The Listicle

Moriah Goldblatt

Blog 3

Advanced Mass Communication

May 9, 2016

The Listicle: A New Kind of News

Listicles are a relatively new form of communication very popular with younger generations. Listicles are present all over the internet- from Buzzfeed to The Odyssey, to The Huffington Post- and this new form of publication is finding great success due to its efficiency, style and format. These elements of the Listicle make it appealing to younger generations and the ways in which we communicate. Listicle are important because they show the path or evolution that communication could take, especially with younger generations.

What is a Listicle?

Listicles are a type of mediated publication. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word Listicle is defined as, “A piece of writing or other content presented wholly or partly in the form of a list”. Listicles can be found almost anywhere an article or piece of news can be found on the internet. In fact, the word Listicle comes from the combination of List and Article. It simply is an article in the form of a list. The article or news story is broken down into its main points and those points are bulleted or numbered. The Listicle is in many ways like an outline. Listicles can range from popular culture topics like “29 of Khloe Kardashian’s Best Moments” to serious topics like “Top 10 Best Scientific Discoveries of 2015”. The Listicle has no real guidelines- as long as the topic is broken down into a numbered list, it’s a Listicle.

Why is it Successful?

Many people think my generation is lazy. This common misconception is due to things like Twitter and Facebook, where short communication is popular. My generation doesn’t like to waste time. We are constantly multi-tasking, always engaged and doing things. Younger generations like their news succinct, short, to the point. We don’t want to spend a long time reading an article filled with pointless fluff or excruciatingly boring details because we don’t have that time to waste. The current young generation is filled with students and intro-professionals who are very busy. That’s why we like Listicles. Listicles are short bits of information that we can read leisurely or quickly depending upon our mood and schedule. Often, Listicles take large topics, themes or ideas and break them down into bullet points or numbers. According to Arika Okrent in her article The Listicle as Literary Form, she states, “The true essence of the list form is consecutive order, taking a mass of stuff and finding a way to break it into pieces and lay it out in a line”. This practice makes actually reading the Listicle quicker. It also helps to make it easier to understand. If things are broken down into compact ideas, rather than one big paragraph of information that we then have to break down, it’s easier for the reader to grasp the concept. This is one reason the Listicle is so successful: because it takes larger, intricate topics and breaks them down in an easy to understand way.

Listicles are also successful because they are entertaining. It’s very rare that you find a plain Listicle with just text. Almost always, Listicles have accompanying memes, pictures, or video examples to go along with the bulleted or numbered point in the list. This creates an entertaining environment that attract audiences while also giving them important information in a succinct way. Often, the text will work with the meme, picture, gif, or video to create a multi-media news experience.

Listicles are also great for journalists. They are a great way to start an article when you don’t have enough facts to make a full paragraph, but as reporting continues, you can add numbers to the lists. As Rachel Edidin explains in her article 5 Reasons Listicles are Here to Stay, and Why That’s Ok, “With near-infinite information at hand, and reporting moving at more and more breakneck speeds to keep pace with social media, it’s easily to end up either trapped by choice paralysis or whittling away hours on end trying to keep up.” Listicles are a flexible and manageable option for reporters.

Why is it Important?

The Listicle tells us a lot about the evolution of communication, and how younger generations want to communicate. Younger generations don’t want to be bogged down with details. They don’t want long publications. The Listicle portrays these wants. Millennials are a fast paced generation. They are constantly on the go, always busy and want things very quickly. I know from experience with my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles that older generations like longer articles with many details in a standard publication form. They enjoy having their information presented to them in the form of paragraphs and long essays. This generational difference can be seen with Listicles. Listicle are popular with millennials and younger generations because they are vastly different than the older, standard form of paragraph publication. This is important because it shows how those wants, needs, and publication formats have changed and evolved over the different generations. Listicles appeal to millennials because they encompass elements of millennials’ personality traits. It’s no wonder that millennials creted Listicles- they wanted a new publication format that appealed to them.

Listicles are also important for advertising and marketing. Not only can Listicles be used to advertise and market a product or idea, but Listicle audiences share certain demographic information that can be used by advertisers. Listicle audiences like succinct information. They like a streamlined news format. Listicle audiences are busy and want things fast. This is information that can be useful to advertisers. They can use this to more effectively advertise their products.

The Listicle is a great new form of publication. It’s succinct, entertaining, and flexible. It’s a great tool of journalists and audiences. Listicles are important because they show the evolution of communication for the younger generation as well.

Works Cited

"Definition of Listicle in English:." Oxford Dictionary (American English) (US). Oxford University Press, 2016. Web. 09 May 2016.

Edidin, Rachel. "5 Reasons Listicles Are Here to Stay, and Why That’s OK." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016.

Hill, Michelle. "Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of 2015." UPI. N.p., 4 Dec. 2015. Web. 09 May 2016.

Horner, Rachel. "29 Of Khloe Kardashian's Best Moments." BuzzFeed. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

Okrent, Arika. "The Listicle as Literary Form." The University of Chicago Magazine. The University of Chicago, Jan.-Feb. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016.