Spoiler!

There was a time in my life when I was a slave to what was on Television. As a kid, nothing was going to come between me and the family TV on Thursday nights when it was time for The Cosby Show and Family Ties. I would have to make sure my homework was done, I had eaten dinner, and I was ready for school the next day or else it wasn't going to happen. 8:00 PM waited for no one. If I wasn't ready, the show went on without me. If I had to go to the bathroom, I held it till commercial. But now, all that has changed. In the world of Tivo, DVR, old-fashioned video recording, and buying a season's worth of episodes at a time, the ability to watch the television shows you want when you want has become more convenient then stopping your life and sitting in front of the TV.

As wonderful as technology is, it also has its drawbacks. You can quote me on that. I don't commit to much, but I can commit to that sentence. See, technology has made it difficult to talk about your favorite shows with friends because there is always someone in the group who's in earshot, that thanks to technology, hasn't seen the episode and puts out an APB barring anyone from further discussion regarding "said" show. While I can understand the desire to not hear "spoilers" and to enjoy one's viewing experience, at a certain point it just gets selfish.

Witness "said" conversation:

Person #1: "Oh my God, I just saw the best episode of Lost last night!"

Me: What happened? Did they all get found?

Person #1: No, dummy.

Person #2: Don't say anything, I haven't seen the episode and I want to be surprised!

Me: Relax, If they're found they have to change the name of the show. You'll hear about it.

Person #3: (new to the conversation) What are you talking about?

Person #1: Lost.

Person #3: Don't say anything. I haven't seen any episodes yet this season. I'm going to watch it after they run the first eight episodes and catch up while they play the re-runs. I need to find out what happened to the guys in the hatch.

Person #4: (really new to the conversation) What hatch?

Everybody: (angrily) On LOST!!!!!!

Person#4: There's a hatch on Lost?

Me: Ummmm....how long have you been watching?

Person #4: I'm only through the first couple of episodes. I have it on DVD.

Me: You might want to leave the room.

Technology has destroyed the art of gabbing about shows. Thank -you fancy pants Technology!!! It use to be that instead of gossiping about people we knew, we could gossip about total strangers on our television with wild abandon!!! Everybody was safe...now we have nothing better to do except turn on each other. Look at what happened in the conversation cited. Total Anarchy. There are now 5 more people on the planet that have another "thing" they can't all share with each other. So now, thanks to Technology we can't discuss sex, religion, politics, and "Lost". Technology, when will you stop?