1. Some internet lists, like this one, are a random odd number. For Type A personalities, this is extremely frustrating. Give me a list of 10, not 7 or 9 or 13, please!
2. Lists smack of know-it-all-ness. “I am an expert in _______ and I have a list to prove it!”
3. Lists attract competition. “Oh, you have 5 ways to ______? Well I have 6 ways! Check out my list!”
4. Lists can get in the way of narratives. Sometimes the best way to connect with readers is to just tell your story. You don’t need a list for that.
5. Lists are much more likely to get published on the Internet than list-less articles and essays. (Pun intended.) Wanna see your name in print? Make a list. Sad but true. Sorry, serious writers.
6. The technique of using a list to get your point across is way too common and overused.* Kinda like a radio song that is overplayed so much you start to hate it. (“Sugar” by Maroon 5, anyone?) *For reference, see number 5.
7. Some lists poke fun at popular society. Don’t you hate it when a list totally makes fun of your personality or life choices? And you laugh, but you also kinda feel weird about it? Like this one that pokes fun at Type A personalities or this one that makes fun of book lovers? Or this one.
P.S. Don’t ask me what the header image means. I don’t know. I found it here.
I LOVE THIS SO HARD.
I love this so hard I wish I wrote it. I think you’ve been in my head.
Allow me to take a guess at the meaning of the header image. I think it refers to the way that we organize so much of our living by lists: shopping lists, to-do lists, guest lists, task lists, packing lists. Then we get to calendars and daily schedules, which are lists of a sort. Not to mention our inboxes and Facebook feeds. If we didn’t have all these lists, we’d forget how to do everything and just curl up in a corner until we disintegrate. Or something like that.