Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

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TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by TopHatFox »

In my opinion, the internet has become a conglomerate of loosely supported opinion pieces/how-to's. I have a really hard time reading most internet articles, like those from Cracked, Slate, Upworthy, CNN, and even The New York Times. Part of me wants to simply read books and a few select blogs or Youtube channels.

Are these articles really life-changingly educational? Or are they merely superfluous dribble meant to capture people's attention spans for a few scrolls for revenue? Loaded questions obviously...

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Anyone else annoyed with many if not most online articles? What sources do you use to gain more valuable knowledge/wisdom?

daylen
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Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2015 4:17 am
Location: Lawrence, KS

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reason why Y" articles?

Post by daylen »

My Internet space continuously shrinks. I use to visit hundreds of sites regularly, but now most of my Internet time is spent on only a few sites (this is because most websites are annoying.. e.g. forbes). I rarely read articles (aside from lifehacker and makeuseof).

Quora for quality answers to opinionated questions, stackexchange for technical questions, reddit for surveying ideas and opinions on just about anything, youtube for brain candy (vsauce, veritasium), goodreads for book reviews, rotten tomatoes for movie/show reviews, and wikipedia for basic stats. Books for everything else.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by George the original one »

Those articles are clickbait. They're only there to serve the ads; more eyeballs = more income.

People self-select them, so the more popular they are, the more often you will see the same variant. Occasionally they're useful, but if it involves any celebrity, then you can automatically write it off.

Dragline
Posts: 4436
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by Dragline »

+1. The purpose of those articles is not to inform you at all, but to expose you to advertising. It's the same principle and purpose of television news casts (and television generally).

theanimal
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Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by theanimal »

I hate these articles. It's an automatic reason for me to avoid clicking on that. Precisely the reason I've only ever read one article on Buzzfeed. It annoys me when more intellectual sites like Farnam Street follow this behavior. Like others, I don't visit many websites. CNN and the other news sites are the worst. Essentially all ads and minimal amount of content.

Find people you trust (like on here) for recommended sites or resources. Skip (most of) the rest. Using someone else as a filter helps big time.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by cmonkey »

Here's some more reading for you Olaz. :lol:

Just don't let the advertising influence you. Save your $520.

TopHatFox
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Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by TopHatFox »

Haha, I actually liked the packable bag idea and the cute humidifier softly blowing lavender at my face... :P

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

I have this packable bag. I keep it in the side pocket of my regular backpack; it's great if you want to go somewhere with some stuff and leave the bigger bag behind, like the grocery store or gym or something.

Dragline
Posts: 4436
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by Dragline »

I always knew "fuschia rose" was your color. :lol:

But "shatterproof wine glasses" for the outdoor picnic? C'mon -- whatever happened to swilling out of a bottle of Thunderbird in a paper bag? :twisted:

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Oh, well I actually bought the purple one, it also had a price discount!

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Dragline wrote: But "shatterproof wine glasses" for the outdoor picnic? C'mon -- whatever happened to swilling out of a bottle of Thunderbird in a paper bag? :twisted:
They sure don't make dirtbags like us anymore.

inchicago
Posts: 134
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 12:03 pm

Re: Anyone else tired of the: "X Reasons why Y" articles?

Post by inchicago »

I just happened upon this and wanted to comment that one of my biggest pet peeves are those ridiculous "listicles". They give you a sentence or two, then make you click to the next lame sentence with a lame photo, all the while with tons of spammy ads that my computer and Internet speed do not get along with. On the off chance I happen upon one of those, I automatically click out. The ads are usually centered around losing weight or banishing wrinkles.

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