Are Readers Getting Jaded?

Who could blame them given the ubiquity of stories that sound just like all the others?

Here’s something nonfiction writers might want to ponder: Are readers getting tired of what’s being written these days? Because I feel like a lot of them are. And who can blame them?

I’m having this thought while sitting outside at a Starbucks with nothing urgent to write about. It’s a hot day, so maybe my brain is a little fried. But I wonder:

Given the ubiquity of information and easy access to it, by readers and by writers and all the “content creators” who fill our feeds and, yes, AI, does there come a point where readers have kinda seen everything? Where we’ve all kinda seen everything?

I’m starting to feel like I have seen at least most of it that interests me.

I’m getting jaded. And I bet it’s not just me.

So many stories sound boringly familiar, on common themes like aging, fitness, nutrition, how to invest for retirement, how the next iPhone will be 0.2% better than the last one!, the mental health crisis, the obesity crisis, the crisis crisis, and on and on.

Even discoveries from Mars lack the color of days gone by. Solar flares have lost their shine. New reports of black holes at the edge of the known universe seem less different, less consequential, less amazing than they used to. Did you know the stock market tanked? Did you know the stock market rebounded? Oh, look! A dinosaur fossil! Tornadoes might offer a nice twist here and there, but we understand tornadoes pretty well now. Not much left to report except the latest death toll, and remind people what the Fujita scale is and why it was revised. When hurricanes strike, lather, rinse, repeat.

Image: Renata Photography/Shutterstock. Used under the writer’s license.

I’m not proclaiming the end of science and discovery and innovation, nor interesting new things in general, but we humans know a lot now. (Except how to treat each other well. We’re still working on that.)

Most of the headlines thrust upon us seem at first blush to vary, but on closer inspection the words are the same, just rearranged. What I Learned from Mindfulness Meditation. What Mindfulness Meditation Taught Me. What You Can Learn from…

Story after story has the same batch of words reconfigured. Each seems like a retread, which sounds a lot like tired read. (The heat is clearly getting to me. Did I mention it’s hot out? Did you know that you need to drink more when it’s hot out? Did you know global warming is making it hotter?)

Whatever, I’m getting jaded. And I bet it’s not just me.

If I see another story about How I lost 30 pounds… or How I retired at 50 or Water on Mars? or Social media really is bad for you I’m gonna stick my finger down my throat to make sure I puke, because metaphorically puking is nothing new.

Oh, speaking of new, there’s the news. It’s new every day. It’s different every day. And in that way, it’s the same every day, and we don’t just get a Weight Watchers portion of it like we used to. News comes in 6,000-calorie servings now, thrice our RDA. And really, at its crux, the unhealthy ingredients never change. Half the country (pick your country) is angry, the other half is thrilled, and the other half remains unsure or didn’t understand the question. People are at war for reasons that make no sense to most of us. The planet is burning up—did I mention it’s really hot out today?—but we’ll worry about that later.

You can skip the news for a month, then jump back in with both feet and all ten fingers swiping madly and feel like you didn’t miss a thing.

Yep, I’m definitely getting jaded. And I bet it’s not just me.

That doesn’t mean game over for writers. But a writer has to be extra savvy nowadays. Readers deserve as much. Which brings me to some strategic approaches that are more importanter now than ever:

• Write stories, not articles. Storytelling will always be valuable. Give readers a beginning, a middle and and end, and get beyond spewing lists of facts.

• When you’re writing about a common subject, noodle hard on a unique angle/premise and crafting a unique, fresh hed, subtitle and lede that leaves readers gasping, “Wow, I had no idea!” (and then justify their wonder with every word in the story).

• Look for truly new news and new trends and new phenomena, rather than regurgitating stuff that’s been around a long time.

• Hang an off-kilter story on big news. Come at it sideways, with an angle other writer didn’t think of.

• Look into the far and dark corners of your mind to find ideas that are just plain original, offbeat and strange.

• Be different. Be you. Develop a voice, whether it’s full of authority, backed by in-depth reporting, packed with plain ol’ honesty, laced with opinionated snark or even (careful now) humor. Find elements of style, flow, tone and stucture that feel right and own them.

• Write what readers do not expect.

In short, make people want to read your stories, not the other ones. And if you’re a reader and, like me, getting a little jaded, I have a polite request: Please demand better.

Cheers,
Rob