Titles mean something
Titles Mean Something
By: PJ
October 29, 2017
I was participating on a forum the other day and did something I generally don’t do but that I’ve come to suspect many people don’t do themselves all too often. I didn’t read the article I was commenting on. I read the title and a clip then assumed what the story was about. It seemed to be a fairly innocuous issue although one that one is either for or against. Since I only read a brief clip and not the whole article I kept my comment somewhat broad. Even though my comment was general one poster responded with “facts” that were easily found right there smack dab in the article. No one could have missed it had they taken the time to read the article. Rather than admitting that I had been too lazy to read the whole article I defended my comment by claiming I was speaking in broad terms. Why I didn’t just come clean and admit that I hadn’t read the whole article is beyond me. I have no problem admitting when I’ve misunderstood something or even that I don’t know something and I’m also been pretty forthcoming when I am wrong so why didn’t I just admit I hadn’t read the whole article……… (character flaw- hahaha).
This got me thinking what if I’m not the only person who has read the title of a story or article and assumed I knew the topic enough to comment. I went back and started reading comments from several members on a couple articles and I’m convinced that a number of misunderstandings have occurred because of article titles and not necessarily representative of the article content. There have been a number of discussions in which members have argued over inflammatory titles. We see these types of titles more and more in an effort to appeal to a targeted audience but when we whittle down to it, the articles are providing more speculation and accusation rather than facts.
There’s very little we are going to be able to do to avoid these titles from showing up but we can be more responsible by reading it’s content in full and deciding whether it’s worthy of commenting on or bypassing it altogether.
My point is that titles mean something. They are the first impression we have of what we “think” the article is about. Title’s also set the tone of the discussion. We can generally tell what the objective is based on the title. That should be our first clue that the article is focused more on getting a reaction rather than providing information. We also need to be more forgiving and not assume the worst. Finally, I wish we’d look for common ground on issues rather than looking for fault.
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Titles mean something. They are the first impression we have of what we “think” the article is about. Title’s also set the tone of the discussion. We can generally tell what the objective is based on the title. That should be our first clue that the article is focused more on getting a reaction rather than providing information.
I have the same problem with American Thinker articles. I see the headline, and it’s just so intellectually offensive that I feel the need to bash it. Then I stop myself and try and read it, but the stupid just keeps coming with every word. I rarely make it past the first paragraph before I slam it.
Yes, there are some sources that are repeat offenders. hahahaha
Part of the challenge is passing on these sensational titles when they contain issues we want to talk about.