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| West Coast fans have it bad thanks to social media. |
I'm sick of it to the point that I have to blog about it..
Stop it... Just stop it...
Stop thinking that what you have to say is somehow more important than anyone else.
Stop thinking that putting something on Facebook or Twitter somehow turns you into Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow.
Wait. You may be confused. Let me explain:
First of all, when I say "overshare," I'm not talking about the people who put too much information on their timelines. TMI is a problem in social networking, but it can usually be ignored easily. Besides, seeing an older co-worker discuss increasing the fiber in his diet doesn't really impact me.
The people that I can't stand are the spoilers. The people who watch sporting events, movies, and/or TV shows and choose to disclose every single plot point or game score on their timeline. Those are the people that I wish I could ship off to a remote island with no cell phone signal or Wi-Fi.
The reason that I hate them is because they force me to live in a bubble because they can't keep their mouths closed! They're so selfish and arrogant that they feel as if they have a right to reveal information to you and ruin your experience! They're too self-centered to ponder if you may want to watch the show and enjoy the revelation of each storyline just as they did. No, you don't get to have that luxury because they typed out the entire show on their timeline!
(takes a deep breath)
The perfect example of this is the ABC hit show, "Scandal." If you don't watch that show as it airs, then you may as well turn off every electronic in your home until you do. Everywhere you look, someone will post important information about the show that will ruin your viewing experience. "Fitz got shot!" "Mellie got raped!"
Dag, at least give me a week. SMH. People on the West Coast must really hate the time difference because they literally have to disconnect from social media for two hours prior to any relevant show. If not, they will have someone spoil the show appear on their timeline.
Another example is sports. There were two college bowl games that I wanted to see this week. One on Monday and one on Tuesday. Both came on in the mid-afternoon prior to me getting off of work. To be able to go home and enjoy the recording of the game, I had to eliminate Facebook and Twitter from my afternoon. Despite the fact that I don't follow ESPN or any TV sports personalities on social media, I still have to disconnect because everyone else on my timeline doesn't care if I want to enjoy the game or not.
I failed to make it home both days without knowing the scores to the game. Despite the fact that I disconnected from social media, an associate felt the need to "share" the score with me and ruin my evening. Although I chose to avoid Facebook and Twitter, she didn't. And with all of that technology at her finger tips, she couldn't wait to reveal the score of the game as if I had some sort of appreciation for it. As if I had no way of ever being able to watch the game once I got home. Like DVR's haven't been invented.
I came home both evenings and deleted the recordings of the games without watching them. Why would I watch? I already knew the final score. What's the point? The opportunity to watch the game unfold was taken from me by some selfish individual.
Look, I get that watching TV with a bunch of followers/friends is exciting. I chat during shows, too, but I never reveal anything in my tweets because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Social media has options for people to create private groups in which to discuss things. Why not create a private group so people who are watching the show live can chat it up with you? Wouldn't that be better than spoiling it for people who have to work or maybe live on the West Coast?
Then again, if you do that, then that would mean that you actually have to put forth an effort to consider other people's feelings, huh? Please just choke yourself to sleep. Wake up. Repeat.
(steps off soapbox)
Millie got raped!?! Dammit! Why'd you have to tell me? ;)
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, though, I agree 100%. I literally cringe at the thought of logging onto Facebook & Twitter during the summer movie blockbuster season.
Come on Q! I think you're acting a bit entitled here. I can totally understand being upset if someone spoils a newly released movie. But a TV show or football game? No sir. They air live for a reason. Now, if you're not privy to watch them when they air live, then that's what TiVo and DVR are for. It's not their fault if you can't stay away from social media for a given period of time while people tweet or post to Facebook about shows they're watching. "Live-tweeting" is part of the Twitter experience and people who don't want shows spoiled for them simply should not log on during the time the show is airing. If you were away from home and had recorded a sporting event, then surely you would turn off the radio on the drive home right? Then , simply do not log on to social media if you don't want shows or events spoiled that you cannot watch when they air live.
ReplyDeleteIt also sounds like your gripe is with the person who told you about the scores, not people on social media.
DeleteI don't see the difference between that and a movie. Not being there for opening night of a movie is the same of not being there for an episode of Scandal. If your'e busy, you're just busy. However, people spoil that, too because I knew the main plot to Best Man Holiday before I saw the movie thanks to a blabber mouth on Facebook.
DeleteI do think that I am entitled to enjoy a show or movie without someone telling me about it. The lady telling me the score was the icing on the cake for me, but I think social media led to what happened with her telling me. People want to be news broadcasters because social media makes us all want to share. I share stories on my timeline, too, but it's not anything related to a score or a plot.
I think that it's sad that people have to deprive themselves of social media because someone happens to not be at work while they're at work. Are you saying that people on the West Coast should forced to turn off social media for three hours while they wait on a show to air five nights a week? Seems unfair to me.
People can talk about what's going on without typing the plots or scores, they just don't care. Just like that lady didn't care about telling me the score (I'd mentioned earlier that I didn't want to know) and just like that idiot shared the Best Man plot on her timeline three days after the movie released.
Now, on the flip side, a person who can't watch something live can set up lists/groups to help prevent seeing spoilers on Twitter and Facebook. That's probably equivalent to turning the radio station you alluded to earlier. I do that from time-to-time.
So, there are options for us. I normally just disconnect from social media to avoid spoilers whenever I can remember to do so. But, for someone to not care if they spoil something for someone else is just selfish to me. People used to type "Spoiler Alert" before disclosing something, but I guess 140 characters are too precious to waste space.
I kind of agree with Green Chimp. Now if people volunteer the information to you personally then that's messed up and rude. However, social media comments are out of our control. The only way to remedy that is to stay off of it until you have watched your show. I missed the episode of Scandal when Mellie was raped also and I saw that she had been raped on Facebook. I couldn't get mad because I should have stayed off of it. But oh well, it was still a good episode. And part of the allure of social media is talking and chatting during shows with others. But it's all good Que, sorry your games were ruined for you.
DeleteThanks. Just one of those deals. Everyone wants to be Robin Roberts and have a lead story, I guess.
DeleteNorman A. Rubin
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with Q! My household does not pick up regular channels, much less the special paid ones that come in packages from cable companies. We watch everything via Netflix. So whereas Q is ticked cuz he has to wait a few days, maybe a week tops, imagine how bad it would be if you had to wait MONTHS, or sometimes even YEARS, for a show to become available on Netflix. We also don't have a lot of money to see movies in dollar theaters, much less on opening night at a normal-priced {wallet-raping} theater, so again... we must wait for Netflix. It is very frustrating that anything we want to see has already been hashed out by the American audience. But... on the bright side, we usually have to wait so long that the opinions and revelations are long forgotten and beyond social media recall. People have been talking about, for example, the recent Doctor Who companion, and the Doctor's most recent regeneration... but we are like two seasons behind that, so nothing makes any sense. It does make it a bit easier to block out the blabber mouths when everything they are spouting sounds like so much nonsense.
ReplyDeleteNow one place I really think people suck is definitely with live gaming events. Unless you specifically ask for scores or whatever, it's rude and uncalled for when someone "offers" spoilers. Since, as I stated, we don't have regular channels, this is seldom an issue for us. But everyone once in a while my hubz and I decide we want to watch an "important" game or whatever so we get family to tape / record / DVR / whatever it's called... only to have a so-called friend ruin it. Q is right. People do feel entitled. The comments here kind of support that. It's like, if they ponied up the cash to be first in line, they feel completely comfortable saying, "screw everyone else in line behind me! Get current or get out!" But then, we live in an instant-gratification nation. Why would any of us with patience and forbearance be surprised?
(applause) You get exactly what I'm saying. People think it's their right to ruin your experience. I get the fun in chatting, but typing out the entire plot is completely unnecessary. Why would someone do that unless they want to ruin your experience? If you're watching the show with them, then you obviously saw the same thing that they did, so why type it? It's because they want people who aren't watching to see. I don't see any other explanation.
DeleteI can see the gripe about sports to an extent, because with that the final score is really what matters. But with shows like Scandal, where people are not only watching but discussing with each other in real time, I think it's a little much to expect people to zip their lips (or still their fingers) until presumably everyone has had a chance to see it. If that was the case, no one would ever discuss anything beyond a whisper of “did you see such-and-such last night/week/year?” because there will always be someone who still hasn’t seen it. At some point, spoilers will occur. Fact of life, even before social media (like your friend who told you the score). Thankfully I employ mute functions until I'm able to watch if I won't be around when it first airs. Otherwise, I livetweet like nobody's business. For most people, I think the updates aren't for those who aren't watching, it's for those who seek to interact with others who are.
ReplyDeleteThe friend who told me the score wouldn't have known it without social media. Before Twitter, I could go all day and never hear a score. And I'm not saying people shouldn't discuss it. I discuss Scandal, but I don't tweet plots. Instead of saying "did he just rape Mellie" I'll say "no he didn't just do that." If people are watching, then they know what I'm talking about while people who aren't don't. I don't see what's so hard about that.
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