Karen Jarrett believes social media is making it harder for wrestling fans to get lost in storylines because wrestlers are showing too much of their real lives online.
While speaking on the My World with Jeff Jarrett podcast, Karen addressed how the wrestling business has changed and explained why the constant look behind the curtain can hurt what fans are watching on television. Karen admitted she uses social media herself, but she thinks wrestlers are giving fans more personal access than they need.
“I think social media—I know people love it, I’m on there, I do it—but I think it reveals too much.”
She compared it to watching a movie that suddenly stops so viewers can see what the actors are doing at home. Karen said fans used to have to wait for the next television show or pay-per-view to see where a feud was going, which helped build anticipation.
“We used to have to wait. We wanted to see what was going to happen next week, or we were waiting for that pay-per-view. You’re seeing more of people’s real lives. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to explain it correctly, but they’ve got this onscreen feud—and we know it’s scripted—but it’s still onscreen.”
“It would be like if you’re watching a movie, a drama or an action show, and then right in the middle of it, they cut to their personal life with whatever’s going on at home, and then they go back to the show.”
Karen made it clear that she still wants wrestling to pull an emotional reaction out of her. She wants to get angry, laugh, feel sympathy and have a reason to tune in again.
“I don’t like that part of it. I still want to believe. I still want to get mad. I want to hate somebody. I want to laugh. I want to feel sorry for somebody.”
She also said she would avoid posting too much personal material online while working an active wrestling storyline because it could weaken what viewers are seeing on television.
“If we were in the middle of a storyline, I wouldn’t be posting all my personal stuff. I think it takes away from what is on the show. I want to yearn to watch that next show.”
Wrestling fans know the business is scripted, but Karen’s point is that there still needs to be enough separation between the performer and the person to keep a storyline alive. When every backstage friendship, vacation and family moment is put online, that line becomes a lot harder to protect.
Do you agree with Karen Jarrett that wrestlers reveal too much on social media, or do fans enjoy seeing their real lives? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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