Between the tier ranking videos that inundate media platforms to friendly debates of the best and favorites among peers, it is common for us to automatically rank what we consume into different categories.

While categorizing is a normal human brain response, it can have its drawbacks. In particular, the issue of negativity and constant criticism. When everything needs to be put into a certain tier of best to worst, one is always looking for the worst aspects and pinning similar items against each other.

Although it has its place, I am getting a bit tired of the constant need to rank everything. I need to have a favorite movie, book, platform, brand, company, etc. in order to participate in discussions. But what if I like certain parts of one book better, but the other book is a strong contender in its overall plot? Ranking one higher than the other is not the only way to analyze my feelings towards the books, and I would argue that it is typically the lazier way to do it.

If I were to break it down into different sections, like the style of the prose, the world building, the colorful characters, and the flow of the story, it would give me a chance to understand better what I actually like and don’t like about it. Although I don’t necessary adhere to the “literary crisis” that critics say is ongoing (based on my experience in the schools, it is being overblown by people who haven’t stepped foot in a school since they graduated), I believe that the overconsumption of tier ranking takes away opportunities for more in depth analysis and discussion of a particular topic.

There is no issue with having a favorite movie and one movie more than another. Everyone has a unique taste. My concern stems from how watered down these beliefs become in an effort to maintain the validity of the ranks. It may not be a demanding issue, but it is a personal concern that I have when hearing people’s reviews. Tier ranking has its place, but there is plenty of room for other discussions to exist.