Paper short abstract:

Social media discussions can have a sudden and maybe unexpected effects on our economy oriented on trading stocks. My paper focuses on Reddit and its “subreddit” r/WallStreetBets with its vernacular and (meme)perfomative way of taking control of and influencing the surrounding economy.

Paper long abstract:

The start of 2021 saw among other things a short period of rapid price increase of certain stocks, especially that of the financially struggling retailer GameStop. The prices were intentionally driven up by small-scale shareholders, with the idea for this process fueled on in Reddit and its subreddit r/WallStreetBets. The price increase had a direct impact on the large-scale investors looking to “short sale” the stock, to make profit by driving the stock price down, and the activity of the “redditors” was seen as criticism of “short selling” and contemporary stock trading in general. The discussions in the subreddit and other forums generated memes and other shareable online material – including the concept of “meme stocks”. The discussions, both in the forums and news media, also created an image of two different kinds of investors: the old big-time investors (major hedge funds short selling stocks), vs. the (literally) young small-scale investors and traders. This division was an important part of the subreddit and its vernacular way of seeing the and taking part in trading stocks. GameStop “short squeeze” also made the business of short selling stocks more public and influenced how we see money in play in the stock exchange. I aim to map out some of the ways in which the dynamics between the different sites and their users play out in markets-oriented activism, especially stock trading. Activism on the r/WallStreetBets can be seen as a vernacular and performative way to take control of the surrounding and uncertain economy.