LISTS

 

1/10/16:

It seems like whenever I try to find something online lists come up.  The top ten “blank” is every other article.  I am usually drawn to them and like them for finding information.  I was curious why I am drawn to this version of articles and why the titles capture the eye.   It has recently become a huge part of the media.  “Top ten places to see in San Francisco," “Top ten healthily fruits," “Top 20 places to travel in your 20’s” the list of these kinds of titles is endless.  I often like racing this and I recently questioned why I and so many others like reading these list articles do.

We have this mass media market where there is literally limitless information you can access.  I can’t even begin to explain how much stuff is on the internet.  Quite frankly, it is extremely overwhelming.  Keeping the idea of lists in our heads when we’re looking for something to do in San Francisco I see a list of top ten things or a long article.  I am going to choose the list.  The simplest conclusion as to why that is it is clear, precise and easy to process.  Our brains are trying to make sense of all this information presented to us.  Lists provide an extremely easy way for us to take in the main information.  They are right to the point and we don’t need to analyze or make sense of the article.  That is why it captures people’s attention and is effective in presenting an argument.

Our media world is absolutely flooded with information.  These lists are a very smart idea by authors.  It gives us a relief from searching through this pile of information.  I do however wonder how much we lose from not reading and analyzing the whole article.  I feel like we do those some of our brain skills.  These days we have more and more easy way outs for our brain.  Whether or not it’s healthy for us?  I am not really sure.  I do know we are missing some of the little details that make an article whole.  As for now, I will enjoy the ease of these “list articles” in the mass of media today.