In the age of social media it’s nearly impossible to avoid movie spoilers, unless, of course, you are not on social media.

Even so, for fans, ruining a film with spoilers has become a problem that happens on a regular basis, almost as soon as an announcement is made. They know that if that favorite movie is coming out, they will surely find out more than they want to.

What happened to going to see a movie and being truly surprised? Entertainment networks are at the ready to grab the latest information — which include the movie’s spoilers — and print it as fast as possible to get more traffic on their site.

As much as many of us — who write for a living — hate movie spoilers it’s undeniable that releasing plot details and rumors is usually good for our websites, as millions are interested on what’s happening during a big production.

Some people are successful at staying away from spoilers, but they have to basically stay away from their social media pages for a long time. News sites usually have the common courtesy to alert fans when spoilers are included in an article, however, regular folks just blurt things out.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens J.J. Abrams directing Daisy Ridley (Lucasfilm)

For film studios, the problem is real and it’s a nightmare to try to keep plot details quiet for months as vultures are lurking in the shadows ready to pounce. Anonymous sources abound and leaks are nearly impossible to avoid. Directors have to great lengths to keep plot details away from prying eyes and not ruin the experience for moviegoers.

Last summer and fall, when Zack Snyder was filming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in Detroit and other Midwest locations, he managed to keep the Batmobile and Ben Affleck in his Batman costume away from cameras successfully, despite filming on the city’s streets. A major feat in this day and age.

When director J.J. Abrams was thrown in the midst of one of the biggest franchises in movies’ history, he was stunned at the level of interest that comes with making the the highly anticipated next Star Wars movie, as he told Australian site News.com.au.

“The level of scrutiny is pretty much unprecedented for me. My dream is that, despite so many rumors — many of which are true, many of which are untrue — when people see the movie, they see something that hasn’t been completely ruined for them by having read spoilers they might not have wanted to read.”

Despite the fact that movie spoilers abound, film studios still have the upper hand and never confirm or deny rumors floating around on social media. You should always take a spoiler with a grain of salt, they’re not always accurate, despite so-called good inside sources. Things are evolving and studios are coming up with more creative ways to keep spoilers away from the front pages, but social media is making it more difficult.

Tell us how you avoid movie spoilers on the space below.

[Image via Wallpaper4me.com]