42 Subreddits That Might Make You Say: "Wait, What?"

Regardless of how niche they are, small online communities like the subreddits on this list provide a safe space for people to find their tribe. According to Dartmouth College postdoctoral researcher Benjamin Kaveladze, it can even provide young people with the opportunity to build social skills and to engage in genuine interactions with their peers around the world.

To dig deeper, Kaveladze and his team surveyed 334 members of 10 different online mental health support groups. The respondents were below 24 years old, with 82% of them rating their mental health as “terrible” or “poor.” 

Based on their findings, Kaveladze et al. found that most people saw their subreddit as a “unique source of advice, emotional support, belonging, and validation.”

“Online, young people can avoid the social stigma that often comes with asking for help in person and are not limited by geographical barriers to find peers who share their backgrounds or perspectives,” Kaveladze explained in an article for The Conversation. 

Reddit has so far been a go-to platform for people to either build a community or join one. It’s something that its VP of global mid-market and SMB Sales, Stephen Riad, is proud of. 

In an interview with Little Black Book, he dubbed the platform the “community of communities” and the “last true place on the internet for real human-to-human connection.”

“With over 100,000 communities dedicated to every topic you could think of (and thousands more you couldn’t), whatever it is, there’s a place for everyone on Reddit,” Riad said. 

As an example, Riad shared how the automotive community has thrived on Reddit, with many who do deep dives on specific brands and model-specific discussions.