In the yawning time suck that is Facebook, I occasionally see links to online tabloids and they inevitably have stories like "10 Funniest Sitcom Moments" and "20 Famous Ex-Models Turned Actresses" etc. There is always a list.
Society has now become obsessed with lists. With bullet points. It's scary.
One list article I am embarrassed to say I actually read was something like "10 Stars With Ugly Spouses." I was appalled. Who were these people to say someone was ugly? Really? When Hollyweird tries to tell us some size -2 15 year old is the beauty ideal for all females? When Hollywood men have no body hair? When a woman bigger than a size 4 is considered "voluptuous"? I remember years ago when Jennifer Lopez first became famous she was described as a "voluptuous" size 6. Ugh.
Hollyweird's worst sin is that they present a false and horrifying standard of beauty and so many women [and men, sometimes] feel like they have to live up to it. It's ridiculous.
I digressed for a minute. Sorry.
The title of this post is Bullet Points because our entire society has been reduced to Top 10 lists and articles about the 10 Best/Worst this or that.
I think that has happened because with the proliferation of videogames we all have the attention spans of gnats. We are losing the art of being able to think critically and conceptually.
I was told by a recruiter recently that nobody wants to read sentences on a resume any more; it's all about the bullet points.
So actual sentences are considered old-fashioned.
Cursive writing is a quaint artifact.
I mourn the loss of education and a beautifully written document. I hate that the entire world is now being reduced to bullet points.
It's like the language of texting. R u K? OMG! Srsly? ROFLMAO!
One day in the future there will be people majoring in the ancient language of 21st century texts. I will be in my grave flipping around, not ROFL in heaven...
I am as guilty as anyone else. I get caught up in the electronic world. I want to reduce everything to bullet points. Everything goes by quickly. Too quickly. Sometimes I consciously make myself put down the phone and just walk outside with Lola and stand there for a little while, listening to the sounds of birds and the wind, not hearing anything electronic, not rushing around to DO or Google or Tweet.
I try to have some quiet time each day to just listen to music, and daydream. Hey, it's as close as I can get to meditation without falling asleep...
All this is to say that bullet points seem to be a tiny ladder down into a pit of de-humanizing triviality. They aren't real writing. They are quick, cheap, easy substitutes for real writing.
What happened to actual writing ability?!
I went to what I thought was an interview the other day, and it turned out I was only there to take a pre-interview test. I was asked to draft a Complaint, only using a demand letter. Well, I usually have a "go-by" Complaint that I alter to fit the facts, but I gamely drafted a Complaint based on the facts in the letter. The receptionist came in after 20 minutes and exclaimed "Wow, you really nailed that! There's the style of the case, and the parties, and numbered paragraphs!"
Now, for those of you not legal professionals, let me explain. A Complaint is the way you start a lawsuit. There's a standard format, rules that must be followed to make it correct. This is what you pay lawyers to do, write a proper complaint, although paralegals often draft them. It's a basic skill, something you learn early on. I've written a few Complaints in my life, but responded to thousands simply because I usually work for defense lawyers. I know the basics of how to draft the document, though. I was taken aback that there are individuals who represent themselves as experienced litigation paralegals on the plaintiff's side who cannot draft a basic complaint.
That's like applying for a job as a house painter and showing up with a Paint By Numbers kit.
Just an example of a society filled with people who think it's OK to lie on a resume. People who cannot write lie about that too, I'm sure. No wonder I have to take tests to prove I'm not lying. But how SAD.
I blame it on the proliferation of bullet points.
- the road
- to hell
- is filled
- with bullet
- points...
photo by Mark Embry
