So, I found out I was clickbait content
I started receiving Reddit DMs from people asking for advice about a topic I had commented on a while ago. At first, I assumed it was just one person Googling, finding an old thread, and messaging me for more information. Fair enough.
But after a series of new messages over the span of two months, I started wondering where they were coming from. So, I Googled my username and discovered that the comment of mine had been quoted in an article on a very popular website. The article also linked back to my entire profile, which suddenly explained all the DMs.
I will admit, part of me felt flattered. It is nice, in a weird way, to know that my comment was considered interesting enough to be included as an experience insight.
The article was also republished elsewhere, or syndicated, or cross-posted, or whatever we’re calling copy-paste journalism now. Who knows where those DMs were coming from.
I know Reddit is public. I know posts can be shared, screenshotted, or quoted elsewhere. Still, seeing a casual reply appear on another platform felt strange especially since I was never informed about it.
It reminded me that public spaces on the internet are never small. You may think you are just replying to one conversation but your words can travel much further without you ever knowing.
Hence a reminder: once you post something publicly, you lose some control over where it ends up.
And this is exactly why we should live by the 2000s rules of the internet where we hide behind fancy temporary usernames and reveal only vague, carefully selected information about our lives so we can give others anonymous bad advice.
Anyway, I need to change my Reddit username for the 25th time.
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