The internet is full of lists. Just a scroll down recent posts on sites like Buzzfeed and Thought Catalog reveals more lists than I think I could ever read. It's so pervasive that Buzzfeed, possibly riding off lists made by other sites about their lists, created a list of lists that shouldn't become Buzzfeed articles. And I can understand why it might seem excessive to someone who doesn't have a deep-seated affinity for lists.
Personally, I love all these lists. Remember how in school everything would be broken down into bullet points? The very same bullet points that were advertised as an excellent revision tool (one that - shocker - does actually work)? I like learning from lists, and reading these occasionally nonsensical lists has occasionally taught me things that I wouldn't have come across in a block of prose.
They've opened my eyes to some amazing works of art, like these post-apocalyptic images of British landmarks. I know I can type a TV show into a search box and find all the gifs I could ever need from that TV show. I was trying to explain The Mindy Project to a friend, and wished I could just show her the list, because that encapsulated all the best things about the show.
Lists are like charts. Sometimes, it's the best way to present it all. And in the age of media apparently giving us all short attention spans (which I don't believe, we all find the attention to watch entire seasons of TV shows over the weekend), lists save a whole lot of time and are easier to quickly scan to see if they include the information we want. Which gives me time to watch episodes of TV shows back-to-back, read fantasy epics and learn to hate the voice over on the Nike Training Club app, while still learning about an even caffeine-ier coffee and realising that my Mum is climbing the relationship pyramid from 'person I have to remember to call once a week' to the coveted 'best friend' tier. Who said unemployment was unproductive?
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