The internet is a wonderful thing; so empowering, so convenient, so entertaining. One of the best things to happen to the internet? YouTube. You can find almost anything you’re interested in watching on YouTube. Old music videos, your favorite part of your favorite episode of your favorite show, history lessons… the possibilities are endless. YouTube has been great for gamers as well, and now with YouTube Gaming live content and eSports footage is more accessible than ever. There’s something for everyone out there, and I understand that everyone has his or her own interests, but there’s one thing on YouTube that I absolutely cannot stand: reaction videos.
I think reaction videos are the tackiest, most annoying trend right now, and they just won’t go away. Like most of you, I was really excited to watch Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV . I was so excited to hear all about the game and see some new footage, and I was even more excited to hear that Square Enix was holding a contest and giving away copies of FF XV to winners. Unfortunately, to enter the contest you had to record yourself watching the Uncovered event and send in your most “genuine” and most “entertaining” reaction video. Honestly I’d much rather spend $60. In fact, I’d rather spend an extra $60 to be able to grab a heavy feather pillow and whack some of these people in the mouth with it.
Reaction videos are neither genuine nor entertaining. They’re the opposite of genuine. Imagine two high school guys attracted to the same girl. All three of them are hanging out, chatting casually at a coffee joint. Every time the girl says something, one of the guys practically spits out his coffee with laughter, and during the most mundane anecdote he sits on the edge of his chair, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, feigning the most intense interest in order to win her over. Is that attractive? Is that genuine? No, it’s a desperate and pathetic grab for attention.
That’s what 99% of these reaction videos on YouTube are doing. You, as the viewer, are the high school girl, and all of these content creators want to attract your attention. For some reason that I can’t seem to figure out, everyone got together and decided that the most successful videos and the most celebrated content creators should be the ones who yell the loudest, swear the most, or squeal in pseudo-celebration after every simple announcement.
Does this sound familiar? “Alright guys it’s your boy ____ here, I’ve never seen this trailer / played this game/ heard this song before so I wanted to check it out for the first time with all of you so you can see my reaction. Here we go.” Tell me if you’ve seen this before: a thumbnail image with people’s mouths wide open, eyes wide as saucers like they’re seeing in color for the first time in their lives, with the words “TEENS REACT,” “HOT GIRLS REACT,” or “REACT VIDEO PERSONALITIES REACT” pasted on the front in all caps.
What is it? What is it about watching a video feed in a tiny window in the corner while someone stares at a screen and screams into the microphone that is so entertaining to some people? Surely someone reading this likes reaction videos and can explain it to me, because most of them I see floating around YouTube have millions of views; sometimes tens of millions! If you can give me a few good reasons why reaction videos deserve to exist on the internet, I’ll film a reaction video of myself reading your comment.
Image Credit: FineBrothers Entertainment