Technology is making pioneering advancements each day, and a lot of credit goes to social media sites because they have made it easier for people to share their ideas and help others. Each day, people are sharing unprecedented ideas and working on them together to help create a better tomorrow.
Reddit vs Instagram
The main difference between Reddit and Instagram is that Reddit is more about interaction whereas Instagram is more about connection. In other words, Reddit makes it easier for you to ask about topics and share your ideas. Instagram on the other hand lets you connect with people who share similar interests like you.
Reddit is a social media network that consists of different sub-communities. These sub-communities are called subreddits. Any registered user can create a subreddit if their account is at least 30 days old and it has positive karma. Karma are points that Reddit users earn when they post links and comments.
Instagram is a photo and video sharing based social media application. User can share their photos and videos and other users can react and comment on them. You can find posts related to your hobbies using the hashtag feature or geographical tagging and you can also follow people you admire.
Comparison Table Between Reddit and Instagram
| Parameters of Comparison | ||
| Owner | Advanced Publications | Meta Platforms |
| Founded on | 23 June 2005 | 6 October 2010 |
| Interface design | Designed for people to talk | Designed for people to post |
| Anonymity | Allows users to create accounts with a fake name and doesn’t save their history | It isn’t legal to make accounts with fake names on Instagram but it is common |
| Finding content you like | There are over 1.2 million subreddits so you can surely find something you like | There are no “defined” boards for content so it’s hard to find something you like |
| Voting System | You can upvote or downvote a post | You can only upvote (like) a post |
What is Reddit?
Reddit is a social media site that allows its users to discuss various topics and also to rate them. Any user can start a subreddit or comment on an existing one to tell others about their views. Users can also upvote or downvote a particular comment so that more filtered content can rise.
Reddit was founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian on 23 June 2005. Later in the year, Reddit was merged with Aaron Swartz’s company Infogami. This merger made Aaron an equal owner in the resulting parent company. After a year in 2006, Conde Nast Publications acquired the site. And in 2011, Reddit was declared as an independent subsidiary of Advance Publications – Conde Nast’s parent company.
Reddit allows its users to remain anonymous which provides a sense of security to them. That is the reason why people are more real when they are on Reddit. They can talk about anything they want, they can share what they are feeling and they can comfort others too. This is the main reason why Reddit is popular because it allows people to be authentic. But sometimes, some people exploit that liberty and that is the reason why Reddit has seen its share of controversies.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a social media service that allows its users to upload multimedia (photos, videos, reels) and interact with other users using them. The app uses hashtags or geographical tagging to organize similar posts and then show them in the user’s feed. Users can follow other people who have an account on Instagram and they can like and comment on their photos and videos.
Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger on 6 October 2010. Two years later, on 9 April 2012, Facebook (now Meta Platforms) bought it. Facebook paid $300 million in cash and secured 23 million shares of stock – totalling up to $1 billion in value.
Due to its focus on visual communication, Instagram is the perfect place for promoting yourself or your product. It is frequently used by people to share their talents. Also, businesses and companies use it for branding themselves and their product. Instagram also suggests posts according to your like history so that you can find more content to relate with. However, Instagram has faced serious accusations in recent years. There have been reports saying that it serves as a cause of depression and anxiety in many people, most of which are teenagers.
Main Differences Between Reddit and Instagram
- Reddit is a platform where people can discuss topics whereas Instagram is a platform where people can post their views about a topic.
- Reddit is owned by Advanced Publication whereas Instagram is owned by Meta Platforms.
- Reddit was founded on 23 June 2005 as compared to Instagram which was founded on 6 October 2010.
- You can both upvote or downvote a post on Reddit but you can only like (upvote) a post on Instagram.
- Reddit is more about text-based interaction while Instagram is more about graphics-based interaction.
- It is easier to find something you like on Reddit as there are more than 1.2 million subreddits or topic-based communities. While the Instagram algorithm does its work to provide you with similar posts that you like, it is still hard to find something of your hobby.
Conclusion
Both Reddit and Instagram are great places to be a part of the Internet community. However, they come with their advantages and downsides. Where Reddit is more focused on social interactions and allows people to discover and talk about topics of their likes, Instagram is focused on connecting with people of a similar mindset as yours. The one thing common in both these platforms is the trolls and hate speech. You can find tons of that on both sites.
But the good news is that the companies are continuously working to reduce hate speech and cyber-lynching on their social media platforms. They regularly work towards building a safer and secure environment for their users, and one day they might.
References
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LHTN-03-2015-0018/full/html