Benjamin Johnson, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising assistant professor, is quoted in “The Case for Spoilers” published on Vox.com.

Johnson and Judith E. Rosenbaum spent years researching how people react to spoilers. In their latest research, they found that why some people love spoilers and others hate them is complicated — maybe as complicated as spoilers themselves.

“One of the things that we found is that it may have to do with some people’s sense of control,” Johnson said.   “A lot of the effects we find are that small spoilers aren’t quite as powerful as people think they are. But if you give people spoilers and they don’t want them or they’re not expecting them, that can make them feel like they’ve lost control over the viewing experience or the reading experience.

“On the other hand — and this is still a speculation because we don’t have much evidence for it yet — people who seek out spoilers may do so because they want to feel as if they’re in control of their experience with the story. People who don’t want to solve the mystery or the puzzle of the narrative but just want to know how it ends, those people are more likely to choose stories that are spoiled,” he said. “Also, people who like spoilers tend to be people who don’t like big emotional experiences. They don’t want that anxiety or worry that comes with not knowing what will happen to the characters.”

Johnson and Rosenbaum found that people get worked up about spoilers because the environment around media consumption has changed.

“There are more reviews, and they’re more accessible. If I go into my social media news feed now, I’m seeing spoilers or reviews from TV shows that aired last night,” Johnson said.

A summary of a previous article based on Johnson’s spoiler research is available on CJC’s Research and Insights site.

Posted: November 13, 2019
Category: College News
Tagged as: Benjamin Johnson