Reddit

 The Impact of Reddit

In the second WBUR podcast, titled Turning Hate on the Internet Into Social Commentary , there was a lot of discussion on how Reddit can be an environment catered directly to whatever you want it to; this includes inappropriate matters. Though the podcast meets this with humor, Reddit is a good example of how you can have access to almost anything with a few clicks. One example of this is the freedom of expression which was talked about in this podcast episode. The podcast episode opens with talking about the different (rather shocking) usernames on reddit and how they lead to attracting misleading interactions. As I clicked on Reddit myself, within a matter of seconds I was introduced to account names such as "white people twitter", which was clearly satirically calling out white people being racist, but to the wrong audience, the nuanced 'humor' could be misleading young viewers to think that the actions of these people's tweets are acceptable and promoted even. 

In addition, the first podcast we looked at, There Was an Attempt, talks about racism within NYC and posts about a historical seal that depicts a racist image. Going along with satire, below the podcast there's an image from reddit of two people reenacting the racist seal, with the roles reversed so the white man is in a position of vulnerability. This case, which opposes my statement above about the riskiness of reditt, shows vast amount of media you can find including reform through humor, which can be a good tool to help others learn. 

Both podcasts make note of the power reddit has. In There was an attempt, reddit user Matt remarks on how his post on the seal blew up quickly. The access reddit and social media in general allows you to have is a tool that can be used for better or for worse, but either way, the voice one has on social platforms creates opinion and commentary, which helps shape the collective opinions of society today.

    Under the podcast "there was an attempt"