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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/27002
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The following is a paraphrased snippet of something I wrote, it is a conversation between the protagonist--a nihilist teenage boy--and an alien sociologist who communicates to him via telepathy, so the dialogue is private.

> **Alien:** so, you don't want to go to the night club and get laid at all? The world is ending in three days or so, you know.  
> **Boy:** not really.  
> **Alien:** you don't want to die a virgin, do you? ([reference here](http://allthetropes.wikia.com/wiki/You_Don't_Want_to_Die_a_Virgin,_Do_You%3F))  
> **Boy:** where did you get all these shoddy cultural references anyways?  
> **Alien:** well, I just had to say something that makes me sound like I know a thing or two about human society.

It may be too subtle or too obscure to be noticed, but the last sentence can be interpreted as me--the author--speaking to the reader and acknowledging my ignorance of popular culture.

My question is, is this kind of implicit/ambiguous fourth-wall breaking adding any value to my writing? I would also love to see some examples in existing literature that make use of this feature, if possible.

Original score: 1