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Original article April 13, 2024 Inside the cheating scandal rocking D.C.’s trivia scene By: Sophia Solano and Travis M. Andrews A weekly trivia match at a bar is a repeated act of social engagement. Players know each other. They look forward to the evening, to the gathering. “It’s a community we’re building together,” Blake says. So cheating feels “less like an ordinary wrong and more like a betrayal.” When someone cheats on a test, you might shrug your shoulders. They found a way to beat an institution. When someone cheats in a board game, it’s a personal affront. “The people that we worked with and see on a face-to-face basis have destroyed something we care about and helped create,” Blake says. Perversely, the community aspect of trivia might be the exact element that drives people to cheat. What the culprits are after, suggests psychologist Jessica MacNair, is the feeling of superiority to their peers. (Sound about right, D.C.?) MacNair, who’s lived and worked in the Washington area for more than 20 years, says the crime should be considered in the context of the city’s culture. “People here feel a lot of judgment and pressure to succeed and perform at extremely high levels,” she says. “We dedicate a lot of time to high achievement and success in the ways that I think other cities around this country don’t.” A trivia win, no matter how ill-gotten, could still feed the winner’s ego. “They can feel empowered,” MacNair says. “It’s possible that this is a group of people that doesn’t feel that in other aspects of life.” On the other hand, maybe it’s simpler. Maybe they really want free beer. Or maybe there’s a thrill of cheating and not getting caught. The low-stakes danger of it. “You might feel an enormous sense of satisfaction at getting away with something,” Blake says. And maybe they just cheat because they can. Because the answers are all right there at their fingertips. (Or, in this instance, wrapped around their wrists.) Today, most pub trivia sessions actually require the use of smartphones to submit answers. It’s only ethical restraint that prevents players from using the same technology to retrieve answers. |