The Change My View📝subreddit, r/changemyview, is "a place to post an opinion you accept may be flawed, in an effort to understand other perspectives on the issue. Enter with a mindset for conversation, not debate." The community has over 700,000 people in which anything is debatable. [1] Users enter into debates following certain rules of engagement, such as requiring a reason for agreement/disagreement, and it is now known as an online oasis for people who enjoy discussions.
The subreddit has received mainstream media attention from NPR’s Planet Money, WIRED Magazine, The Washington Post, Slate, and even a tweet by Elon Musk. It has also been the subject of multiple research papers, and is being used in various College/University classrooms. [2]
Website
In April 2019, the founder of ChangeMyView has launched a website where users can continue using the same format of discussion without the restrictions of 📝Reddit. Researchers have commented on the difference in the quality of conversation that occurs on the subreddit, as it is quite different from debates that occur elsewhere on the internet.
Research
- How to change someone’s mind, according to science, washingtonpost.com
- Change My View On Reddit Helps People Challenge Their Own Opinions, npr.com
- Civil Discourse Exists in This Small Corner of the Internet, theatlantic.com
- Our Best Hope for Civil Discourse Online Is on … Reddit, wired.com
- How to Be More Empathetic, nytimes.com
More research featuring data from the 'Change My View' subreddit can be seen in their wiki.
References
- Change My View, on 📝Reddit
- Change My View, changemyview.net
- 'Change My View' Reddit Community Launches It's Own Website, wired.com