won’t back down (and I agree they most likely won’t change a thing), or that we, as users, have no power over Reddit.
Ultimately, I can only see this as a reflection of our daily lives, with politics and systematic behaviors that we wish changed, but they don’t. Why? Because we decide at some point that “it’s not worth fighting for” or that “it doesn’t matter if I do X or Y, nothing will fundamentally change” — but am I wrong by thinking that we forget that this is the mediocre mentality that simply won’t let us leave more at peace with our own existence? We enjoy being at Reddit, but what’s the cost of it right now? Does it align with the way we believe it should be run and the position us, as users, should have? Why does it take us so much to be able to do something together that is definitive and actually works? We would only lose an online site that we frequent, and isn’t that better as a collective and individuals than simply not giving a damn and perpetuating the things we know shouldn’t work the way they do?
I don’t feel superior for thinking about this; if anything, I kind of wish I could simply look away and not be so dramatic about it. But guess what? I care enough because if I can’t hold myself accountable for such a “meaningless” matter, then how can I do it with something more meaningful?
And so if by June 30th, there are no changes, I’m just going to wave goodbye to Reddit. The platform won’t be losing a power user, but at least it’s not earning my thoughts anymore, and that makes me feel better.
