Spoiler Alert: New Research Says Spoilers Might Not Ruin a Movie or Show After All

In an age of streaming media, the spoiler alert became a necessary practice. Anyone posting about a new show or film would always include those crucial two words: spoiler alert. Revealing the secret was the ultimate ruination of another's viewing experience. Spoilers became taboo. But what if knowing what will happen next only has a negligible effect on your enjoyment of a piece of entertainment?

That's the conclusion from some counterintuitive new research that shows spoilers may not be as bad as most of us think. Instead, the anticipation of what happens next comes from the art of storytelling and may happen regardless of whether we know the ending or not. If you have ever enjoyed watching a film a second time, you may have already experienced this. I have to say I did find this research hard to believe, though. The missing piece here seems to be accounting for individual personality. After all, some people do love surprises more than others, right?