We're officially in the "endgame" for Avengers: Endgame's premiere, and spoilers are only going to ramp up in intensity throughout the web from this second on. This makes the Internet a dangerous place to navigate for those wishing to avoid learning anything before the movie's airing, and may encourage some to walk away from the medium entirely ahead of their showing.
That's all well and good, but this is the 21st century. Many of us utilize the internet daily for work and entertainment purposes, and shouldn't have to put our lives on hold out of fear of Avengers: Endgame spoilers. With that said, here are some really easy ways to avoid seeing spoilers while still circumnavigating the web, as written by a guy who learned these lessons the hard way and had Avengers: Infinity War spoiled via a Frasier meme.
Mute Key Phrases From Your Twitter Timeline
Twitter has a really handy feature that all social media should have, which automatically filters and hides any tweets that contain a list of words you've chosen to mute. Twitter users, visit settings and content preferences to find the mute function. Once there, put in the names of the Avengers, "Avengers: Endgame," "Avengers," "Endgame" and as many variations as possible until the home timeline is devoid of any mentions of the movie.
As a note, be sure to change the setting to "anyone," as the default will only hide stuff from people users don't follow. Also don't forget to set a timer for it to expire, or risk mass confusion weeks later when absolutely no one is discussing Endgame despite box office numbers surging to tremendous heights.
Avoid Comment Sections
Comment sections can be a great place to discuss stuff with like-minded people on the internet, but they're also a breeding ground for spoilers. Whether intentional or not, browsing the comments section for people's comments is just asking to get smacked in the face with a key reveal on how The Avengers stop Thanos, or confirmation that Ant Man ain't going anywhere near the villain's backside. Sure, we could've assumed that anyway, but why ruin the dream?
Let's also remember that trolls will be out in full force, and there is probably going to be some popularized tactic that the worst of the worst use to put one of the biggest spoilers out on as many platforms as possible. These folks may even be posting on stories unrelated to the movie, just to catch people off guard. Long story short, just stay away from the comments, and also be respectful of what you comment after viewing.
Don't Read Usernames
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out -- and spoilers -- there seemed to be a concerted effort to expose fans via one method. For those who didn't fall victim to it, a slew of users took to comment sections and places like Reddit with some variation of the username Handies, which didn't immediately make sense. Of course, people slowly realized that "Handies" was actually Han dies, and one of the most heart-breaking twists of the sequel trilogy was spoiled.
Make no mistake, something like that will happen again. It's too easy not to, and trolls know they can rope a ton of people in relatively easy by posting seemingly innocent comments with the actual spoilers hiding above in wait for unsuspecting eyes. Obviously, folks should be avoiding comment sections already, but for those that can't help themselves, at least try to avoid reading the names of people's comments.
Don't Go Looking For Content That Potentially Reveals Spoilers
This seems like a no-brainer, although anyone who's been on the Internet has seen those readers who are taken aback and appalled they read a spoiler despite the warnings on articles and in headlines revealing spoilers are ahead. In short, reading speculative articles about the movie and what will happen at this point is a bad idea. There are many people who already know what happens, and you might actually read that in searching.
Even reviews can be dicey. Ours, of course, is spoiler free, and so are a handful of others on reputable and well-known sites. Make no mistake, there are more spoiler heavy reviews out there, and they can drop some rather big details unexpectedly. It's simple really. Avoid content that may reveal a spoiler, and drastically lessen the chance that a spoiler will unexpectedly surface.
Warn Friends And Family Ahead Of Time
By now, many of us are aware of the habitual "Spoilees" in our lives. Whenever there's a big movie that's out, they just can't help themselves and have to talk about the movie regardless of whether or not everyone around them has seen it or not. We love them anyway, but damn if they wouldn't catch hands if the bond we share with them wasn't so strong.
Ideally, it's best to get to the theater before these people and eliminate any chance of falling victim to their spoilery ways. If that's not possible, just kindly remind them ahead of time not to talk to you about the movie before you've seen it. If they're not monsters, they'll respect that. If they do it anyway, at least the warning gives you a valid reason to slap them upside their head.
Beware YouTube Suggestions
YouTube is a great way to kill time during the day, but it's going to be very risky to venture in the coming weeks. YouTubers gotta eat too, and that sweet Avengers: Endgame analysis is going to pay some bills for a couple high profile people on the platform. These folks will probably be respectful of spoilers, and keep things clean, but that won't stop YouTube from suggesting and auto-playing a full spoilers video right after.
Don't blame the YouTuber, blame the algorithm. Or blame both, but also blame yourself because this is also a form of looking for content on Avengers: Endgame, and then being upset when the Internet grants that wish. Just disable autoplay, however, and that should solve the problem of unintentionally starting a video. As for the rest, just be wary of looking at the titles of related videos and suggested ones that pop up after you watch something.
Avengers: Endgame spoilers will almost certainly ramp up in intensity beginning Thursday evening, so be sure to grab a ticket and see it before the major beats are all over the web. Also, stick with CinemaBlend for the latest news regarding movies, television, and pop culture.
