Why the World Just Can’t Get Onboard With Reddit

South African social media users, like many globally, have a strong dislike for Reddit. A recent study by Mailsuite analyzed Google Play Store reviews of nearly 1,500 communication and social media apps to determine the most loved and hated platforms in each country by June 2024.

In South Africa, Facebook emerged as the most-loved social media platform. This contrasts with global sentiment, where Facebook was the most hated in 39 countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, and India. However, South Africans’ disdain for Reddit aligns with that of users in 30 other countries.

Mailsuite highlighted Reddit’s rocky journey in the mobile app world. Despite a significant overhaul in 2010 and the acquisition and rebranding of Alien Blue as its official mobile app in 2014, Reddit faced criticism for being slow and difficult to use. The app received updates in April 2024 to improve navigation and loading times, but user dissatisfaction remained high.

Globally, TikTok was the favorite social media app, loved in 30 countries, including the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Launched in September 2017, TikTok quickly became a major player in social media, boasting over 1 billion downloads and more than 80 million reviews on Playstore and Appstore combined.

The findings by Mailsuite echo the Social Media Landscape Report by World Wide Worx and Ornico, which surveyed 24,000 urban respondents aged 15 and above. This report also highlighted Facebook’s popularity in South Africa, with usage increasing from 56.7% in 2022 to 59.6% in 2023. TikTok followed, with usage rising from 30.6% in 2022 to 34.0% in 2024.

Instagram remained popular but saw a slight decline in usage, dropping from 27.6% in 2022 to 26.9% in 2023. Twitter/X, under Elon Musk’s leadership, experienced a decline from 22.5% in 2022 to 18.8% in 2023, potentially due to changing user preferences and new platform policies. LinkedIn also saw a drop, from 14.7% in 2022 to 12.2% in 2023, possibly indicating a shift in professional networking trends.

Despite these shifts, Reddit remained unpopular in South Africa, with only 4% usage, underscoring its status as the country’s most hated social media platform.