How to Use Reddit to Help Your Studies (Instead of Hurting Them)

Reddit is one of the most important resources on the internet. As someone who writes blog articles for a living, you better believe I need to use it all the time. However, that also means I’m very aware of the pitfalls students might face on the internet’s front page and how you can avoid them.

Join the Right Subreddits

Reddit isn’t one thing, it’s really just a platform for various forums. This means that each subreddit is its own community with its own personality and rules. Inevitably, there will be some overlap between some subreddits when it comes to the topics you are interested in for your studies. This means that reading and /or joining the right subreddits is pretty important to make the chances of getting the right information or news more likely.

For example, it might make more sense to focus on a larger subreddit in the area you want to learn about, or to stick with one that has the most active posters. There’s no universal set of guidelines here, but the real point is that you should consider multiple related subreddits instead of just focusing on the first one that seems close enough.

Follow Subreddits That Give You Access to Experts

Different subreddits attract different types of posters, and some of them have a reputation for attracting people who are actual experts in the field. Some who post anonymously, and others who are verified as a specific person, so you can check their bona fides.

A subreddit that’s actually frequented by subject experts is more likely to have those experts challenge claims, or give context to posts. It also means that when you post a good question, it’s like to be answered by someone who actually knows what they are talking about!

Keep an Eye Out for AMAs

Speaking of experts, one of the best Reddit traditions is the AMA or Ask Me Anything sessions,when a notable person (who is verified to be the real) sets time aside to answer questions. Often these questions are about them or their work, but it’s also an opportunity to get their take one something specific that you’ve been wondering about. You might even be the first person to ask!

Don’t Use Reddit as a Source

While Reddit is a wonderful resource, generally you shouldn’t use it as a primary source of information. The exception is of course when Reddit itself is the source of information, such as an expert saying something in an AMA, but most of the time you’ll want to trace any information you find on Reddit back to a primary source such as a newspaper interview, academic journal article, or book.

Just like Wikipedia, anyone can write what they want on Reddit. Unlike Wikipedia, there’s no editorial system to weed out misinformation, and different subreddits have different moderation standards. So while Reddit is a great place to discover stuff, it’s also crucial to exercise some critical reasoning and triple-check that what you’ve read is in fact true.

Do Use Reddit for Constructive Debate

One of the most important things any student must learn is that real life is rarely black and white. Instead, there are shades of gray just about everything, and learning how to debate and reason is the most important skill anyone should have when it comes to studying.

Reddit is a great place to engage with people on any topic, and to be challenged on your assertions or beliefs. Even if you’re not brave enough to slug it out with Redditors yourself, it’s arguably even more valuable to read the debates that happen on the site. Don’t just head over to Reddit to find specific answers or facts, but for great examples of how (and how not) to wrestle with someone on a topic and hopefully have a productive experience where everyone walks away better-informed. Yes, I know that’s relatively rare on the internet, but Reddit at least raises the odds that you’ll learn something from people who are willing to duel it out on those forum pages.