My friends, my co-workers, my fellow television watchers, we now live in a world where many people do not watch television live. TiVo and Netflix have changed our lives. There are many benefits to this new way of watching television. Many people give up cable, electing to save money and watch shows as they become available on Netflix, or if they can't wait that long, watching on Hulu or buying them individually on Amazon. TiVo allows you the flexibility of watching a show on your schedule. It also allows you to skip commercials, which is super-awesome. Even if I intend to watch a show or sporting event on the night it airs, I will let it run for 30 or 45 minutes specifically so I can skip the commercials. I honestly don't remember the last time I watched something live, as it was airing, with the commercials and everything. I think it may have been the Superbowl. This is just how I watch TV now. You can watch a three hour baseball game in two hours. Life is great.
But, this new way of watching television has given rise to at least one problem... spoilers. Because some people do still watch things live. And they get excited and they go to Facebook and Twitter and want to communicate with other people about what they have just seen. And then they are bombarded with a vitriolic chorus of, "Hey! No spoilers! I haven't seen that episode yet! Actually, I'm not even watching that show at all, but I think I might watch it in a few years when my Netflix queue is a bit more manageable!" And I just can't believe I've never ever seen this response, "Too bad, sucker. Watch it live next time."
Here's what I think about online spoilers, it is not the world's responsibility to make sure you don't find out what happened on Breaking Bad last night. If you don't want to be spoiled, watch it live. Or don't go on Facebook until you do watch it. Acknowledging that the world we live in now is one where many people don't watch things as they air, I do think maybe a 24 hour grace period could be in place, but anything more than that is just ridiculous. And even in that case, we have to acknowledge that would be a favor the world is paying us. The world has no obligation in this matter. If I find out the score of a baseball game I recorded before I get a chance to watch it, that's just the price I pay for the benefit of being able to watch that game on my schedule. If my friend goes on Facebook and starts talking about the next horrific thing Walt has done, that's the risk I take for the benefit of skipping commercials. If someone lets slip what happened on Downton Abbey last week, I don't really care because I don't watch that show anyway. Honestly, Facebook spoilers this weekend saved me from watching one baseball game and one football game that would have just been painful anyway.
So, let's try to be nice to each other and hold off on spoilers for a bit if we can, but let's also remember that if we see a spoiler, that's just too bad for us. Because the world doesn't owe you a spoiler free life. If your friend spoiled The Wire before you got all the way through it, too bad for you. Because seriously, that show was over like six years ago.
