Yes, you are reading a listicle about listicles! Many of us have this addiction. We are sitting on Facebook scrolling through our news feed and all of a sudden we come across "the 10 reasons my hometown is the best hometown," or, "The 15 outfits Taylor Swift has worn that we wish we could pull off." We have all done it. Why are we so addicted to these articles that we feel the need to click on them every time we see them?
1. They are relatable
Most of the listicles we come across are shared on Facebook. Your high school boyfriend, your sorority sister, even that random kid you sat next to in Writing 150 your freshman year, you have something in common with these people. So, when you see a listicle they shared titled "The 30 reasons Writing 150 changed my life", you want to click on it and see how many of those things you relate to.
2. They are written with the intention of getting shares
Last week, I had the listicle "The 10 reasons we love Port Huron" published. I wrote it with the intent that anyone that has ever lived, worked or stayed in the Port Huron area would read the article, agree with something that I listed and share it to their social media. These articles are intended to get shares. Why else would we write them?
3. They are easy to get informaton from
We are in the season of electing the next president of the United States. Listicles are an easy way to recieve information about the candidates with out having to read paragraph after paragraph about they. We would much rather click on "the 12 reasons Donald Trump should be president after last night's debate" over the New York Times article that gives a play by play of the republican debate. Each main point is numbered or bulleted, in a bigger font than the rest of the listicle. You wouldn't even have to read the paragraph underneath the bullet point if you didn't want to
4. They are a great way to spend time
Have 10 minutes before class starts? Go ahead and read "The 46 ways moms make life easier", and then what happens? That links you to "The 45 ways dads make life easier", so you know you have to read that. Listicles are a great way to spend the time before class (as long as your homework is done, of course) so you don't have to awkwardly stare at the wall, or your notes or read Jane Doe's 30 tweets in the last minute.
5. They are a great way to get ideas
When trying to write my articles every week, most of the time I look at listicles to get an idea on what my article should be about. I am even looking at different listicles on listicles to write this article so I have the most accurate information on listicles. On top of writing articles, we can use listicles for many other things. Is it time for a haircut? Well why not look at that listicle that your hairstylist shares about "The 20 best spring haircuts"? There are listicles for everything, why not use them to our advantage.
6. They are predictable
When we wake up after a long night of celebrating the Super Bowl and we see "The five best plays of Super Bowl 50," of course we all know what plays are going to be on there. We click and double check if we were right and If we were wrong we get angry at the author that they didn't agree with us. We also know what every listicle contains: a list with a certain number of things of why the topic is relevant, the author trying to make a joke and random pictures that might go along with what the article is about. This is basically every listicle ever written.
7. We feel connected to something/someone
"The 10 ways greek life has changed me," "13 thoughts every student organization president has," and "the 15 signs you are a student athlete." No matter where we are from or what school we go to, we will read articles like the ones listed above and agree with almost everything on that list. Knowing that other students have the same thoughts we do allows us to feel connected to a larger group of people, not just the individuals at our school.
8. We have more time
As I mentioned above, listices are a easy way to get information. This gives you more time for the important things like food, homework or calling and telling your parents you love them. Use this extra time to your advantage or else you might end up reading more listicles.
9. They are focused on our generation
Our parents, let alone our grandparents would never consider a list to be a newsarticle. But, for our generations where we are fast-paced and are into short blurbs that tell us everything we need to know, listicles are perfect.
10. They are telling a story in different ways
Above I mentioned two made-up articles. One being "The 12 Reasons Donald Trump should be president after last night's debate," and the other being a New York Times article giving you a play-by-play of the same debate. Both of these articles will give you the same information, just in different ways. The older audience will chose the one writtne by the New York Times because that is what they are use to. Our generation will most likely chose the listicle because of it's ability to give you the exact same information in a fewer amount of words.
We may get annoyed by our Facebook friends constantly sharing listicles, but we all do it. It is a new trend that is changing the way that we look at the news and pop culture.
