On social media platforms we post lists such as 25 Random Things About Me, or My Top 10 Places To Live. We make lists about movies, books, games, music, pretty much anything and everything that we find interesting.
Some of the most popular articles, podcasts, videos and blogs are a variation of someone sharing their personal top picks in a particular area. There are long lists and short lists, odd and even lists, top 10 and top 100 lists, in fact, there is no shortage to the format that we will pursue to share our personal passions with other humans.
But lists go beyond just sharing information.
Lists also help us make decisions. For instance, when George W. Bush wanted to find a suitable vice-presidential candidate, he asked his chief-of-staff to draw up a short list, which ironically ended up with Dick Cheney, his chief-of-staff, at the top of that list.
"Enough organization, enough lists and we think we can control the uncontrollable," said a character on the TV show House, and that is another reason to the popularity of list making.
So what are Top 5 reasons we love lists? Let's count the ways:
1) Lists bring order to chaos. A famous quote by the co-author of the best selling book, Book of Lists says it best, "People are attracted to lists because we live in an era of overstimulation, especially in terms of information . . . lists also help us to organize what is otherwise overwhelming."
Which brings us to a logical sequence of the number two reason . . .
2) Lists help us remember things. Whether it is at the grocery store, planning a vacation, or buying holiday gifts, we all use checklists to help us remember what we have accomplished and what we still need to accomplish.
3) Lists can be used to share information about ourselves. This is the main reason why Top __ lists are so popular - it is an easy and interesting way to share personal information about what we find interesting which can help us to find other people with like-minded interests to expand our tribe.
4) Making lists can bring you fame. Notable list makers include Thomas Jefferson, Peter Mark Roget, Martha Stewart and Benjamin Franklin. "A methodical and wry man," wrote Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson in Time magazine, "Franklin loved making lists. Most famously, as a young man, he made a list of personal virtues that he determined should define his life."
5) Lists relieve stress and focus the mind. "Lists," sociologist Scott Schaffer told The Oregonian newspaper, "really get to the heart of what it is we need to do to get through another day on this planet."
For all that lists can help us accomplish, lists are only useful if they reveal a truth, solve a problem or leads us to action. Making a list, for instance, does not necessarily help procrastinators. It still requires will power and self-discipline to achieve your tasks throughout the day but they definitely can assist us in prioritizing our goals and objectives on what we need to complete each day. Yet, it is difficult to place a value on sharing our passions and interests with other humans. Lists can motivate us to explore genres of art, sports, and hobbies for instance that we might never have considered before encountering someone else's list.
In conclusion, lists are in a lot of ways one of the most efficient ways of sharing information about ourselves, whether that occurs on social media, blogs, or TV shows. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that one day that we had discovered and translated one of the earliest recorded writings in human history and it is revealed to be a list. Humans, from the earliest days, have been drawn to storytelling and lists are an quick and easy way to tell share our favorite stories.
