I don't think judging things by such subreddits is a good idea in general. Any community centering on the negative seems to devolve into being a complete cess-

I don't think judging things by such subreddits is a good idea in general. Any community centering on the negative seems to devolve into being a complete cess-pit. This makes sense; it takes a lot of obsession to post day after day about how your life sucks, or how the world is horrible, or how women don't like you. People having something better to do than to wallow in negativity don't do that. The most prominent members in any community tend to be the ones that are the most dedicated, and when your top users are being dedicated to doom and gloom, it doesn't make for a nice place. Anybody remotely sane will run away from such a place or not join to start with, making the situation even worse over time. At some point the community becomes about the negativity -- anybody who managed to make a positive change will be deemed a traitor to the cause, and shouted down or expelled. Add to this that the rating systems and often the moderators will exert pressure on selecting for the worst of the worst. I'm not sure that looking at such a community is very helpful for understanding the actual problem (NEETs or whatnot). I think if anything it gives an insight into how socialization can go wrong, and it seems to look most the same regardless of what negative thing people form a community around.