Have you noticed the sudden change on our Facebook newsfeeds? Since the start of the new year, stale memes have been unceremoniously ejected from the website in favour of what I like to call 'ten-thing articles'. You've seen them; articles from Upworthy or Buzzfeed that tell us about the 'things every university student does' or 'ten ways to get really fit' or even 'eighteen super cute baby animals that will DEFINITELY cheer you up'. And that's cool! I like articles, I like lists, and I like pictures; combined, they make something that is guaranteed to amuse me for at least twenty seconds.
Sometimes, however, certain articles - specifically the self-help or mood-booster ones - seem incredibly vague and largely uninspiring. Maybe you read one and think, "Yes! Drinking more water will make me feel better!" Then, four seconds after reading the article, the motivation vanishes and you find yourself downing yet another cup of triple-strength coffee. Why? Because these articles are stale. They may be newly-published and have super-modern GIFs to amuse us, but we've received all this advice before in magazines, newspapers, BBC news segments, that one friend who's always going on about the latest health- or mood-boosting fad, everywhere. It's almost as if the creators of these ten-thing articles know that these things won't really improve our lives all that much, but continue to churn them out because it's all we see in media. Stroke an animal! Drink more water! Cut out carbs! Whatever it is, it probably won't work out for the vast majority of us. Why? Because it's too vague, too stale. We might have a fleeting moment of motivation after reading a ten-thing article, but not enough to actually, well, do anything!
That's why I reckon that ten-thing article writers need to get more creative, more specific. Drink more water? Give a little more instruction! 'Drink more water. Or your favourite juice! Hell, get yourself a blender. Right now.' Or, give people advice that you follow. We are a nation of advice-givers, but not advice-followers. Having said that, surely we must follow some of our own advice, right? If so, write it down and inspire others to do it! If you write an article about the benefits of drinking eight glasses of water when in reality you only drink an alarming amount of Earl Grey tea, then you're unlikely to inspire others. Motivate others with your own motivation. That's what I reckon these ten-thing articles should do.
I probably should drink more water, though.
Sometimes, however, certain articles - specifically the self-help or mood-booster ones - seem incredibly vague and largely uninspiring. Maybe you read one and think, "Yes! Drinking more water will make me feel better!" Then, four seconds after reading the article, the motivation vanishes and you find yourself downing yet another cup of triple-strength coffee. Why? Because these articles are stale. They may be newly-published and have super-modern GIFs to amuse us, but we've received all this advice before in magazines, newspapers, BBC news segments, that one friend who's always going on about the latest health- or mood-boosting fad, everywhere. It's almost as if the creators of these ten-thing articles know that these things won't really improve our lives all that much, but continue to churn them out because it's all we see in media. Stroke an animal! Drink more water! Cut out carbs! Whatever it is, it probably won't work out for the vast majority of us. Why? Because it's too vague, too stale. We might have a fleeting moment of motivation after reading a ten-thing article, but not enough to actually, well, do anything!
That's why I reckon that ten-thing article writers need to get more creative, more specific. Drink more water? Give a little more instruction! 'Drink more water. Or your favourite juice! Hell, get yourself a blender. Right now.' Or, give people advice that you follow. We are a nation of advice-givers, but not advice-followers. Having said that, surely we must follow some of our own advice, right? If so, write it down and inspire others to do it! If you write an article about the benefits of drinking eight glasses of water when in reality you only drink an alarming amount of Earl Grey tea, then you're unlikely to inspire others. Motivate others with your own motivation. That's what I reckon these ten-thing articles should do.
I probably should drink more water, though.
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