I originally joined Reddit in 2011, and in the beginning it was dominated by cat content. It was rare to see a post about dogs. Sometime in the mid 20-teens this phenomenon reversed. It’s always been a “pet theory” of mine that this reversal was due to Reddit becoming mainstream, and that it’s initial nerdy/techie user base preferred cats to dogs.

I think my theory is further supported by Lemmy. It’s pretty clear that most of Lemmy’s user base are techies, and currently it’s dominated by cat content. Just a shower thought. May be wrong.

NOTE: I love dogs and cats. This post isn’t arguing favoritism.

  • Hurtreynolds90@sopuli.xyz
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    1 year ago

    It might also be a socioeconomic type thing too. Dogs are more expensive and usually requires property that is owned and not rented, at least where I live.

    • elephantium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That might be a regional thing. I’ve rented apartments and duplexes. Some allowed dogs, some didn’t. I also recall seeing a lot of breed restrictions in apartment listings that did allow dogs.

      Pet rent and/or deposits are also common in those, IIRC which does reinforce your point about the expense.

      • Anaphylactic_Gock@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Even if apartments in your area allow dogs, it’s just so much easier to care for them in a house.

        Most people don’t let their cat leave the house, or just let it roam whenever it wants. So with them it doesn’t matter as much if you have a house.