I want to begin by saying this right off the bat: listicles are not an inherently bad concept. They are actually great for a lot of reasons. They are entertaining, provide quick reads, often propose interesting ideas, and are often simple which makes it nice to read after a long day rather than a word-suave expose. Not only that, but it can also provide good organization depending on the topic. However, listicles have also produced an unintended negative effect to writing, online writing to be specific. Now it is often difficult to visit a writing platform without seeing a half dozen of them within the first page. Let’s examine.
1. Are You Even Reading This?
If you are, it is because of one of two reasons. Either you are a reader that actually reads the meat of listicle style articles and doesn’t fall prey to the temptation of just reading the points, or you dearly wanted to prove me and my clever title wrong. I’ll admit it first, I myself tend to avoid writing listicles, but when I read a one I just read the bullet points. And while the points are a good of way of quickly collecting information and getting a good laugh, it also detracts from the article. It acts as a barrier to anyone who opened it, and more than likely they will miss the meat of writer’s work.
2. They Are Rapidly Overshadowing Journalism
The sad truth is that most of my Facebook friends (mostly millenials) share few articles, and when they do it is often a listicle. That’s not to say that they don’t read actual articles and news, but what’s being spread is rarely journalism to say the least. They are fun and give a good laugh but I don’t obtain any information or current events through Facebook from my peers. Few friends are willing to talk politics from lack of information, many are uninformed on basic topics, and even I myself am guilty of not having some of the common facts on some important events. This is partially due to the fact that people are less interested than they used to be and because of technology, but the fact that few articles are spread on major social media platforms outside of listicles is a disturbing prospect for this generation.
3. It Un-inspires Writers
Like I said, there is nothing inherently wrong with listicles and using them has its benefits. However, since they are the ones that are most often read and shared, writers that pour a lot of energy and research into their work to make a quality piece are often left feeling unappreciated. Why do all of this when so few are willing to read and spread your work when it’s next to a more simplistic listicle that gives a good laugh? Unfortunately, many writers will progressively put less effort into their works, and perhaps take a hand at that style of writing themselves. Everyone wants to be successful, and it’s hard to write what you care about with so few paying attention. Listicles are nice, but let’s tone it down and give other writers and styles attention as well.
4. Readers Begin to Stop Analyzing Material
One of the worst habits a person can have is absorbing information thrown at you and accepting it, without analyzing and concluding for oneself. Part of being an individualistic thinker involves taking the time to digest material alone. It is difficult to do that with listicles. This relates to one of the first points I made, that the bullet points act as barriers and many people won’t read past that. Thus, if we keep going down this path and continue to push and accept more listicle style writing, we are also responsible for promoting this idea that people can read bullet points and understand the topic just as well as someone who reads it in its entirety and decides for him or herself whether the information is credible and makes sense. It’s time to deviate from the trend and begin pushing for articles that both interest people and require them to read, rather than scan the text.
5. Are We Really Teaching Others?
I was a terrible writer most of my academic career, only really beginning to learn how to tie more sophisticated words with better structured ideas during junior year of high school. I attribute this to my reading habits at the time. Before high school I couldn’t read a novel or article without losing attention in the span of a few seconds. When I found material I enjoyed, I began to read much more and with it I subconsciously absorbed writing styles, syntax, and vocabulary. If I grew up reading listicles I probably would have not grown by much. They by their nature are just not meant to provide dense information. I think as writers and sharers of information, we also have a responsibility of setting a model of excellence in the writing we share and providing readers with work that helps them develop their writing and literature skills. That is how I learned and I consider it the best way of learning; everyone deserves that opportunity.
