95% of articles I see on Facebook are titled "10 Things I Learned in 2017" or "20 Things I Learned by the Time I Turned 20" or, my favorite "10 Things that Happen When You Know He's the One". With fear of sounding like a cynical and negative psychopath (may be partially true), I would like to state a possibly uncommon opinion on these types of articles: They are dangerous.
The main audience for elite daily, odyssey, or other blog-type platforms for listicles is teenage and college-aged girls. The exact age when a woman seemingly knows nothing and everything about life and is experiencing a lot of things which will eventually inform her opinions on a variety of subjects. From politics to which brand of shampoo to use, this demographic is exploring. I believe listicle-type articles can stunt this discovery and overall growth. This is why:
1. Telling readers the things you (the author) has done by the time you reached a certain age is simply a method of bragging about your personal growth. Yes, congrats, you are smarter than you were before, but what are you giving to your readers? Are you hoping they will follow your footsteps and soak in your wisdom? Or are you simply pushing them to feel inferior for not knowing as much as you do? The former is understandable, but it is not realistic these days. Girls naturally compare themselves to others - not all girls all the time, but we've all done it. Articles such as these are, therefore, not empowering or up-lifting.
2. Relationships are especially messy in high school and college. From what I've observed, and experienced, the biggest issue in young relationships is putting pressure on one or both people in the couple to be something he or she is not. This can happen when young people see other relationships on social media and want to replicate them. There is no need to create yet another framework for how young relationships need to be even if the message is an overall healthy one. These articles are yet another thing to contribute to the stress of having an "ideal relationship" which is damaging to young people.
3. There are so many crazy things happening in the world that people need to talk about and that starts when writers use their tools to spread messages. So write about cooler things people. Use your platform to empower this demographic and not pressure them to be one specific way.
Overall, listicles can be dangerous as they appeal to a group of young woman that are still learning and growing and changing. To give these women a specific framework - a set list of rules for living - can create and age group of even more self doubting, insecure, and stunted individuals.
The world of social media makes life increasingly comparative for young people. There are so many ways to encourage girls instead of pressuring them.
Don't be afraid to write something cooler and more thought-provoking than a listicle.
