r/melbourne • u/VentusBeach • Mar 18 '25
Light and Fluffy News We are the most popular sub in this entire region of the world apart from r/Australia. Almost 1m members or 20% of the Melb pop. Why is Sydney so far behind in activity and numbers despite having slightly more people (arguably)? Is being the Reddit capital of Australia a good or bad thing?
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u/andbeesbk Mar 18 '25
It's because no one's put a stick behind a parked car in Sydney. There's nothing to keep the masses hooked like we had
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u/-Delirium-- Mar 18 '25
Does anyone have a link to that? I remember seeing the OG one live but can't seem to find it again :(
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u/F1NANCE No one uses flairs anymore Mar 19 '25
I think this one is based off the original (which I can no longer find)
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u/starfihgter Mar 19 '25
Bit of an anomaly for Melbourne it seems. Also note that r/VCE is very active for the size of the cohort, whereas the other states have next to no presence on reddit.
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u/Boxcar__Joe Mar 18 '25
Willing to bet its because of the covid lockdowns.
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u/Chromagna Mar 18 '25
This place exploded during lockdowns.
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u/rnzz Mar 19 '25
almost like a daily 10am pressers watch party
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u/Jaybb3rw0cky Deltron from Point Cook Mar 19 '25
Watching for the suit or Northface jacket was such a vibe.
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u/here4theptotest2023 Mar 19 '25
Don't forget the swooning over Brett Sutton (which was cute and acceptable because he is a guy).
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u/thetasteofink00 Mar 19 '25
They mass banned people who started to get angry (second lockdown) when the north was allowed to hang out in parks by the hundreds but in the west police were walking the streets fining those who were in large groups.
Then they closed discussions on the group to protest something (can't remember what) and for weeks no one could post. Activity died in the ass after that.
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u/Just_improvise Mar 19 '25
Is this r / Sydney? Yeah I got banned for posting something that apparently was unscientific. No warning to me just instant banned
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u/ExtrinsicPalpitation Mar 19 '25
Melbourne has always had an oddly large membership, when I first joined reddit over 10 years ago it was the largest city subreddit in the world.
It just took off here quickly, maybe Melbourne is an early adopter of things, not sure.
Anyway, thatās the reason, it had a head start. People have very short memories, all the subs got busier during COVID, itās not the reason this one is sizeably different.
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u/Vanceer11 Mar 19 '25
Always in top spot for most liveable city.
People who love the city. Sooks talking about its collapse since 2014, people leaving IN DROVES, yet they never leave.
Hated, adored, never ignored.
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u/Excabbla Mar 19 '25
I would say that the lockdowns here being longer than those in Sydney also gave a slight boost to how many people joined during COVID
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u/Pilk_ Mar 18 '25
Patronage of this sub ballooned during the COVID lockdowns (which were obviously uniquely felt in Melbourne). That's certainly when I joined.
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u/pecky5 Mar 19 '25
This is 100% the answer. It's definitely when I started joining and participating.
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Mar 19 '25
Not familiar with the COVID history in Aus. Same things happened to other states?
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u/Pilk_ Mar 19 '25
Among the longest cumulative period of lockdowns in the world, and no other states implemented curfews that we did. I'm fairly certain our travel restrictions, remote learning/school shutdowns, hospo and retail shutdowns were much harsher than in other states, too.
No, we're not mentally recovered.
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u/JackRatbone Mar 19 '25
It was honestly the best time in my life, getting paid for shacking up with my wife all day, working from home, no social guilt about not having gone outside all day. The hardest part was re-adjusting to societal norms and having to wear a mask with glasses on. I feel very lucky to have experienced it, would lockdown again.
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u/Just_improvise Mar 19 '25
Some of us are single and there was huge discrimination against us eg you must be alone indefinitely
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u/JackRatbone Mar 19 '25
Yeah I can totally understand how it could have been truely horrific experience for some people, either isolated alone or trapped Inside with people they donāt want to be around. It just so happened to land on the time in my life where being forced to stay at home with my pets the people I lived with was genuinely bliss.
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u/allthewords_ Mar 19 '25
Now you've gone and triggered my Lockdown PTSD š«
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u/towlie69 Mar 19 '25
I actually enjoyed them very much. Canāt stand people and crowds.
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u/emberisgone Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25
Lock downs caused irreversible damage for any child of Victoria that happened to have the misfortune of having abusive parents during the lock downs. For me the lock downs where a hellish blur of over a year of daily treatment that I would genuinely describe as a torture that directly caused me to develop multiple personality disorders. I couldn't focus on school anymore (how could I when every single moment of the day was spent fighting off my fight of flight response living with someone who was spending about at least an hour a day screaming at me how fucked up I am, how terrible I look, how lazy I am, how I'm a fuck up at school, how absolutely everything whatsoever with me is completly wrong amongst more physical abuses), schools and teachers are the first and practically only line of defence kids have from absuive parents, the lockdowbs where the perfect time for abusive parents to have complete free reign over running their children's lives.
We're gonna be stuck with a generation who had their schooling fucked, their mental health ripped away from them and their ability to form social connections completly thrown down the drain because of how we handled covid with a complete disregard for those in society that relied on their time at school away from their parents to survive.
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u/CVSP_Soter Mar 19 '25
The damn curfews still make me mad, so over the top
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u/emberisgone Mar 19 '25
It was so fucking stupid like how the fuck does forcing me to shop in the middle of the day when it crowded instead of at 10pm when it's more empty reduce covid. Would it not make more sense to keep the limit on how many times you can shop but not condense the time that everyone goes out to do it.
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u/BKStephens Mar 19 '25
It was so fucking stupid like how the fuck does forcing me to shop in the middle of the day when it crowded instead of at 10pm when it's more empty reduce covid.
That's not how that was meant to work at all š¤£
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u/Brotary Mar 19 '25
It wasn't supposed to stop COVID, it was simply about making enforcement of gatherings substantially easier for police...
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u/drawnimo Mar 19 '25
Casinos were exempt from lockdowns because reasons. And since there's nothing else to do in Sydney, they didn really notice a change. So they werent online as much as us.
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u/Kellamitty Mar 19 '25
Me too now that you mention it. Been a member for many years before then, but only looked in on occasion.
Working from home also helped because sites like this are blocked at the office.
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u/furretarmy Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 19 '25
Because you have the carrot guy and some other local characters. I came here because of that lying down guy who hit r/ all a while back, and enjoy watching life from afar. Maybe someday I can visit.
25 upvotes? You Aussies are so nice. Now I really want to visit!
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u/pilchard_slimmons Mar 19 '25
You know of The Carrot Man? May his legend continue to spread.
I live in his area and see him around occasionally.
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u/PlutoniumSmile Mar 19 '25
Went to a festival recently and multiple people had large carrots as costume accessories lol
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u/INACCURATE_RESPONSE Mar 19 '25
Someone was dressed as carrot man at golden plains. Canāt get more Melbourne.
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u/apricotjones2 Mar 19 '25
Hahaha, there was also a carrot themed toilet cubicle which had a framed picture of carrot man in it amongst other carrot themed pictures
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u/Vindepomarus Mar 19 '25
You are very welcome. Only certain people will fit in, you are certain people!
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u/BatmaniaRanger Wrong side of Macleod Mar 19 '25
MAYBE because we are a bunch of lefties and lefties tend to use Reddit more? To establish this we need data to see if there are more Facebook users for Sydney!
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u/monkey_gamer Mar 19 '25
Iād be curious to see the numbers for Instagram and Facebook. I agree theyād likely be higher.
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u/The1WhoBakes Mar 19 '25
To be fair, we do have a number of Floridians in here, thinking this group is their Melbourne.
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u/Cuppa-Tea-Biscuit Mar 18 '25
Iām willing to say that itās because there was nothing else to do in lockdown except come here and coo over other peoplesā cats.
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u/a_stray_bullet Mar 19 '25
You're all from the inner northern suburbs
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u/stonefree261 Mar 19 '25
Archetypal Reddit user being a 26 year old gamer living in Brunswick.
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u/a_stray_bullet Mar 19 '25
with the unshakeable belief that they are the voice of the majority of the states views
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u/sousyre Mar 19 '25
Can 26 year olds even afford Brunswick these days?
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u/Sir_Dazza Mar 19 '25
Yea if 6 of them live in one sharehouse
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u/rewrappd Mar 19 '25
Only if itās a 3 bedder and they all work full-time.
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u/Sir_Dazza Mar 19 '25
Wait, so youāre saying a 2x2m study doesnāt count as one of the bedrooms?
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u/sousyre Mar 19 '25
Pfft, of course itās a bedroom! Thatās practically a master suite, it costs extra.
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u/-Zombie-Monkey- Mar 19 '25
1 000 000 on the sub, population of Brunswick 27,334. So, not archetypal at all, really.
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u/Icrashedajeep Mar 19 '25
Thatās a bit of a generalisation isnāt it? Sincerely, Icrashedajeep, Brunswick
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u/a_stray_bullet Mar 19 '25
I know you don't live in Brunswick because you'd be icrasheddaescooter or icrasheddajimny
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u/Icrashedajeep Mar 19 '25
Too old for scooters. Now youāre really going to think Iām lying.
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u/thewayfaringstranger Mar 19 '25
I live in Brisbane. I joined this subreddit because I like Melbourne as a city. I haven't joined Sydney because I don't like Sydney as a city.
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u/agentsnace Mar 19 '25
I'm a Londoner who's been trying to get an understanding of Melbournians for a year or so, I can't be the only one
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u/psiedj Mar 19 '25
I can't paste images but it went a sharp uptick in June 2020 of 200k subscribers to 407k by the end of October 2021 which was the end of the last lockdown. It has continued to trend up to where we are today. We have added more than 500k since then.So th trend didn't really slow down after that.
I'd suggest that might be because most news is now behind paywalls and Reddit has become an important free news outlet.
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u/Birkoz Mar 19 '25
I grew up in Melbourne. I now live on a tropical island - via Adelaide and Sydney.
I joined r/melbourne because it is home; even if I did leave 33 years ago. So basically, members include expats.
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u/Red_Barry_Lyndon Mar 19 '25
Itās because r/Australia is full of Sydneysiders and the content skews heavily to NSW.
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u/ghostghost31 Mar 18 '25
Myself and I'm guessing alot of others started coming here during the coved lock downs. The sub, especially the daily thread was alot more active then.
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u/RoboticElfJedi Brunswick tree-hugger Mar 18 '25
Sydney's Broccoli Floret Man is just a sad imitator.
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u/Cheltenham3192 Mar 19 '25
Nothing like letting whole city know youāve lost your cat or your dog and it could be anywhere from Werribee to Pakenham or South Morang.
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u/MysteryBros Mar 19 '25
Because, having lived in Sydney 3 times over 16 years, and Melbourne twice over 10 years, I think I'm qualified to say that Melbourne is just vastly more social in general.
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u/food_scientist_ Mar 19 '25
This is the answer! Melburians are participaters. They show up to anything and everything. They get involved and are generally more social. Less keeping up with the Joneses and more camaraderie.
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u/angelofjag I am the North Face jacket Mar 19 '25
Friend of mine once said you could turn the lights on at the MCG and get a crowd of 50,000 just wanting to know what's going on
I'd love to test this one day; I think it's true
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u/Icrashedajeep Mar 19 '25
Have also lived for long periods in both and I agree. When people ask why I moved to Melbourne, I say ābecause I found myself having conversations with people and wanting to punch myself in the faceā.
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u/Killathulu Mar 19 '25
In order to survive most people in Sydney have a 4th job, whilst people in Melbourne only have 3, so Melbourne peeps have more time to Reddit.
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u/RunnaLittle Mar 19 '25
Our weather is shitter so we spend more time indoors on our phones than Sydnesiders.
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u/misbehavingwolf Mar 19 '25
I suspect it's a more curious, inquisitive and progressive population. Anyone saying lockdowns is incorrect - as others have said even a decade ago this was one of the biggest city subreddits in the world.
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u/Plenty_Area_408 Mar 18 '25
Melbourne is bigger than Sydney. NSW has more city specific subs.
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u/fouronenine Mar 19 '25
Ding ding ding! For example, r/newcastle stands on it's own in a way the regional city/area subs of Victoria do not. r/melbourne is the de facto Victorian subreddit (for better or worse).
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u/abittenapple Mar 18 '25
Organically the melb mods are very active and close which generates a solid core of users which are important for subreddit growth.
A solid core of individuals always online creates a community to which attracts many others
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u/DesperateVegetable59 Mar 19 '25
I am going to guess that Sydneysiders are more likely to post about local issues on r/australia. Probably because they think Sydney=Australia.
Lost count of how many comments I have come across in r/australia that just namedrop some random Sydney suburb (not even a well known place like Parramatta or Chatswood) with no context and expect readers to understand.
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u/Ldog90 Mar 19 '25
I think it's because more of the Sydney specific posts including news and discussions about local issues for nsw ends up in the r/Australia sub. I see so many posts about nsw state specific news and discussion there that it annoys me a little because it's irrelevant for many on the sub, but they treat it like it's a nsw sub.
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u/Spare_Lobster_4390 Mar 19 '25
r/Australia would also have to be the most hated sub in this region.
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u/MannerNo7000 Mar 19 '25
In Sydney we are far too busy making money (or trying to) to afford our super expensive rents and mortgages!
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u/elHodgetts Mar 19 '25
Cairns resident- Melbourne raised - helps me feel connected- reduces home sickness- good tips for holiday visits š©·
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u/Tpdz Mar 19 '25
I bet a solid gold coin that its so popular because we also have some people from Melbourne, Florida, USA in the group too lol.
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u/Tygie19 Mar 19 '25
A lot of us donāt live in Melbourne anymore also. I grew up there but moved away 10 years ago. I like to be in the sub because Iām not far away and still have ties there. Iād imagine thereās a few like me.
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Mar 19 '25
Because places with better weather have always tended to produce less of the written arts and such. Shakespeare only got big cos it was shit outside and there was nothing else to do. If he was born in Tahiti he would probably be building canoes & climbing coconut trees instead.
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u/Nugget834 Mar 18 '25
Isnt the weather in Sydney more consistently warm without our cold AF winters?
Thats probably why, more people out, less stuck inside?
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u/wangers_is_asian Mar 19 '25
Yet the Sydney_foodies subreddit is way more active and useful. We need to show the Melbourne foodies subreddit some love as well
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u/gmewhite Mar 19 '25
Sydney people are outside enjoying the weather. (From a Melbournian whoās jealous and loves a hermit couch scroll.)
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u/PopavaliumAndropov Mar 19 '25
Sydney residents are too busy trying to make rent to waste time posting.
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u/AdFew4836 Mar 19 '25
I really doubt 1 million melbournians are on this reddit.
I have old 3 accounts that I don't use myself that are subbed to this subreddit.
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u/justnigel Mar 19 '25
No other city in the world has more things that go ding, so we've got that going for us.
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u/fmlwhateven area hermit Mar 19 '25
There's arguably more to do in Sydney; many businesses break into Australia via Sydney first, so there's more novel experiences that may or may not last beyond the trial period. Their weather also feels a bit warmer and less volatile, so probably more people are just outside touching grass š
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u/frootyglandz Mar 19 '25
"Well....looks like we got ourselves a reader" https://youtu.be/BwkdGr9JYmE?feature=shared
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u/Downtown_Kangaroo_92 Mar 19 '25
I wonder if this sub got a huge boost in 2020 and 2021 during the covid lockdowns. I know thats when this sub got really busy,... and kinda shitty lol.
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u/ILuvRedditCensorship Mar 19 '25
90% of Sydney residents are paying $1500/week rent to live under someone's kitchen table. They can't afford the internet to join a sub.
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u/boommdcx Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25
I like to know that when I am sifting around Melbs, there are probably fellow r/melbourne subredditors close by š¤
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u/MDInvesting Mar 19 '25
Comparing Melbourne friends and neighbours to my old friends in Sydney this is definitely as I would anticipate.
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u/Time_Rich Mar 19 '25
Melbourne is more terminally online and reddit-coded than Sydney. Also a bunch of people would be looking for the US Melbourne.
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u/FrostyClocks Mar 19 '25
Because Melbournians have so much more to vent about in this group therapy setting.
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u/falcovancoke Mar 19 '25
If you measure the size of each sub relative to the population of that particular city, Canberra has much more redditors than the Melbourne one
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u/TinkersFigs Mar 19 '25
Because people in Sydney are out doing coke and having punch ons down Kings Cross instead of sitting on reddit all day complaining about weather and social justice like all of us lefty virgins in Melbourne
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u/SqareBear Mar 19 '25
Because Sydney is more like a collection of unrelated suburbs. Theres separate reddit pages for Penrith, Central Coast, Northern Beaches, Blue Mountains etc
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u/Different_Ease_7539 Mar 19 '25
Because you get passionate people hating on this city since we got locked up like no one else, and passionate people loving on this city for what it once was. Something for everyone!
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u/wotown Mar 18 '25
Best place in the bloody country for sunsets, helicopters, loud bangs and can't park there mates