Reddit has banned sexual or suggestive content that shows minors, but there are no restrictions on other sexy stuff. Subreddits can be made "adult only" but nothing prevents a kid under 18 from reading them.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Even for free users, ads do not intrude (in fact, they are difficult to find, period). An inexpensive gold membership lets users decide what ads they want to see.
Positive Messages
some
Several groups have famously organized on Reddit to effect positive change, most notably raising tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for various causes.
Positive Role Models
a little
Reddit's "upvoting" and "downvoting" system results in the community creating it's own role models.
Educational Value
a little
Kids can learn about almost any topic that they are interested in by searching, and they can practice exchanging viewpoints and having respectful dialogues with others. While a basic search can turn up varied results -- the word “shark” returned results for the San Jose Sharks hockey team, an interview with a shark attack victim, and a joke about sharks, the interaction between Reddit users can provide helpful information. The scope of topics covered by subreddits means kids can learn something about anything. Surface-level content may encourage teens to dig deeper and interact with other users.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Reddit can inform and influence kids to both positive and negative ends. It's a site and app for free speech and kids will see things that are credible, factual, and charitable as well as silly, offensive, and weird. To a degree, a voting system helps police the area. Links with the most positive votes float to the top of the page, but there’s no telling why people vote the way they do (Dan Akroyd in a strip club vs. Q & A with a NASA scientist? Team Akroyd wins). It also has a one-to-one and group chat feature. Reddit is a peek into what people find interesting in the world and how they feel about it, but the adult attitudes and opinions expressed here can impact impressionable kids. Under the CCPA law you have the right to protect your personal information. Make a Do Not Sell request to Reddit.
TERRIBLE! If they dont like your opinion it is removed within 60 seconds. Usually comments go way off topic, include vulgar unnecessary language and seems to always follow popular opinion not fact or open discussion.
I was using Reddit for many years. Mostly to get in contact to people all over the world. Topics from politics to photography and everything in between. Because of my big activity on Reddit I have earned a lot of karma.
One day I got a message from Reddit: My account is permantly suspended. No reason, no hint... nothing. All my contacts, messages and posts... GONE! I tried to contact Reddit but there was no response. So I created a new account and tried to find some of my old contacts. I used a VPN, just in case. Because most subreddits need you to have karma I started to post every day. Nothing was upvoted and I didn't get any replies. Strange... This gave me an idea; create a new account with an other VPN and check it. And what seemed to be the case? All my posts (100+) from the first new account aren't posted! Nobody can see them!
What is happening here? When did Reddit became crap?
Besides this awfull way of working I also want to point out the minors on Reddit, trying to post and trade other minor stuff. I have seen awful things, even reported them, showing me illegal stuff. These accounts are still active, but mine is removed?
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Kids can access links that lead to stories or photos on external sites on REDDIT. Once they register, they can vote, make self-posts, or subscribe to “subreddits” that focus on specific topics. The signup process doesn’t require proof of age. Voting a link “up” or “down” affects its popularity over other stories on the page. Kids can comment in response to stories or other users, and then vote on those, too; a user with a lot of upvoted comments earns “karma,” which doesn’t affect the user’s experience, but does look nice in the bare-bones user profiles. As of 2017, users can upload videos as well.
This unique social sharing site is an excellent example of the power of people, but it's definitely not for kids. In its completely open environment groups have formed, campaigned, and raised significant amounts of money for positive change. Subreddits connect users with common interests while moderators keep things on topic and stick to clearly posted rules. The drawback on Reddit is the same as it is for the entire Internet -- there’s just no telling what people will put out there. Links, comments, and entire subreddits may expose kids to biased, offensive, or sexual content. Reddit’s best audience is a grown-up one.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the benefits and drawbacks of an open, free-speech community like Reddit. What are the consequences of sharing opinions in an anonymous, public environment? What are good rules to follow when responding to others? Read Common Sense Media’s Digital Life: Our Kids Connected Culture.
Kids begin to form their moral and philosophical beliefs in their mid to late teens. How does the news affect them? Read Common Sense Media's Explaining the News to Kids.
Families can talk about how to recognize bias and stereotyping in the media. Read Common Sense Media’s Tips for Battling Stereotypes.
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Michelle Kitt
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
