My biggest pet peeves when reading blogs

As a blogger, I am well aware that I would be nothing without my tribe. All of you lovely readers are really what keeps GWS alive! In return, I love to support my fellow bloggers and spam their blogs with love as often as possible. Of course, I will not always agree with what is written, but that’s a story for another day.

When reading blogs, there are so many different writing styles out there that keep me intrigued. I’ve also been interested to see how each person’s character comes out in their choice of words. However, there are just some things that don’t add to a pleasurable reading experience.

Curious to know what those are?

You’re in luck, here are some of my biggest pet peeves when reading blogs.

You may also like: The frustrating side of blogging

Really bad spelling and grammar

I like to read blogs in my free time, so it needs to be a relaxing experience. That does not mean that all blog posts are meant to be funny or easy-going. Quite the opposite actually. What I cannot stand is spending time I don’t have trying to understand each post. If it isn’t science, then your reader shouldn’t have to put pen to paper, trying to decipher the cryptic messages that are hidden under shorthand, invented grammar, and alienist spelling.

If you’re a blogger writing in a language that’s not your own, please don’t take offense to this because I’m not writing about you. It’s very different in such a scenario and highly commendable. Keep on writing and perfecting your craft.

What I’m referring to are the blogs that are written as though they are messages to inmates from some gang. It may sound ridiculous to describe it as such, but really, there are some. ‘U’ isn’t ‘you’ and ‘finna’ isn’t ‘going to’, and profanity is really unneccessary.

You get my drift?

Related: Want to collaborate on a blog post? Read this first.

My biggest pet peeve when reading blogs: Rudeness/ discrimination

Recently, a fellow blogger shared a post that was dedicated to shaming plus-sized women. The entire post was basically about how ‘fat women’, as he called them, are not desirable. He then went on to say that women need to stop setting double standards and should indeed become ‘physically attractive’ because that is what we expect from men. The post was quite graphic too, with very rude and unacceptable descriptions of the female body.

Friends, hear me out. Yes, are entitled to our own opinions and should feel free to express them. However, If the ‘opinion’ is a bias that will likely damage someone’s mental health, keep that brain fart to yourself, please.

Call me a hippy or naive, but I honestly believe that we should be clouding the web with positivity, facts, or personal experiences. If that’s not your cup of tea, don’t worry, I won’t be reading your blog.

You may also like: 5 Things that every blogger appreciates

Gossip

Let me start off by saying that I’ve been guilty of cyberstalking my favourite celebrities on more than one occasion. When I’m bored, I enjoy reading everything about their pasts and who they were before they became famous. I also do check who is dating who, what drama went on behind certain actors being kicked off a set, etc.

Call me biased, but that kind of reporting is okay in my books.

The gossip pages that bug me are the kind with the sole purpose of destroying people or their reputations. I’ve seen blog posts dedicated to bashing people they do not like. I suppose this ties into rudeness and my limited patience for such, but if what you are writing adds little value to the ecosystem, maybe you shouldn’t write it at all. And if your words are likely to create an image of someone that is baseless and incorrect, please keep your words to yourself.

Conclusion

I wanted to keep this one short and punchy because we often forget long-winded rants. So let’s sum it up for all the magpies out there.

If you are a blogger, please try to keep your content relevant, kind, and factual, otherwise, save it to your laptop and not the web. We need to keep in mind that the people on the other end of the screen are human with feelings. Of course, I, like others, choose what content to consume and I will continue to do that regardless.

What are some of your biggest pet peeves when reading blogs?

Pssst! Let’s hang on social media

Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram