WINNIPEG — Whether its binge watching, online streaming or PVRing, people are consuming television, movies and sports differently than they did years ago.
With a massive amount of viewing options available, viewers are no longer chained to watching an episode on a set schedule.
But because of this, it’s also easier for spoilers to creep up into people’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Global News asked people online whether there should be rules when it comes to spoiling plot twists on social media. Here are some answers:
According to Dahlia Kurtz of 680 CJOB there are no rules when it comes to spoilers on social media.
“When it comes to the internet, it’s the wild web,” Kurtz said. “People would rather have more likes on Facebook than follow any rules.”
Spoilers are everywhere
Social media has given viewers an easy way to share their opinions about their favourite shows.
For example, Game of Thrones fans can find the latest news and spoilers about the show on winteriscoming.net. The site has a strong social media presence with over 80,000 Twitter followers and 128,000 Facebook fans.
The comedy show Portlandia even did a sketch about the heightened sensitivity to spoilers. (Spoiler alert: the video contains spoilers about a lot of shows like The Wire, Breaking Bad and Boy Meets World.)
There is also the the gluttonous act of television binge watching – going through several episodes of a show in a single stretch. This is another sure way to ruin exciting plots as viewers watch it at different times.
READ MORE: Is binge watching ruining TV?
The night before House of Cards Season three was released, U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted a warning to his followers that showed just how big a deal spoiler fear is: “Tomorrow: @HouseofCards. No spoilers, please.”
How to avoid
While spoilers have always existed, these new online platforms multiply their prevalence. If you have a spoiler-phobic personality, there are steps you can take to help keep it a secret.
This includes:
- Steering away from social media the day after a plot twist.
- Filtering, muting or unfollowing certain people on social media who usually post spoilers.
- Unfollow television and movie fan pages, as they tend to leak out information.
- Download apps that help block television and sports spoilers in your social media feed.
- Download a Facebook post filter.
We can hope that our friends, family and co-workers won’t ruin movies and television shows we enjoy. But Kurtz said when it comes to social media people prefer “likes and ‘”followers” rather than abiding by a certain set of rules.
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