Social Media Etiquette: The Spoiler
Twice in as many weeks I’ve run into a couple of situations where I either received or read complaints about posting spoilers on Facebook and Twitter. During the highly anticipated Lost finale, tons of posts hit my feed asking that east coasters not spoil the west coasters’ fun. This past weekend I was also asked not to post any more spoilers after sharing my thoughts live during UFC 114.
My perspective has always been that you can’t stop the stream of real time information, you can only adjust your own behavior to accommodate yourself. In the same way you wouldn’t watch ESPN if you had to DVR the Super Bowl, it’s unavoidable that you may read spoilers on Twitter or Facebook. They are tools used for communicating in real time; and while you can always politely ask that people not spoil a sporting event or TV show, you can’t expect them not to.
I’ve been fairly inconsistent in my own social media spoiler practices, but I think it comes from not wanting to see the complaints! Whenever Lost was on I knew I’d ruin someone’s night by talking about it right after an episode appeared. I might even ruin my own by opening myself up to the negative comments.
With sporting events I don’t usually feel the need to censor myself. They are for the most part shown live across several time zones and sports fans are undoubtedly connected with other fans on Facebook and Twitter and couldn’t possibly avoid the cheers and groans of their timely updates.
If it were so simple, I’d never censor myself from posting spoilers because to me, there’s no better time to talk about something than when it’s actually happening. But I’ll always try and walk that line to avoid upsetting others, even if I can’t understand why someone would expect to be able to filter was is in essence, the unfiltered thoughts of people you’re connected to.
What do you think? Do spoilers piss you off? Do you bother to censor yourself or just throw your thoughts out there and expect people to stay away from Twitter and Facebook when there’s something they want to avoid? Vote in the poll and drop your thoughts in the comments!
In: Follow Fridays · Tagged with: facebook, social media, twitter
on June 1, 2010 at 1:07 am
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I said that I never post spoilers in the poll which is true as I've had things spoilt to me before that really ruined things. I wish there was a grace period of at least three days on Twitter/social media regarding TV spoilers.
I tend to get to TV shows late as in years late. For example I'm only on season three of 24 as I've just never gotten around to it. Seeing that I choose the people I follow or generally read on the internet carefully I've not had any 24 spoilers regarding any of the seasons. In fact the only thing I know at the moment is that Tony Almeida will die at some point as a teaser on TV mentioned it.
TV shows are different from sports though. Sports events are aired live or at least close to it and are often mentioned in news or on the radio afterwards. It can take months, often years [somestimes even never] for a show to reach another country though and it can be a long time for those not wanting to pirate content.
on June 1, 2010 at 1:14 am
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I hear you on the different countries. The person who was disappointed that I spoiled UFC 114 for them was in the military living overseas. Technology has us so well connected that you can really irritate someone without even knowing it or thinking about it.
It's tough for me because there are certain things I enjoy talking about. In the same way somethings is ruing if someone spoils something, I feel like something is missing from the experience when I'm not able to talk about something as it happens. Either way, someone is going to be let down!
on May 31, 2010 at 8:13 pm
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Me personally, I don’t watch many tv shows but a lot of sports games, posting spoilers to me or thoughts really ruins it for the next person. I say if you don’t wanna know don’t view twitter or facebook until u have watched for yourself
on June 1, 2010 at 1:30 am
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I think that if you don't want to know what's happening in a sports match up or show, especially a much-anticipated episode, then DON'T log into your Facebook or Twitter during it. Both have live feeds. No one logs onto those sites to read three-day old news. By then we've moved onto something else.
Social media is about socializing, it's like having a virtual watch party. That's what people are doing when they post favorite lines, theories and opinions about what they just saw. If you're checking the trending topics on Twitter, than your reaching beyond your own network and joining a much more global conversation.
I don't watch Lost, but the local news, Good Morning America and Yahoo! headlines were all talking about the twists the next day. They used tweets and posts that they read to contribute to their stories. People want to feel like they were part of that conversation.
Only two other things are more annoying. People that only watch shows through Netflix, are a season behind, and don't want you to talk about what's going on. And, people who DVR shows, haven't watched them a week later and still expect that others shouldn't spoil it for them. It's so annoying when you're trying to have your water cooler chat or catch up over lunch and one person wants to censor the conversation because they can't watch shows without their spouse, he/she wasn't home that night and they have yet to find a good time to cozy up and catch up together.
Just as people shouldn't log into the social networks, said person should also excuse themself from the conversation in these situations. If you're three episodes behind, that's your choice. Continue living in the past and allow others to talk about current events. Every channel is not the History Channel.
on June 1, 2010 at 1:36 am
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I can tell you've had this conversation before.
on June 1, 2010 at 1:53 am
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No, but I thought about it during the Grey's Anatomy season finale. Understandably, a friend in Hawaii reminded everyone that she was hours behind. So, I could be okay with requesting that people be vague in their original status update.
However, if you've chosen to click on the comment link and read all the follow-up then I don't think people should have to censor themselves. If you're not home and checking in from your phone then again, you're inserting yourself into the conversation that you could have avoided.
on June 21, 2010 at 3:01 pm
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I said that I never post spoilers in the poll which is true as I’ve had things spoilt to me before that really ruined things. I wish there was a grace period of at least three days on Twitter/social media regarding TV spoilers.
I tend to get to TV shows late as in years late. For example I’m only on season three of 24 as I’ve just never gotten around to it. Seeing that I choose the people I follow or generally read on the internet carefully I’ve not had any 24 spoilers regarding any of the seasons. In fact the only thing I know at the moment is that Tony Almeida will die at some point as a teaser on TV mentioned it.
TV shows are different from sports though. Sports events are aired live or at least close to it and are often mentioned in news or on the radio afterwards. It can take months, often years [somestimes even never] for a show to reach another country though and it can be a long time for those not wanting to pirate content.
on June 26, 2010 at 3:54 pm
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Me personally, I don’t watch many tv shows but a lot of sports games, posting spoilers to me or thoughts really ruins it for the next person. I say if you don’t wanna know don’t view twitter or facebook until u have watched for yourself
on August 3, 2010 at 5:02 am
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My friends and I always put ***spoiler alert: Big Brother*** (or similar) at the beginning of a facebook post IF it's the same day as the episode. We do this as a courtesy because we understand live air time is not convenient for everyone or time zone differences etc. If you are a big enough fan of a particular show to post about it during or immediately after the air time, certainly you too would appreciate a heads up if the situation were reversed.