The Truth About "Spoilers" (as seen by Monica)

In the example given by the authors of Convergence Culture, “ChillOne” was examined as an example of what’s called a “spoiler.” He had stumbled upon information about who was next to be voted off of the current season of the reality show Survivor. What I find interesting about this is how ChillOne was seen as a hero in his endeavors to a portion of his audience, and as a villain to others. A key aspect to “spoiling” is that it’s a collaborative effort among a community of “spoilers,” yet when one out spoiled the rest, many of his peers viewed him negatively. It’s as if they’re participating in an unsaid competition with one another to gain prominence over each other. I think this may be because although they participate in a group atmosphere in order to be in the action, they actually secretly desire to maintain, manipulate, and captivate their own audience (one another) with their perceived savvy, dedication and ingenuity. Why else would people put forth as much effort as they do to analyze and dissect something as trivial as reality TV if they aren’t secretly jealous the power writers, directors, producers, etc have over the general public with their broadcasts?