The Culture of Reddit vs Pinterest

Hey everyone! I'm sorry about the late post this week, but I have been very ill since Monday. :(

Last week in class, we talked about Reddit and Suicide Intervention, and how Reddit has provided a platform for people who are looking for help working through suicidal thoughts. I remember in class, one of my peers asked what Reddit was, and I explained to her that Reddit is like Pinterest but for guys. We then discussed how Reddit is usually preferred by males because there tends to be a fair amount of misogyny on this site. I just thought that was interesting because when I described Reddit to my classmate, I was basing it off of my own personal experiences with my male friends being Reddit users and with me being a Pinterest user; I had no idea that there was actually an explanation to this phenomena. For that reason, I would like to pick apart the design differences between the two websites that might explain why males and females prefer one over the other.

Log-In Page:

Pinterest

Reddit

Just by looking at the log-in page, right away we can see that Pinterest is much more colorful and lively. Its main focus is an artistic photo, while Reddit is simply provides a place to log-in/sign-up. Pinterest looks like a magazine, which might attract more women to it. It also has a "cuter" logo, with a cursive P, while Reddit has a robot logo which could be viewed as more masculine.

User Profile:

Pinterest

Reddit

Here we can see the user profile page, and again we can see huge differences between the two. The Pinterest page is more organized and has boards in which to save different categories of posts, which can be controlled by the user. It also has cute shapes like squares with rounded edges and a circle for the profile picture. With Reddit, there is no profile picture or any information about the user, but we can see any posts that the user has made and any Sub-Reddits they have saved. Again, I feel like the Pinterest page looks much more colorful and feminine, while the Reddit page is more straightforward and is not as customizable.

Homepage/The Fun Part:

Pinterest 

Reddit

This is where all user posts get displayed. With Pinterest, they are organized into columns and the comments on each post can be changed. On Reddit, posts are viewed as picture icons with text next to each one describing what is in that post. I personally believe that Pinterest is more visually appealing, which might attract more female users.

Culture:

Pinterest

Reddit

Here is where the gender divide between the two websites can be really seen. If you click on the explore option on Pinterest, you get different categories to choose from. Those categories range from food, DIY (do-it-yourself), and beauty to quotes, travel, and men's style. The content on Pinterest definitely seems to be more geared towards women, which explains why they may find themselves on that page. Reddit, on the other hand, has more general content. However, in class we talked about how Reddit users can often post misogynistic comments, which is what turns women away from the site.

All in all, I think it is clear why certain genders prefer one website over the other. I am a die-hard Pinterest user, but I can appreciate the content that Reddit has to offer as well. Anyway, I hope everyone has a good rest of the week!