Why Rock-N-Roll Headings With Insane Adjectives Are Getting Boring!

We've all seen them. Some of us (ahem) have even written them. (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa) And the plethora of sites that feature them have made them hackneyed.

I guess the adjective-laden heading trend is driven by people who just want us to notice them. "Please pay attention to me," they ask in cloying tones. "I've got something to say!" Do you, now? Do you really?

Attempts "attention grabbing", "somehow surprising", "quirky" headlines are so common they're boring. Enthusiastic (!) but boring. It reeks of desperation. And maybe hand sweat.

At first it was just social media related sites. But now it's in the news, email subject lines and blog posts.

Content bears the brunt of The Best Ever Dramatic Titles That Promise You Solutions:

• They can devalue good content. The title looks cheap. A throw away. A quickie. When you see these titles too often, you expect very little out of the resulting article.

• They are sometimes followed by equally vapid content. The content is cheap. A throw away. A quickie. Something you've seen before. When you see these titles too often, you expect very little out of the resulting article. ;)

These titles are like the paper junk mail of yesteryear. It used to be when those envelopes dropped onto the floor, you knew at least half of them (the brightly colored ones, with ALL CAPS) would go straight to the recycle bin. You knew your bank account would never see that $1 000 000 and that that the GREAT DEAL ON LIVING ROOM FURNITURE was lumpy.

Online, when these heartwarming or exciting or dramatic or LOL Hilarious titles initially emerged... I bought in. I wanted to be moved or motivated or surprised. Disappointed!

We can write better than that. I know we can. We can go beyond gimmicks and create the kind of titles that mean something. (Can't we?) We Can Use Less Uppercase Letters Too!


Please?

In the meantime, here's a link to an entertaining title generator.

The screen caps above are not my own. They are from here, here and here.