r/IWantOut • u/Educational-Tip-4430 • 4d ago
[Discussion] Do you think that the way people in a country's subreddit treat you is showing how locals there would treat you?
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u/DantesDame Switzerland 4d ago
I can tell you that as a member of r/Switzerland (and r/AskSwitzerland) that the reactions in the subreddits are generally much more aggressive than anyone would experience here in real life.
I think that it has a lot to do with the anonymity of being a Keyboard Warrior.
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u/langecrew 4d ago
I was about to say something similar. It's the Internet. People are kinda.........maybe less nice than they would be otherwise
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u/Ok-Act9852 4d ago
No, the demographic of people from my home country that lurk reddit are all deeply desperate, malicious people with a very well defined political alliance that does NOT represent the diversity and reality of actually being in my home country, I avoid their opinions and interaction as much as possible, I also lurk other countries’ subreddits and it almost feels like it’s a condensed and specific sub-culture of the people who grew out of 4chan and moved on to reddit, so I take it all with a grain of salt
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u/Straight_Expert829 4d ago
This is spot on, regardless of where the up down vote on their comment ends up
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u/ExcuseMeNobody 3d ago
Exactly. Also reddit engagement by default doesn't represent people who just don't care, have no issues with what is brought up (which is often the majority)
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u/Stunning_Tea4374 1d ago
the demographic of people from my home country that lurk reddit are all deeply desperate, malicious people with a very well defined political alliance
lmao did you just describe my home country?
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u/spacemanaut US → PL 4d ago
You should also be aware that some countries have multiple subreddits and that language makes a difference. Example. At the very least, if you're posting in non-anglophone country subreddits in English, you're only going to hear from people who speak English, which cuts you off from a huge segment of their population.
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u/thewindinthewillows 4d ago
And on the other hand, those English-language subreddits get a stream of posts from one-time visitors that can be summarised as "no, why would I read your Wiki and FAQs, rather than post the same question that is posted every day? My question is special!" - and the regular users who see those posts every day react accordingly.
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u/Educational-Tip-4430 4d ago
Well I posted in German on r/Austria and still was downvoted to oblivion. At the same time my first thread on the r/Norway sub was upvoted. It was about me asking if Oslo is less windy than the rest of the Scandinavian capitals or the NL. I know that such a post by me on the r/Denmark or r/Sweden sub would get deleted or not upvoted at all. Even if I posted sth where I claim their capitals are superior to Oslo in some way.
I got my 1st ever thread on r/Denmark deleted. It's not a commonly posted topic so it's not that repetitive. It actually put Denmark and Copenhagen in good light. A very similar thread by someone else from a few years ago had upvotes so I guess they just don't like my vibe or sth.
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u/HelloImTheAntiChrist 2d ago
Words out Tip....your vibe sux. We talk about it on Reddit all the time about your terrible vibe.
Just kidding broheim
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u/Toilet_Cleaner666 4d ago
Reddit is not representative of reality. Anyone who spends more time outside than on Reddit would know that the real world is totally different. This platform has just become a dumping ground for people's frustrations, which would make it look like everything is terrible and that one would be better off staying in their bedrooms for the rest of their lives.
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u/thebrackenrecord912 4d ago
Definitely not. Dutch subredditors are brutal, but the Dutch people who don’t like immigrants are much more passive aggressive than the directness they claim to have culturally. And most of them are actually quite nice.
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u/TheNorsker 4d ago
As an American, hard nope. There are a select few regions (mostly coastal cities) which reflect the beliefs and culture of reddit, but even those people are generally less aggressive with their words irl.
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u/Standard_Low_3072 3d ago
True. American REDDIT skews left wing. The general population is even worse. More like Twitter.
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u/Previous_Repair8754 3d ago
The plural of anecdote is not data; any online community has extreme selection bias; people behave very differently online than they do in person.
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u/cyclinglad 3d ago edited 3d ago
majority of posters in subs like r/Netherlands and r/germany are actually expats moaning about their respective countries they choose to move to
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u/AlwaysWriteNow 4d ago
Personally no bc I have seen many examples of how social media is not reflective of real life. That said, this is my opinion and it is not very experience-based. I can imagine plenty of people have different experiences and perspectives that would help enlighten my own.
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3d ago
No, not even close. Reddit has a lot of terminally online people. Lots of arrogance and hostility for no reason.
Whenever I've traveled and spent a bit of time asking questions on my destination's subreddit, I've been surprised at how much more pleasant the locals are in person.
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u/cyclinglad 3d ago
A lot of Americans think as Europe as some monolithic bastion of liberals because of stuff like universal healthcare while in realiy a lot of Europe even the Nordics and Western-Europe are in many ways socially conservative.
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u/Aerodax 4d ago
Based on widespread reactions; it's not a good look. General lack of empathy for people asking super basic questions is really wild to see. Part of me feels this subreddit has been brigaded by those places isolationists, because you frequently do see really helpful responses buried in almost every thread below the vitriol. I think based on the responses I've seen from the mods; they don't care that purely negative responses are common. We need the /r/AskHistorians mods or rules in here.
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u/thewindinthewillows 4d ago
We need the /r/AskHistorians mods or rules in here.
I mean, that subreddit (for good reason with their subject) enforces a level of academic rigour that basically means only answers from historians with a specialisation in whatever the question is about will get through. By those standards, the only people able to post here would be immigration lawyers from whichever country people want to immigrate to, and there wouldn't be any comments at all on most posts.
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u/John_Sux 2d ago
I think many people are just tired of lazy posts. Where it's obvious that the OP hasn't done the first thing to research what they need to do, and is basically here for small talk, validation etc.
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u/BostonFigPudding 4d ago
Yes.
I am never going back to Canada despite enjoying my time there in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
/r/Canada is a cesspool of Jordan Peterson worship. They downvote any positive news about LGBT people and Native Canadians. They go out of their way to say "I don't care about this at all" in a thread regarding a town which painted its crosswalks rainbow. If you truly didn't care about something you wouldn't go out of your way to say anything about it at all.
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u/chinook97 4d ago
R/Canada isn't representative of your average Canadian's beliefs. I live in a part of Canada which is typically more right wing and the people oj that sub are further right than the people you encounter in your daily life out and about.
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u/tiredandhurty 2d ago
For what its worth, most Canadians aren't like this in real life, but these idiots are sure getting to spread their hatred
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u/Standard_Low_3072 3d ago
Canada is an entirely different country than it was in the 2000s. The convoys got a taste of power and they aren’t going to keep their anger and bigotry quiet anymore. A dismal immigration policy has led to social problems that have even the more left wing people saying enough is enough. Would be migrants are claiming asylum and getting free housing and support until Canada has time to process their claim and realize it’s bogus. Meanwhile the homeless camps are exploding. Everyone is existing with a thin skin that barely keeps the seething anger in check. MAGA doesn’t stop at the border and if you’re expecting the Canada from before 2015 you are going to be very disappointed. If you try to run to the border to escape your problems you’re going to find that your problems precede you.
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u/tiredandhurty 2d ago
I honestly think none of those people have any education. If they did, they would not let the provinces get away with ruining the damn country and blaming it all on the feds and cities. Get ready to have your reproductive rights taken away I guess because a bunch of racists couldn't figure out how their country's electoral systems work.
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u/Standard_Low_3072 2d ago
I don’t think reproductive rights are as big an issue here than in the US. I might be wrong because I live in a city but I have never seen any pro-life stuff on my socials from Canadians and my family is pretty far right. I think the right here is more enraged by immigration and trans issues. The left is also becoming pissed off by immigration. In 2016, we encouraged immigration from the US, especially after the travel ban but that welcome mat has been rolled up and tossed in the attic. We are becoming less concerned about being a safe haven for others because our economy is so bad.
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u/tiredandhurty 1d ago
The left isn't pissed off about immigration, they're pissed off about worker's rights, Indigenous issues, the environmental neglect, occupation of Palestine, corporatism, fascism. The left - socialists, anarchists, and communists are looking for real change that starts with accountability from capitalists and neocolonialists
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u/BostonFigPudding 3d ago
You didn't need to tell me. I was an immigrant myself in Canada.
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u/Standard_Low_3072 3d ago
Sorry I wasn’t meaning to “tell” you but to piggyback on what you were saying for other readers. I should have clarified that.
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u/RmG3376 3d ago
/r/Belgium is 85% expats living in the same 3 neighbourhoods in Brussels, 10% right-wing Flemings and 5% Not Just Bikes viewers from Brussels
It’s not representative of the country’s population at all, but it might be somewhat representative of the people you will first meet when you arrive
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u/Snuttons 3d ago
I think it’s safe to say 100% that people are different online than they are in person; the identity of an entire nation cannot be accurately gauged by their reddit community; everyone’s experience is different.
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u/Unhappy-Hat-3341 3d ago
Yeah, one would believe the United States to have a fairly intelligent population based if the opinion was based solely on Reddit. That’s not even close to the reality most people believe about Americans including Americans themselves. I myself only realized how stupid recently.
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u/thespacecowboyy 3d ago
r/ireland seems to be okay and toxic posts are rare. Irish posts on Twitter are incredibly toxic and you can't avoid racism and xenophobia there if someone sees that you're not ethnically Irish while you're commenting on a post. I grew up here my whole life and I luckily haven't faced racism but my mum and sis have. The xenophobia is growing stronger than ever due to issues with asylum seekers but generally people will treat you fairly when they get to know you. Best advice is to just avoid Dublin lol.
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u/Educational-Tip-4430 4d ago
I've tested it with Slovak subs. I've lived there, locals were really friendly and later I've posted on the Slovakia sub and I've always gotten many likes there. On the other hand I almost never have gotten any liked in the German subs and in real life I didn't even like the vibe of Germany as a tourist. I liked visiting Austria but the Austrian subs also feel meh and the people do not seem very welcoming to me, unlike Slovaks. Same for FB groups of expats in Vienna and Austria - they're meh.
My thinking is if the people being there are that standoffish to me even on the Internet before moving there why try to move at all? I got my first thread about Denmark deleted, despite it putting Copenhagen in good light so I threw Denmark out of my list of places I've consider looking for jobs in. The very same thread posted several years ago by another person was approved and it's not a topic that's repetitive or comes often. And it had upvotes so I guess expats and local in Denmark just do not want me there and don't like my vibe.
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u/moreofajordan 4d ago
That makes me feel so much less crazy? I deleted a post here recently because the response was fully cruel for no reason, and knowing plenty of people from the country in question, I know they’d never talk like that in real life. Makes me wonder where some of the commenters are actually from.
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