You may have noticed a recent surge of the whole countdown format in the past few years on the Interwebs. This writing style has become incredibly popular. Now called “listicles,” these numbered articles have swarmed Facebook feeds and popular websites like BuzzFeed, leading to the popularization of the Millennial format. This phenomenon (or cancer, as some would call it) is often overshadowing legitimate news content or more thoughtful editorials. For instance, my first listicle before this one garnered over 350 shares while what I consider my best work on the Odyssey has less than 10. And thus, I have inspiration! Let’s somewhat ironically tear into my least favorite method of written content these days.
1. Listicles are making my job harder.
I consider myself a news journalist. I like to cover anything from hard news to whatever utility or program I find interesting. I have covered university oversights, international online outrage, presidential candidates and the war on terror. Want to guess what’s my most popular piece here on the Odyssey? 5 Reasons I Love Rural Pennsylvania of course…
2. Listicles take the spotlight.
Gone are the days of independent journalism where folks wanted to read the most recent political scoop or unbiased reports on communities and other nations (if those days ever existed). All people seem to care about now is what relates to them personally because we are so obsessed with celebrity personalities and ourselves. The selfie nation is drawn to things like “what every college kid feels in their first year” or “why Kim K is so special to me.” Add a number in front of either of those, and it’s sure to go viral.
3. Listicles ruin the countdown format.
Ironically, there is little I like to do more than make a good list. I am one of those people who knows their top 10 favorite video games, movies, songs, books, etc. I even make videos on the Internet counting down various elements of gaming culture. This is all stuff I put a lot of thought into and even partially define myself with. So when people list their favorite pictures of shellfish or hottest cougars in Hollywood, a shallow connotation starts to eat away at the concept of making lists.
4. Listicles stifle creativity.
Don’t want to do a lot of research to write something? Don’t want to think too hard to form some opinions? Try out the listicle to accomplish this and appeal to the mainstream at the same time. It makes it a bit easier on everybody, doesn’t it?
5. Listicles have made GIFs uncool.
Hey, I use GIFs. They’re usually a funny prod in a Facebook message with a friend or a joke I like to see well-placed on webpages every once in a while. But in giphy listicles…they are everywhere. Readers get distracted by moving visuals. Pictures draw you in, but GIFs can draw you away, preventing true immersion in a piece. This is especially the case if you have five plus items in your listicle, and every number is followed by one of the attention-sapping buggers.
6. Listicles show we don’t care.
I’ve hinted at this one already… but it’s true. Listicles (while some can move against the grain and have a lot of work put into them as anything else can) usually prove to be supremely surface-level. You read a person’s opinion on a numbered set of items. Then you’re done. Rarely do listicles provide food for thought or inspire change. After the sensation of a particular listicle is over, it dies rather sadly as the rest of what we, as artists and journalists, write. We’ve lowered our standards; instead of caring about things that might matter in the future or impact our lives in a meaningful way, we scroll away at the computer screen or smart phone at our hip and turn our minds off…not on.
