Twitter users see more movies than non-users, are definitely more annoying about it

Twitter, in addition to being an invaluable social media tool, is a place where people go to complain about how Superman’s outfit didn’t live up to their expectations. The overlap between films and Twitter users is the subject of a new Nielsen study, which Variety reports offers some unsurprising data on the correlation between movie attendance and usage of the app. It seems that Twitter users are more likely to see movies in the theater, are more aware of upcoming films than non-users, and—unreported in the survey but definitely true—are 100 percent more likely to make you wish you hadn’t checked your Twitter feed.

The study, conducted in mid-March, was an online poll of moviegoers aged 13-54, meaning that the demographic of spoiled 12-year-olds towards whom nearly all Hollywood films are geared was left out of the study. For the purposes of the poll, “moviegoer” was defined as anyone who had seen at least one movie in the past six months, which is a reasonable definition, sort of like how your uncle Kevin is qualified to be a chef at a restaurant, because he followed a Barefoot Contessa recipe pretty well that one time.

Of those surveyed, it was revealed that Twtter users plan to see an average of five movies this summer, which is 25 percent more than people who have better ways to spend their time than updating people on whether their opinion of Real Housewives’ Dorinda has changed since last night. Also, they are 87 percent more likely to see a film in the first ten days of its release, the better to sit there in the theater, driving you insane by refusing to turn off their vibrate notifications, the luminescent glow of their screens catching your eyes during the most dramatic moments onscreen. They’re also 340 percent more likely to have seen more than twelve movies in theaters over the previous six months, meaning that Twitter’s key demographic is apparently film critics and kids with access to their mom’s AMC pass.

Social media is also increasingly a way for people to get informed about upcoming films, a fact that Twitter would very much like for studios to think about as they ponder where to sink their advertising dollars. The study claims that 63 percent of those polled were made aware of films via social media, a statistic that is likely the same when applied to awareness of world news events, birthdays, and videos of cute hedgehogs.

Presumably, Twitter is hoping to spin this data into generating more revenue from marketing campaigns, like the one that recently demanded Avengers fans tweet hashtags to appease Marvel’s promotional overlords in exchange for getting to watch a new trailer. We can no doubt look forward to more campaigns like this. Perhaps soon you’ll be able to buy your child’s much-needed cough medicine, just as soon as you tweet about how vital Benadryl is to your life. It’s all part of the exciting world of social media, where everybody has an opinion, opinions that will soon require approval from James in Marketing.