You Should Quit Reddit

by Jacob Desforges

In recent years, countless books, articles, and documentaries have addressed the negative effects that social media platforms have wrought on their users and society. However, these former works are incomplete — nearly no attention has been paid to Reddit, one of the most popular websites in the world. Reddit is certainly unique among social platforms, but its potential for addiction and darker side of nefarious activity should absolutely not be understated.

Additionally, nearly no actionable advice has been provided to users of these platforms. The audience is told that these websites and apps are harming their mental health, wasting their time, and that they are addictive (which would logically make the task of quitting rather difficult), but then provided zero guidance on how to disconnect from them. Over 200,000 users gather on Reddit's /r/NoSurf community to discuss reducing their internet use; the forum is filled with reports of people who want to quit Reddit, but find themselves psychologically compelled to return to the site over and over. For moderate to heavy users of these platforms, quitting is clearly not so simple.

You Should Quit Reddit is a paradigm shift in the genre. Jacob Desforges was a Reddit user of over a decade, and a self-admitted Reddit addict who spent on average around three hours daily on the site. Not only is this the first book investigating Reddit's flaws as a platform, but it is also written from the perspective of someone who experienced firsthand the struggle that comes with quitting these addictive platforms. This book therefore also provides readers with the practical advice, tools, and techniques needed to shatter the cycle of digital addiction, enabling them to quit visiting Reddit and other time-wasting websites for good, so they can effectively reclaim their time to use in a more intentional manner.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2023

Reviews

[William Cabell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard about this book from a greentext screenshot posted to r/4chan. Regardless of whether or not it was astroturfing, it’s one of the more unusual ways I’ve stumbled upon a book and I thought I’d better get a copy.

This book reads like a very rough first draft of a great piece of analysis. Desforges’s critique of Reddit is substantial, original, and biting. He synthesizes Reddit’s history, the mechanics of its use, and the culture that has grown around it to paint a dystopian picture of the website as a dangerously engrossing social media platform with an unexpectedly low value to its users. I believe this book is a pioneer in what will become a new genre of books critically analyzing the cultures that grow around particular online platforms.

However, this (independently published) book desperately needs an assertive editor. The tone is inconsistent—Desforges mentions he writes a pseudonymous personal finance blog, and in the few sections where he deviates into economic content, the writing is passable. In contrast, most of the book is filled with tired turns of phrase, redundant or imprecise verbiage, and “Reddit moment” sentences—like, for example the author seeming to brag about destroying people so thoroughly in comment sections that they delete their accounts—to the extent that I found a bit of irony in his discussion of the illusory superiority of Reddit denizens. To his criticism itself: the substance is there and the arguments are basically sound but much of the analysis is underdeveloped and lacks precision. This book could easily be another 100-200 pages with more data (most easily from web scraping, since there is little official data directly available), many more specific examples of posts and comments, and more connective reasoning supplied. The self-help section is appropriately concise and practical (consistent with Desforges’s arguments in the “Avoiding Self-Help Purgatory” chapter) but could also use some heavy-handed stylistic refinement.

[RedGhost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book on nosurf reddit if I remember correctly. I was already (that means for a day/two) looking into ideas how to reduce my time online, I just couldn't put my finger on what's really bothering me about my time on phone.

And Jacob put my feeling into words - chasing that 'one worthy post', because they exist, but whilst chasing it you're drained by tons of mediocre or totally useless ones, despite which filtering approach you take.

I actually like reddits that have people share their experiences and I definitely learned a ton, but what Jacob pointed out and it become really clear to me - after a while it's really hard to find something new to learn from it when you're every day there and keep looking at new ones.

Also, scrolling through sorted by best is also repetitive after top few thousand.

It's 18. April now, and I've read this book exactly month ago. In this 30 days I've read 12 non trivial books cover to cover (pop medicine, psychology, cat behaviour, usual range 200-400 pages), few trivial fun ones (cats), and few I've abandoned because I deemed them not be worthy of my time. I think total is around 20.

I like reading, I just neglected that in favor of 'reading other people's stories'. 30 days prior this turn of the new page I've managed to read 2 books and I've considered that really good because I finally got back to reading in a systematic way.

So, this last 3o days, 12 good quality books, 20 in total, and in more than 80 hours (it's somewhat more, I didn't update my time tracking for a few days)

Whoa, just whoa whan you put it into numbers :)

I've learnt A TON of new stuff. Yes, there was a bunch I've already known, but the ratio of known / trivial to something new and worth remembering is HUGE.

From this book I've learnt a few things about reddit politics, but I must say I actually don't care about it. Book is more like 4 star one, but just because he put so well my feeling into words, it deserves a five stars :)

Also, I still use reddit, just not as a reading to make me sleepy/awake, but when I search for specific things - then I still can learn a ton from people who generously shared their experience.
And I still use my phone, actually I use two now - one is for reading in bed, so books only, and another with everything else at the beginning stayed in living room (now it can sit in the nightstand drawer unused until I intentionally take it for those days when I just want to stay in bed for a while longer).

I don't have issue with spending a ton of time online/on phone/on computer (I'm not outdoorsy/extroverted person nor I have desire to change that), I had an issue with feeling empty/drained/unfulfilled after such huge time investment. It was a pity. I'm glad I now have words to express what bothered me exactly. And that now such huge time investment goes into higher quality material.

Also, for several years I already have app notifications turned mostly off (except for a few) and all are silent and minimized without vibration, and for several months now I use NCleaner app, that puts them all under one icon, so they won't distract me until I intentionally go looking for them. I recently realised that I have ADHD, and picking the phone to do one thing but seeing notification for another made me forget what I wanted in the first place.

Maybe someone else finds this experience useful :)

Oh and yes, amount of detail and data and time invested in the book really shines through and helps with getting answers to the questions you didn't know you had.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adjunct to Digital Minimalism

Having read digital minimalism by Cal Newport a while ago, I wasn’t sure how much of I would gain from this book. However the author generously offered it for free on the r/nosurf subreddit in exchange for a review, so I gave it a go.

I found it to be filled with great reasoning as to why I don’t want to waste more of my time scrolling. I find I will sometimes attempt to reason with myself why I am choosing to waste time online, and this book had many good points to use against that line of thought. At times it did seem like a point was somewhat belabored — some chapters seemed like they could have been summarized as a bullet point or two. Overall however it is still certainly worth reading. It gave me the drive to officially delete my Reddit account, which combined with YouTube I find to be my last lingering tech addiction. Thank you Jacob for taking the time and effort to write this excellent resource for others to read!

Update: As of August of 2023, I have not revisited reddit a single time since deleting my account, nor have I started any new accounts on other social medias. I have no desire whatsoever to create another reddit account, and I truly believe this book is responsible for this amazing change in my life. Read it if you want to get rid of reddit for good!

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book resonated with me as I’m trying to reduce my online time, though I still struggle with a Reddit addiction. I agree with the book's core philosophy: using Reddit for entertainment is like consuming junk food, regardless of how educational it might seem.

However, I had several issues with this book. Despite the author's extensive commentary on how Redditors are annoying and arrogant, he frequently boasts about his superiority over them. He claims that his new lifestyle would enable him to wipe the floor with Redditors in debates and online discussions (because now he reads books instead of going on Reddit). I also feel that the book meanders around its main arguments for too long, repetitively hammering the same points and spending excessive time on the history of Reddit.

Another issue I had was that Desforges doesn’t address the (legitimate) counter argument of using Reddit as a tool because of the weakness of Google’s search engine (I.e adding “Reddit” at the end of any search to get better results). This is one of the most important uses of Reddit in my personal life, and I was frustrated that this was not addressed until extremely late in the book.

Lastly, the proposed solutions for quitting Reddit felt underdeveloped. One of the first solutions Desforges suggests is creating a network sinkhole using a Raspberry Pi, which is quite drastic. Additionally, he never mentions mindfulness or meditation, practices that have significantly impacted me personally. While I understand he might not be familiar with them, their absence is notable. On the positive side, I agreed with his modifications to Cal Newport’s digital detox plan, acknowledging that quitting anything cold turkey is too challenging for most people.

All in all, while I agree with the basic points—use Reddit less, invest time in more valuable activities, and start a blog to share knowledge—the book offered little additional value to me.

(P.S. I’ve had success with logging out of Reddit on my personal devices, r/all doesn’t sustain my attention)

[Tillmann Int-Veen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read if you can relate to the struggle of moderating / limiting Reddit use. The author's writing style is engaging and accessible, providing sensible explanations without sounding too dry. I really like the first part of the book. It it, the mechanisms that drive Reddit's addictiveness are explained in sufficient detail, as well as the history of the site and how it shaped what Reddit's culture is like today, and with plenty of anecdotes from the author's own use. As someone who's used the site a lot in the previous 10 years as well, all his anecdotes had me nodding in agreement several times. This part's chapters on corporations sneaking product placement into subreddits under the guise of being 'authentic users' was great, as well.

If you're familiar with books such as Digital Minimalism, Deep Work, or Indistractable, then you're likely already familiar with most of the advice given in part two of the book, and I'd recommend you to speed-read / skip it. Except for chapters 15 and 16, which cover the common thought processes that lead to users reengaging with Reddit after abstinence. These chapters are very Reddit-specific and boost your understanding of the mechanisms at play here in ways that the aforementioned books do not. It's unique content!

[Darshil Chauhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gem. If you’re even considering whether this book is useful for you, then you’ll find much of what this book has to say relatable and useful in an actionable way.

During much of the book, I was relating very much with my experience of Reddit, and underlining paragraphs after paragraphs. The insights into the experience of using specifically Reddit was something I haven’t seen before, even on r/NoSurf.

One argument I can’t forget is how Reddit can affect how you *think*. I have found, at times, that my own thoughts were structured like and supported by all the text I read on Reddit. It was a scary realization that partially fueled my efforts to escape.

What’s unique about this book for me is that it validates my experience of Reddit and using internet in general. The predominant opinion around digital addiction is that “yeah most people have it a little bit, but it’s manageable, no big deal.” What this doesn’t take into account is how sites like Reddit can affect those who are predisposed to addiction. And just how insidious internet media, especially Reddit can be.

I’m really grateful I came across this book and decided to read it. It felt like someone was speaking my mind, and I felt I wasn’t crazy for having a problem that most others around me in real life either don’t have, or hide it well (just as I hide it from them).

Chapters are not too long, the prose takes a bit of time to get accustomed to, but overall it was a breeze. The only part I didn’t like was one chapter on how to “fix” the internet. Apart from the useful advice on RSS etc. there were some views I didn’t agree with, and felt they were tangential to the book’s main topic at best.

Original review date: May 2023.

Edit on Nov 2024: I stumbled on this review again after 1.5 years and many of the things I learned from this book have helped me distance myself from the Reddit hive-mind. But in many ways I still lean on Reddit despite knowing its shortcomings. This is a good reminder.

[Jenny Xu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because it was probably well intentioned and has some interesting ideas. Maybe it is the right book for a hardcore reddit addict. However, to me, it read like it was written by someone who is not as far away from reddit as he thinks he is.

The book does many of the things that the author criticizes of reddit comments. It was also long and redundant and proportionally did not provide much insight. Some parts felt inconsistent, but I am sure the author would have some explanation for those. The book also had so few mentions of struggles that weren't once the author's own that it is hard to tell if he is aware that people have different circumstances that affect their battle with social media addiction. It fact, there is at least one instance of invalidation. Because of that, the book feels a bit more like a boast than a genuine self-help book targetting redditors.

Somehow, I was not surprised when it was revealed that it was self published.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a great premise for a book here, and as a fellow Reddit addict I can attest that the author is intimately familiar with the features and issues with this intensively addictive website.

However the book itself is a slog to read. Is it because I’m already intimately familiar with the mechanics of Reddit? Possibly.

I think the book could have been shorter with more of a focus on paragraphs packing a serious punch.

With better focus this book could be fantastic as the material is there, it’s just not presented in a compelling manner.

I have read better books on digital addiction that provided arguably more insightful nuggets on the dangers of digital addiction and how to address it in a lot less pages.

[Kyle Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really excellent book. Despite the book focusing particularly on Reddit, the takeaways from the book apply to all kinds of digital addiction, which nearly all of us have to some degree. If you do not think you have any digital addiction, you're either in denial, have gone through the process of intentionally disconnecting, or are part of a special minority group of people who feel no compulsion to use their phone, social media, or the internet more generally.

This is the best book on the subject that I have read thus far. I previously read "Digital Minimalism" by Cal Newport, which is frequently recommended among those interested in this topic, and this book blows it out of the water. This book is much more well-researched, more well-written, the author's experience is much more relatable to the average person’s than Newport's, and the suggestions given by the author are more realistic and easily actionable.

One important issue that Desforges brings attention to is astroturfing. "Astroturfing" is creating an artificial grassroots movement by making it seem like there is growing organic support for a particular product or social/political cause when in reality, such support does not exist (at least not to the same magnitude). This is done by creating many fake users or bots that flood a social media platform pushing the same agenda/idea and making it appear that there is widespread communal agreement. The future power and influence of astroturfing, particularly when it comes to political and social causes, combined with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence is a very scary thing to think about. Most people do not give this an initial thought. Artificial intelligence will very soon make it difficult to discern what is real and what is not on the internet.

[Knotty Uncle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reddits trash… There! Didn’t need a whole book for that.

[p ✧* · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s a bit embarrassing but reddit is kinda the final boss of internet addiction for me. i don’t have twitter anymore, never used tiktok in the first place, rarely go on facebook, use instagram in moderation etc. the problem with reddit is that it can feel useful, because it can make me feel like i’m learning new information instead of just mindlessly scrolling. but as the author points out in this book, a lot of this useful information isn’t that useful after all, because when you’re actually knowledgeable about something, you will notice that the way other people talk about it isn’t the most accurate to say the least. then there’s the thing that a lot of the advice on advice subs is pretty bad, people jumping to insane conclusions about people they don’t know, people constantly needing to one-up each other, people who misinterpret every comment in the worst faith possible, comment sections under every popular post that are just the compilation of stupid jokes, references and puns recycled over and over again… once you take into account all that, you might come to the conclusion that using that hellsite is pretty much as much of a waste of time as using any other social media.

i really liked the first part of the book, where the author dives into the way reddit works, how it gets you to spend your time there and why it’s not actually better than other social media sites. the second part was imo much weaker, a lot of the points got repeated over and over and i felt like the author exhibited what he (rightfully so) criticized reddit users for - a false sense of superiority. there were also some chapters about issues i didn’t really care about, like advertising or the reddit redesign.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m about 50% through it but I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the end.

Good on the author for getting offline for a bit and finding the time to write a book!

I feel like there was a missed opportunity here to hear from some alternate voices. It would have been nice to see some interviews or at least quotes from other people impacted or involved - maybe some other Redditors, moderators, former Reddit employees or industry experts. That would have balanced it out a bit and given it a bit more legitimacy.

I’m always a bit turned off by memoirs of reformed addicts. I can’t help but feel like they often went way too deep into something that clearly wasn’t helpful to them, and then coming out the other side they want a pat on the back for finally beating their addiction. If they’re able to help someone else get out of it then that’s still positive I guess, so maybe cynics like me aren’t the real audience for these.

I got a bit bored over time with the finer details on the history of Reddit. It does come across as if the author is still a bit of a Reddit fanboy. I guess that tracks though given how much of his life he has admittedly sunk into it.

[jph · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author says he suffered from serious reddit addiction, and I believe him because he seriously still writes like a redditor. I agree that consuming reddit and other social media is essentially equivalent to consuming junk food, and it's something I want to do less of (hence why I read this book). There are some nuggets of useful information here (I like the analogy of reddit and infinite scroll being like rats that are given treats after a random number of lever pulling), and the intention of the book was overall good, hence 2 stars (as opposed to 1). However, overall the book reads like a boast and he is frequently talking himself up, not to mention the insufferable writing style (he really likes the phrase "we humans").

Even when he writes about when he used to spend several hours, he claims he did not actively engage in vitriolic behaviour, but only in retaliation, and when he did he was so devastating that he made several people delete their accounts. Good god, (1) who cares? and (2) I don't believe you. He rambles on and on about the same stuff, and gives advice that is readily available online with a single google search. His references are sometimes low-quality as well. All of this assembled means it is almost like reading one big reddit post. He also has an incredibly defeatist, and (in my opinion) extremely problematic view on politics. He seems to be proud of being so enlightened that voting is a waste of time, and reading the news is "rubbish". There is a value is staying informed, even if it does not directly affect you, as your actions (in the economy, in voting believe it or not, in protests etc) do affect others, including those who are less fortunate than you. I find it bewildering that he sees this and just decides to not consume any information instead of finding a genuine solution. Then he has some idyllic vision of a future internet based on personal websites and RSS feeds, which I think is not such a bad idea, but how can you say such unrealistic things and just dismiss the possibility of staying informed in a way that isn't actively hurting you?

Less feelings, more nuance, more research, and more editing, please. This could have been a fantastic book.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Like You Read My Mind!

Look, if you’re anything like me, you Google searched “How To Quit Reddit” and this is the first thing that came up. Since 2019, Reddit has taken over my life. The worst part is, I was fully aware this was happening, but really made no attempt to stopping it, using one of the many justifications in this book.

Everything in this book is something I have thought about, so it’s nice to feel validated and also know that I’m not insane. Reddit is truly a negative place, and that’s by design and culture. My psyche has not been the same since I started using Reddit and I didn’t even realize until recently. The remark about seeing in black and white as a sign of an atrophied brain really spoked to me.

Everyone is eager for an argument, usually mean-spirited, on Reddit. There was a section in this book that talked about something I went through many many times… You leave a comment with good intentions, or something not even controversial, and most of the time, you’ll get a nasty response.

Anyways, I pretty much migrated off of Facebook for Reddit back in 2019. Now I hate both websites and don’t have any intentions of visiting them again. After doing some research, I determined this book would be a great read (I started getting back into reading before having this epiphany on my end). It’s the perfect book, at the perfect time and is so so validating. Thanks for the great read!

[Selectivesocietalsanity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this book several times now, and it’s among my chief credit for giving me the courage to quit Reddit and other social media. My problem with most self help books is that they sometimes border on the “occult” manifestation side of things - You Should Quit Reddit gives you practical explanations on why such websites are a massive waste of time, and even worse - how they trap and cook you like a frog boiling in water. After this, it gives you practical solutions to these problems.

My main reason for quitting Reddit was realizing overtime that the entire website itself was an echo chamber for different ideas, segmented into different forums. For a website and group that claims to cherish knowledge and debate, this by definition limits growth and at worse creates reductionist and regressive thinking. Furthermore, people can outright lie about their credentials with no consequences, and there’s a very, very high chance with all the bots on the website that the people you are sitting there arguing with, or watching argue aren’t human.

I’ve long since deleted my Reddit account, and now only use the site for hyper-specific problems (mostly with tech). I love this book, and recommend it to anyone struggling with that website specifically.

Cheers!

[Steven Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE digital minimalist book I'd recommend for those interested in reducing their screen time and tech use more broadly. While the book centers its analysis on Reddit, its insights could easily be applied to other sites, like YouTube, that have evaded the traditional criticisms lambasted at Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for its supposed usefulness as a resource.

I also like this book more than I liked Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism because, as Desforges points out, Newport lacks the lived experience of struggling with excessive screen time. You Should Quit Reddit centers those whose tech use has impeded their quality of life, not just those wanting to maximize their productivity for productivity's sake.

Overall, I found Desforges' manifesto well-argued, refreshing, and unrelenting. I'm particularly inspired by Desforges' typical 16 minutes of phone screen time per day and hope to incorporate his tips and tricks to join him on that journey. Although digital minimalism and other r/NoSurf values and practices still feel a bit fringe, I'm really hoping to see more writing like this in the future.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great dive into the mechanics of Reddit and social media addiction traps in general. There’s a lot of useful information and recommendations in here which I’ll be putting into practice; even as someone who quit using Reddit years ago, there’s still a lot to be gained.

One of the best things about this book is how reasonable the opinions are - e.g. single-player video games can be valid and purposeful activity, whereas endless solo online multiplayer is usually wasteful. There’s a great balance of rationality without being too lax on restricting our media use.

Some of the more practical chapters in the second half weren’t as captivating, but this might just be because I’ve already read similar viewpoints on digital minimalism in other books. They’re still valid and useful.

For the author’s first book, this was excellent. I look forward to reading more from them!

[Chloe Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly comprehensive.

This has more explanation, content, resources, and advice for overcoming internet addiction than anything else I could ever find online. All within a single book too.

Having read this was one of the author's goals, I can safely say he accomplished it flawlessly.

[Louie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book not just for reddit but for other social media addictions in general. The data is backed by the author's personal research. I agree with majority of the points presented. I've stopped browsing reddit after reading the book. I've even deleted all my accounts. It's very freeing.

[Wanderingdragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woefully I disagree on voter suppression chapter, however it is an overall good read for me to confirm my biases that Reddit is a net negative in my life and encourages me to stick with not going back. 😜

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched look into the addictiveness of reddit and other sites. It changed my view on social media.

[Egor G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good for a book I found through a greentext.

[Patrick McDowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does what it says on the tin, convinced me to quit reddit. Meanders a bit in the second half of the book, author could be a bit opinionated but well spoken and interesting.

[Kamalbdg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of, if not the best book on "social media addiction" written by former user.

[Bruno Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will be updating this review in August, let's see if I can make it until there with no Reddit at all!

Update (1 month later): Yeah, I made it! I would say the book definitely helped me build the mindset and even suggested some tools which I used (mainly a website blocker extension), even though I was already inclined to quit it.

I recommend the book to everyone who uses Reddit, even those who don't plan on quitting it, because it is important to know the bad stuff going on and the harms of it so you can at least be aware of it and minimize it. The author is clearly someone with tacit knowledge of Reddit and has insights that probably no outsider can make, and that I'm sure most users can relate.

I've upped my review from 3 to 4 stars, because it is rare for these self help/personal development books to really provide basis for lifestyle changes. As for me, after a 1-month Reddit detox, I plan on making "responsible" use of the site from now own, by occasionally googling specific questions and by reading some specific subreddit wikis for introduction on specific subjects, which means going from a few hours day of Reddit to a few minutes a week (or month!).

[FrisianTea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book was excellent. Five-star writing. The author got deep into the history and structure of Reddit, in ways that are truly eye-opening. But, dear Gods, the second half... he talks down *at* the reader, rehashing the same autobiographical tidbits and favorite drumming points over and over.