There was a time when what was on TV didn't really mean a whole lot to me. Those days seem pretty far away now. Then the Internet happened. I used to be one of those people who hated scheduling my life around TV programs so I generally didn't really partake. Then I got Netflix and I got to see all the stuff I've missed. After Netflix, I tried to jump back into TV land and found my old problem still existed. That's when I learned about watching shows on their respective websites. That worked for a little while. Then the sites started getting wise to people preferring to watch their shows online rather than live on TV (something I'm sure advertisers reminded them off constantly). They started limiting available content and linking their sites to Cable subscriptions. That's when I found Hulu Plus. Currently I have subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO Now in my effort to unplug.
Unplugging though is still a work in progress. Some networks guard the rights to view their content as jealously as Lucky guards his Lucky Charms.
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| That magically delicious tease! |
One such network is AMC and their show, The Walking Dead, is perhaps the biggest hit on TV. It's also probably the most spoiled show on social media. I watch it, but since I work on Sunday nights I can never catch it on TV. For Season 4 I counted on some of the shadier TV watching sites. For Season 5, I watched the first episode online only to face the harsh reality that if I wanted to see anything beyond that I needed Cable credentials. Season 6 has already started and the spoilers are already flying.
I've come to realize that if you hang around on social media, spoilers will find their way to you. It doesn't even matter if you don't log on while the show is on. Your only real options are keep up or miss out. I don't think a year goes by where somebody doesn't try to explain there's
kind of an unwritten rule to spoilers but who reads anymore right. People get excited about their favorite shows and social media provides a bit of instant gratification. It's kind of like all your friends are right there in the living room watching along with you. Unfortunately, the ones who aren't watching get carried along for the ride.
Solutions? I have none. If you want to avoid spoilers for your show all you can do is not use social media AT ALL until you've seen it. It's gotten so bad that you might have to boycott the web altogether as news sites tend to give away details even if they aren't full spoilers. You know it's gotten bad when there are
actually apps out there dedicated to making your online experience spoiler free. So just tune out, stay off the web and hope to whatever deity you worship that there aren't any chatterboxes at work. Watch on, soldier.
