I took a lot of discussion-based courses in college, and as a result, I developed an intense, deep-seated hatred for the word 'interesting.' In the context of a discussion, 'interesting' often snuck into the conversation as “I thought it was interesting. . .” or “It was interesting that. . .” This is 'interesting' at its least obnoxious: here 'interesting' is verbal fluff, filler, a nothing word that you say on the way to the parts of your sentence that actually mean something.
The really pernicious use of interesting, though, was as a substitute for content. In that case, interesting is a response to the onerous participation requirement. In that case, you actually have nothing to say, so you say nothing by saying it’s 'interesting.' 'Interesting' only means “there is something worth noticing about this.” I sincerely hope your readings are all interesting because if not, the professor isn’t doing their job.
Hell, pointing out that a reading is not interesting is a more valuable contribution than saying it’s interesting, because at least then you probably have a reason why it was a waste of your time.
But I can forgive the sins of “interesting." Speaking off the cuff is difficult, and nobody is ever one-hundred-percent prepared for every class. Corners get cut. I hate the word “interesting” but I still use it sometimes, and I can’t fault anyone for needing to lean on a nothing word when you’re under pressure to speak publicly.
No, ‘interesting’ is understandable, a necessary evil. My problem is with ‘problematic.' If you want to absolutely guarantee that what you have to say about an issue is ignored by the people who really need to hear it, make sure you go on at length about how ‘problematic’ the issue is. ‘Problematic’ is the easiest way to guarantee you’re preaching to the choir because the sinners will leave the church as soon as they hear it. ‘Problematic’ is obnoxious liberal moralizing distilled into four syllables.
The word ‘problematic’ is about as problematic as it gets.
In the same manner as ‘interesting,' there are two main reasons writers use ‘problematic.' The first is to toss it out in a topic sentence or headline, then explain what’s so ‘problematic’ in the body of the work. In this case, ‘problematic’ is about as useful as ‘interesting’ and ten times more aggravating. ‘Interesting’ tells you nothing about a topic. ‘Problematic’ tells you nothing about a topic and then insists that you be outraged about it. ‘Problematic’ is intellectually lazy.
We have a wealth of ways in the English language to describe injustices. Using any of them provides the reader with greater context when introducing your subject.
The second reason you might be tempted to use ‘problematic’ is more odious. This variant of ‘problematic’ is just like how ‘interesting’ can replace content-filled discussion with the assertion that there is content to be discussed. Here, ‘problematic’ replaces an enumeration of the precise types and ways in which the ‘problematic’ subject is causing tangible harm to people with the assertion that such harm is taking place.
This ‘problematic’ is intensely dishonest; at best it foists work the writer ought to be doing (explaining what the impacts are) onto the reader, and at worst it replaces evidence for such harms taking place.
This second sense of ‘problematic,' to me, says "I care about this issue only so far as it makes me look progressive." Either you haven’t put in the work and learned the reasons behind why this thing you don’t like is causing trouble for people, or you’re just virtue signaling.
I take the most umbrage with writing in longer formats where you have space to go into detail using ‘problematic,' but I’d encourage you to try and phase it out in everyday conversation as well, for the same reasons that I try to avoid ‘interesting’ -it’s lazy and imparts no new information to the listener.
So that’s it; in the interest of intellectual honesty, clarity, and my sanity, we can all stop using ‘problematic’ and replace it with more substantive language. If I ever use the word ‘problematic’ outside of quotes in my writing, please remind me of this article and ridicule me on social media, because I’ll deserve it.
