"Reaction" Videos (Youtube)

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I don't have cable anymore. I've got subs to a couple streaming services - Netflix, Prime etc but during this pandemic I've done a fair bit of trolling around Youtube and falling down rabbit holes. Early on, I watched a couple of these reaction vids that showed up in my feed. I was at once vaguely entertained, and a little uneasy lol...like "hmmmm, why exactly am I watching this?" Then I happened upon a vid in which the "reactor" in her introductory comment said something like "Hi guys. So today I'm very excited because I've always wanted to react to a Johnny Cash song..." All at once I was struck by how monumentally stupid this was. Surely she's reacted to a Cash song before?? I mean maybe not on video, but just in life? Then there's the implication that people on youtube have been waiting for her to react to a Johnny Cash song too so we can all watch!

Anyway, reaction videos quickly became one of my instant "Do not recommend" categories. If I see the phrase "X Reacts to Y" in the description I hit the do not recommend channel button pronto. They seem like the ultimate answer to the question "I want to be a youtuber, but what can I do?"

There's a few other genre of vids that I've become antagonistic towards. Stray dog rescue vids for instance...the fund-raising element has me assuming they are ginned up to be as sad as possible and so I feel pretty manipulated if I watch them.

The Youtube algorithm is funny. I've gone through a few cycles where I've been thrown a lot of one type of video for a while, then they stop and something else bubbles to the surface for a while. Then something else...until it eventually rotates back to the beginning and I'm like "Oh yeah! I remember when I was seeing all these videos 6 months ago!"

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I'm with you on this one. Every once in a while I see these. It usually show some 20 something reacting to some piece of boomer music.

I don't even understand why it exists. Do I need some 20 something moron validating my opinion about whether, say, Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" is a good song? Why should I care what they think about it? Do I need some guy fresh out of high school validating my taste in music? To me that's just moronic.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

The obviously over-dramatic reactions are hilarious...

 

[pozz]

There's a been cultural shift. Older folks definitely tend to consider some experience as being inherently private, while today it seems that being able to record and express it as it's happening is valuable. It's treated as a kind of data. I think an older version of this approach is the interview. A good interviewer knows when to get out of the way and let the subject speak and show themselves. Reaction videos seems to be similar: a kind of self-interview using content oriented prompts instead of questions.

 

[JohnBooty]

Feedback loop, if you ask me.

We saw something similar with blogging.

At some point during the heyday of blogging, people noticed that list-based articles ("top 10 blah blah blah") were easy to write and tended to garner the most views. Much was written about it at the time, pondering why these articles were popular. Consensus seemed to be that the list format promised kind of a finite, structured article that would sort of respect your time. Especially since you could just jump to the #1 item in the list if you were pressed for time or found the early parts of the article boring. It was the equivalent of fast food. It didn't promise you something good; it promised you something predictable, and sometimes that's the most important thing.

Anyway, what's interesting to me is the feedback loop. People read those "listicles." So content mills produced more of them. And people read them. But at some point, what the hell was even happening? It was hard to tell if people were reading them because they preferred that kind of article, or if it's because it was close to literally all that content mills were churning out at that point.

It's kind of the same thing with reaction videos on YouTube. Those videos got lots of views. And so people made more, and YouTube's algo started ramming them down peoples' throats. And YouTube's aggressive promotion means they get views, which means people make more of those videos, and etc. etc. etc. it continues. The snake eats its own tail. Or maybe it's like a dog eating its own poop. At this rate I think soon the evening news is just going to be news anchors making reaction faces at things. Not sure that would even be a downgrade.

Personally I'm with you. I hate those videos. And yet, they seem to be like 50% of what YouTube pushes my way!

 

[Koeitje]

https://www.youtube.com/c/Guitargate/videos

This is a react channel that is worth watching imo, because he explains what is going on.

 

[mhardy6647]

I was always perplexed umm, let's say bemused, from a sociological perspective, by the "unboxing" videos.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I was always perplexed umm, let's say bemused, from a sociological perspective, by the "unboxing" videos.

Oh definitely. I don't get it. And watching these idiots trying to cut a box open with one hand while they hold the cam with the other is befuddling. The whole process is really odd...they get it open, pull out the packing materials, get the item out...then comes the formal describing of the packaging which we can all see by just watching the vid. Then the reading of whatever might be written on the packaging. I guess it's sort of a way of experiencing the little thrill of opening a package by proxy or something lol

 

[mhardy6647]

Not to be too crass, but the practice of masturbation has changed quite a bit in the last couple-three decades, I would posit.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Not to be too crass, but the practice of masturbation has changed quite a bit in the last couple-three decades, I would posit.

I hope they don't start you tubing people doing that.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I've seen a few of those reaction videos. One was of a professional music and voice instructor. The first was supposed to be the first time he had heard a Led Zeppelin song. Then over on the side you see others he has done. Johnny Cash, Jimmi Hendrix, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Elvis on and on for another dozen or so. Sorry hard to believe he'd never listened to any of those people.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

oh yeah there's often a designation that the person has some sort of "pedigree." Maybe it's a vocal coach reacting to a song. Or a "professional guitarist" reacting to a Hendrix song...something like that. I think the idea is "watch this person who knows something about this stuff react to this song that maybe is a song you happen to like so that when this person who knows something has a really crazy positive reaction to this song you like you'll feel good about yourself."

 

[Blumlein 88]

oh yeah there's often a designation that the person has some sort of "pedigree." Maybe it's a vocal coach reacting to a song. Or a "professional guitarist" reacting to a Hendrix song...something like that. I think the idea is "watch this person who knows something about this stuff react to this song that maybe is a song you happen to like so that when this person who knows something has a really crazy positive reaction to this song you like you'll feel good about yourself."

Yes the constant need to have your self validated by someone else.

 

[mhardy6647]

I hope they don't start you tubing people doing that.

Well, maybe not on Youtube, but...
I just meant that self-gratification appears to mean something rather different to the cyber-youths than it did a few decades back.

Yes the constant need to have your self validated by someone else.

 

[Racheski]

I'm sure everyone will love this reacting to a reaction of a reaction video from Linus

 

[mhardy6647]

ruh-roh -- we're gettin' kinda meta now.
beware the infinite recursive reaction video...

 

[Soniclife]

ruh-roh -- we're gettin' kinda meta now.
beware the infinite recursive reaction video...

This whole thread is reacting to reacting videos. Who's reaction are we in now?

 

[Mnyb]

This whole thread is reacting to reacting videos. Who's reaction are we in now?

It can get worse if someone makes a reaction video reading this tread... omg lol boomers

 

[Soniclife]

It can get worse if someone makes a reaction video reading this tread... omg lol boomers

Then we can have a thread reacting to that.

 

[Racheski]

I'd watch a video of Amir reacting to the thread where the OP listed the price of his components.