Saturday, June 30, 2012

Social media spoilers

Let me let you in on a little secret.

I'm pathetic.

Yep. I'm one of those people who sit on my increasingly fat ass, watching the latest realobotomy TV or awards shows while simultaneously writing on a laptop. Being extremely Caucasian, not to mention cliché, I have an unhealthy relationship with Mad Men, Downton Abbey, and now Girls and The Newsroom. I take these shows seriously, often discussing characters as if they're real people, perhaps even my friends or coworkers.

"Can you believe what Pete said to Joan? And did you get a load of his leisure jacket? 

"Lady Mary and I have so much in common, not the least of which is our ability to bungle every romantic situation that presents itself."

Yes, I really do talk like that. Out loud.

So I'm rather put out (i.e., en-fucking-raged) when some Facebook or Twitter premature e-proclaimator decides to discuss an episode or plot point while it's still airing. In a different time zone! You're not an early adopter; you're a co-opting snot. I can't even imagine how the poor kahunas in Hawaii cope with the likes of loose-lipped or trigger-fingered mainlanders hashtagging #jaguarfail or #phillipphillips while a show is airing on the East Coast. Show some discretion and stop giving away the gasp-worthy moments. If you don't, let me clue you into a spoiler of my own: #iwanttopunchyouintheface.


(This post was inspired by blogger Ryan McRae, who writes Geek in Afghanistan.)

(photo: brandwang.wordpress.com)


4 comments:

Melbourne on my Mind said...

YES. SO MUCH YES. It's especially bad for those NOT in the US, because we generally won't see it for another six months or so. And that uber-delay in screening? Means that even the official Facebook pages give you spoilers. They're all "Okay, now that it's aired in all US time zones, what did you think of X killing/hooking up with/punching Y?"

Fuck you, Facebook page. I don't live in America, so you just ruined it for me. Along with half the English speaking world. (I actually also had this problem with Eurovision earlier in the year. I was not impressed...)

Anonymous said...

Hey, you're not supposed to be writing on the weekend. Where are your friends?

Jennifer Worick said...

Um, I'm sitting here right next to my friend, having a writing afternoon.

Bill said...

Even worse is when a spoiler enters popular culture on the assumption that everyone knows anyway so it won't do any harm.

There will always be a new generation that hasn't see The Empire Strikes Back yet. The first thing I ever knew about Citizen Kane was what Rosebud was. I haven't seen The Sixth Sense at all, and there's probably no point now.