What We Risk by Knowing Everything
We lost is lost in the pursuit of knowing everything.
Over the past several years, there has been a growing niche of social personalities who have been in a frantic arms race hell-bent on being the first to uncover and expose Apple's latest products ahead of their official announcement. It certainly makes for viral publicity, but I'm growing more concerned about what we lose when the narrative becomes commandeered by people who aren't supposed to tell it.
I've been struggling with this idea for some time because as much as I feel leaks can ruin the surprise and magic of a product announcement, I crave hearing about them! Complicating this is the ethics of rumours, including where the line should be drawn, who should draw it, and whether it's possible or appropriate to define or rate what an 'appropriate' leak is?
Forgive what might be a dumb analogy, but I see the situation not unlike when we watch magic performed. There's an implicit agreement made between the audience and the performer that you are only ever meant to know so much because having the last few details drains the entire performance of its delight and mystique. In magic, you agree to remain ignorant in favour of delight.
Nowadays, some online personas feel like nothing more than that one audience member who yells out to the entire theatre that they saw the magician palm the ball when they waved their hands over the cup. As much as I wanted to know that detail, I can't help but feel something more important is lost by being told about it.
Early on, seeing these details leaked online was intoxicating. There is something quite enticing about knowing something that you aren't supposed to know. But after it keeps happening, I began to feel rather shitty about it all. As the wow factor of each new leak began to slip, I began to get less thrilled by the official announcements, and I started to feel bad for the efforts of people who have spent years pouring their hearts into something only to have their script stolen and the narrative told by someone else. In my opinion, a line has been crossed, rumours have stopped being fun.
But I can't take on a holier than thou position in all this. I'm complicit in energizing this trend with my likes & comments, and I realize that this is support enough for these leaks to have an audience and built momentum.
I don't have all the answers on what an 'appropriate' rumour is, but I guess what I'm saying in all of this is that I (speaking just for myself) want to be a lot more deliberate and mindful of what I share and fan the flames of. To enjoy the suspense of rumours balanced with an approach that respects that I'm not meant to know everything, and in doing so, reclaiming the splendour of the next big thing.
