Friends shouldn't let friends use Reddit, but what is the comparable primary substitute?
I'd say the best Reddit replacement now is the same replacement for most of the modern internet: Anna's Archive. Reading edifying classic literature and university-press publications is going to be superior to almost anything on the web now.
Threadiverse. Try out Lemmy, Piefed or Mbin.
- https://join-lemmy.org - https://join.piefed.social - https://joinmbin.org
Quick start instance: https://lemmy.zip
For more information about the Fediverse and Threadiverse + Lemmy: https://fedecan.ca/en/guide/get-started
Reddit has gobbled up all kind of smaller specialized forums over the last decade, and established itself as the primary point of interest if you want something outside the walled social gardens. All attempts to rival them seem to have lost, and now we are at the endgame, and nobody seems to be there any more, who could take on the fight for the niche-problems of us powerusers.
The difference is that Reddit is even worse. It’s like a distillation of all the most angry indignant rage inducing crap from the other sites all into one.
I moderate my own subreddit, and it's definitely not "angry indignant rage inducing crap". That's the other thing: Reddit is moderated in a way that most other giant platforms are not. Of course the standards of moderation also vary widely among subreddits.
But all the big subs and even the moderately sized subs and even the smaller subs have become crap. I’ve (sadly for me) wasted much time on Reddit over the years. The type of comments I mentioned have become the default on every subreddit that isnt tiny and niche. It’s impossible to have a genuine thoughtful discussion on any non-niche hobby or subject without it being flooded by the kind of negative comments I mentioned in my previous comment.