BY: REGINA DE LA CRUZ
The word or term "spoiler" has been around for several years, although it is now being used more commonly. In fact, according to The Awl, there are records of the phrase "Spoiler Alert" being used since 1982, when a commentator said it before sharing a detail about the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"... so it can be said that many people have been victims of spoilers for a long time.
In the digital age, spoilers can be considered a huge problem, as the combination of spaces such as social media and new technologies that allow you to watch or follow an event as soon as it airs has made it easier to accidentally come across a spoiler.
The problem is so common that brands have even launched campaigns to prevent it, such as the recent campaign led by brothers Anthony Russo and Joseph V. Russo, directors of several Marvel films, who shared a letter asking people to avoid spoilers for the upcoming and final Avengers movie. The campaign uses the hashtag #DontSpoilTheEndgame.
But what is the potential impact of spoilers?
In addition to content creators wanting to ensure that the audience has a good experience with the project or work, the potential impact of a spoiler is the loss of millions of dollars. For example, in the case of the movie Avengers: Endgame, it is estimated that the film will gross over $2 billion at the global box office, with expectations of reaching $3 billion, However, this could be affected if people decide not to go to the cinema to see the film after receiving spoilers or seeing a bad review that deters them from seeing it in some way.
This is where the concept of "word of mouth" has a strong impact on consumers, and we must not forget that. Forbes points out that companies risk losing up to 70 percent of their potential customers when they have more than four negative articles visible in the digital world.
And anyway, are spoilers really that bad? A study conducted by the University of California suggests quite the opposite, highlighting that having extra information (better known as spoilers) about content can make it more satisfying, as can the predictability of an experience.
In one of the experiments with 819 participants, psychologist Nichilas J.S. Christenfeld from the aforementioned university asked people to read different types of stories, some of which contained spoilers. The results (see graph below) show that those who received spoilers reported enjoying the stories more.
* University of California
