Spoilers have more or less become an accepted part of pop culture, thanks largely to the internet. Every time a new thing is released unto the world, you just know some absolute jerk who managed to see the new thing before you is going to get all up in the YouTube comments for a trailer video and ruin the whole dang thing for you with a couple of deft sentences.
But so engrained is this phenomenon within our own psyches that not only is it accepted – and lamentably inevitable – practice, but now people are starting to look into our behavioural patterns as humans to figure out exactly why we do it.
Online streaming giant Netflix enlisted the help of cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken to figure out who the worst offenders are, and to categorise the different types of spoiling that we do.
Unsurprisingly it’s the Americans that are globally the worst offenders with the most callous attitudes towards giving a shit about your innocence because you had to DVR the final episode of Game of Thrones rather than watch it when it was broadcast. The study found that 76% of respondents based in the US believe spoilers to be a thing that we should be used to; an inevitability; that managing to arrive late to a pop culture item and still be unspoiled is the oddity.
Conversely, it’s in England where you’re more likely to find politeness and a sense of wonder as prevailing ideologies. The study found that less that 4% of Brits saw spoilers as being acceptable. So if you’re one of those people who likes to watch things at a time that damned well suits you, perhaps a move to the motherland is in order.
But beyond mere geography, the study delved into the different types of spoiling that people do, ultimately arriving at five different categories.
There’s the Shameless Spoiler, who spoils without any regard for others.
The Power Spoiler who absolutely revels in being ahead of people, and isn’t even remotely afraid to let them know it.
Then there’s the Coded Spoiler, who outwardly professes to not making a habit of spoiling, but cryptically tip-toes around revelations rather than addressing the directly.
The Impulsive Spoiler, who is an innocent victim of their own enthusiasm.
And finally, the Clueless Spoiler, who doesn’t have the capacity to understand that just because they’ve seen something, that doesn’t mean that everyone else has as well.
But don’t just take my word for it, embrace the glory of data and research and find out for yourself which kind of spoiler you are, by taking this extremely handy quiz that Netflix put together on the subject.
And once you’ve figured out how and why you’ve spoiled something for your friends, they’ve even tailored apologies for each of the categories. Neato burrito!
Check out the interactive quiz right here.
via AV Club.
