Reddit has released its ‘Reddit Recap 2021’ report, an annual summary about the opinions, experiences, and stories that most interested its online communities, and how some redditors became catalysts for real-world change.

Reddit is home to more than 100,000 active communities around the world. In 2021, January 1 through to November 9, Redditors created 366 million posts, a 19% increase compared with a year ago. 2.33 billion total comments have also been shared this year, which is a 12% increase, and nearly 46 billion total upvotes have been recorded, which represents a 1% increase since 2020.

Most Popular Reddit Content

The top 4 most upvoted Reddit posts include:

1. r/wallstreetbets: Times Square right now (431K upvotes)
2. r/wallstreetbets: UPVOTE so everyone sees we got SUPPORT (322K upvotes) PLEASE NOTE that there are expletives in this linked post.
3. r/wallstreetbets: GME YOLO update — Jan 28 2021 (286K upvotes)
4. r/antiwork: Quit my job last night, it was nice to be home to make the kids breakfast and take them to school today! Off to hunt for a new opportunity, wish me luck 🙂 (270K upvotes)

The most popular Reddit Q&As of 2021 include:

1. I’m a lobster diver who recently survived being inside of a whale. AMA! (90.9K upvotes)
2. I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and author of “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Ask Me Anything (66.6K upvotes)
3. Hi, I’m Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios. Ask Me Anything. Thanks! (38K upvotes)

Most Viewed Topics of 2021

Redditors across the world gravitated to the following themes and topics this year:

1. Cryptocurrency
2. Gaming
3. Sports
4. Weddings
5. Health and Fitness
6. Food and Drink
7. Movies and Television

In 2021, there was an avalanche of conversations on Reddit about cryptocurrency, whether it be for information, help, or to share major successes. Interestingly, for more than 10 years Reddit has been home to over 500 cryptocurrency communities. According to its report:

• The top-five most-viewed crypto communities in 2021 were r/dogecoin, r/superstonk. r/cryptocurrency, r/amcstock, and r/bitcoin;
• r/superstonk’s subscriber growth increased the most among its crypto communities, with a 917K% increase since 2020; and
• So far this year, Reddit has seen 6.6 million mentions of ‘crypto’ across the platform.

In terms of its other most viewed topics, findings highlight how redditors collectively shared opinions about life in and out of lockdown, celebrated new releases, wins and innovations, and hashed out controversies.

In real life (IRL) stories of everyday events also captured the interests and hearts of its communities, often leading to being catalysts for change like gifting more than 150 stuffed Manta Ray toys to a young boy.

Canadian Findings

In 2021, like in other countries, Canadian redditors were most interested in finance, more specifically, r/personalfinancecanada. Over the past year, this community increased in views by 34% and became a space where redditors mulled over topics such as the obstacles in Canadian housing, the increase in minimum wage, and local economics.

The second highest viewed community was r/vancouver, a more localized Canadian community, which grew 30% in views since 2020. Here, Vancouver residents discussed anything and everything. Whether it was a quippy sign to those refusing to wear masks, a video warning others to be cognizant while walking alone, or a photo from a redditor sketching pedestrians while sitting at a local coffee shop, this community became a dedicated place for Vancouver-based Canadians to talk about things happening in their area.

With engagement increasing in Canada, it’s not surprising that Reddit opened its doors in Montreal earlier this year.

Reddit also opened new offices in the UK, Australia and Germany.