What is with these videos where it's just someone reaction to shit someone else is doing?
I don’t understand why this is a thing? Who wants to watch someone nod their head to someone else’s content?
Just show the original video! How did this get popular and what is wrong with those that helped it to happen?
Because if you show the original video, thats copyright infringement, and pirating of content.
Show the "reaction", and it falls within fair use. Even if the reactor doesn't DO anything.
I mean that's what these people are trying to do and claiming to do, but under most jurisdictions this doesn't hold in court
Show the “reaction”, and it falls within fair use
i doubt that, but it would probably depend on jurisdiction.
i think it is just really lazy way how to become a youtuber. you only need to be attractive person with no other skill.
Copyright circumvention is the lie YouTubers tell themselves as they shamelessly feed their ego. They're imagining all their followers laughing because they thought something was funny. Copyright circumvention is the useful product distilled by human ingenuity out of the toxic cesspool this market created as it feeds upon the attention capacity of the youth of the world.
This shit should be against ToS.
Laughing is a social thing that people don't normally do by themselves (unless it's really funny), so I''m guessing that having a human face on screen to "enjoy the content with" ups the level of engagement. Similar to laugh tracks in shitty sitcoms.
Interesting.. Never thought of that
But they don’t laugh. They just nod and look stupid.
Sounds like even by "reaction video" standards you're not seeing very good ones, lol
It's a way of stealing someone else's content and for some reason YouTube allows it. I close that slop immediately.
Same. I do the ‘show less of this shit’ also.
Do you count debunking videos as stealing, because I don't. Some of the best videos is people debunking misinformation posted by assholes like Rogan.
Maybe, if they are not just playing the entire video end to end and barely talking over it.
If you are taking 5 minutes of their video and turn it into an hour of review/criticism, sure that seems fair.
"Do you count debunking videos as stealing, because I don't."
No one does... wtf?
Wtb are you talking about? This is not even int he same topic as the comment you replied to.
Not always. I've seen clips of reaction videos where people are shown older media that's typically unfamiliar to young people. In that case, it's a way to reassure older people of the continued appeal of the pop culture of their youth. Something like a modern high schooler listening to Led Zeppelin for the first time.
I get so irritated seeing that bottom panel of uselessness. And it’s always so exaggerated… first couple of times I thought it might be some commentary or a conversation. Now I wish there was a thumbs up, thumbs down, and punch in the face. I’d chose the later.
The stupid fucking finger point and tap. Hope these useless sacks of shit get decked in the face.
Billions of idiots. I have no other explanation.
I've seen limited evidence to suggest the audience is material. A lot of these numbers are farmed for engagement and to inflate ad revenue. A lot are just channels that auto play when people aren't paying attention.
There's definitely an audience of little kids who are just strapped to pads with nothing better to do. But it can't be overstated how fudged these audience numbers can get.
YouTube claims their Shorts channel gets 200 billion views per day. There's only 5 billion Internet users on Earth.
You must be a load of fun at parties.
I have friends. I don't watch videos of people commenting what my friends do when I'm not there.
People who actually are fun at parties are usually the ones that wouldn’t find watching some knob nodding along to someone else’s content entertaining.
Reaction videos just feel like a cheap way to profit on other people's content without getting flagged.
Unpopular thing to say but... I just don't understand watching other people gaming.
Note that I did not say "people who watch twitch are idiots".
Just that I personally don't get it, never will. I'm fine with that too, people do loads of things that I don't find at all appealing.
For the same reason people watch professional sports.
Fair enough. I don't watch gambling ads professional sports either.
I'm not into sports neither and when my father explained why he watches sports, I suggested you might just as well watch people playing video games.
I thought that was ridiculous at the time but it actually became a thing
i watch it for the commentary. Its also kind of like pseudoshared experience. There are also bunch of games that are not necessarily bad but which i dont want to buy, so watching someone else play it is nice way to experience the game and also see if it would be worth getting afterall.
The streamer might do some funny (or insightful) comments about the game while playing, or do a playthrough with some weird conditions (e.g. he can't do certain actions like healing, ...) that you wouldn't in your right mind apply to yourself
The streamers I watch are usually incredibly talented and can pull off things I wouldn't even imagine. They also explain the game at a very high level and can show me the boundaries that I didn't even know existed. They also experiment with different setups and beat the game in hard mode without breaking a sweat.
Not everyone can pull it off while being entertaining and pleasant, but I think those are the ones worth watching the most.
Amazing.
Sometimes I find it fun to watch a game I will never play, but I also get to chat with the streamer so theres that too.
More power to you brother, but yeah this holds no meaning for me.
When i was a kid me and my 4 siblings would often have to take it in turns to play single or 2 player games. In the mean time if you weren't playing you would watch the others play. It was exciting rooting for one player or another, it was great when something funny happened, or when someone did something amazing, whether on purpose or by accident whilst button mashing. Even single player adventure or rpg games were fun to watch. It was kind of like watching a movie. You were there for the fun bits, the exciting bits, the sad bits, the shocking bits. Even watching, you are part of it.
Admittedly, despite this, i initially didn't find this sort of content appealing as i thought there would be something different with me not being in the room and it not being my siblings. But after watching a streamer who makes other, non-game content do a few multiplayer games with other people that appear on his stream i found that they can be just as fun to watch. You still get a bit of that feeling and its still enjoyable. Especially if you are watching live and can take part in the chat. The rest of chat are substitutes for my siblings and the streamer and his buddies are all funny and the camaraderie is very familiar.
All in all i would say, you might be suprised if you gave it a go.
Some streamers play indie games and some are terribly boring to me. It helps me sleep.
I've watched let's plays of strategy games that I want to be better at, in order to see people who don't fucking suck like I do. But after I get a better idea on how to suck less, I stop.
That's fair. I don't watch streamers as a rule, but let's plays can be enjoyable. I'll watch them if the commentators are funny, or if it's a game I'm interested in knowing about but not interested enough to play through myself, or if it's on a platform I don't have, The Metal Gear Solid series for example.
I agree it is generally pretty stupid and difficult to watch, however there are a few situations where it makes some sort of sense.
Usually it's some combination of the above.
I just block them and move on regardless. But man…. They’re so horrible!
Yeah I don't like them either.
You know that person reacting already watched it at least twice before putting on a show of exaggerated expressions.
It just seems dumb to me.
It’s ridiculous. I can’t even figure out a stupid reason to do it.
I don't understand those long ass unboxing videos either. If you wanna review a product and show us what all came with it. Have that shit all laid out on a table before you start the video.
It's weird to make a 10 min video of slowly cutting tape and meticulously removing things from a shipping container.
Weird.
I guess it's either cheap to make background noise (instead of taking the effort to create an actual original video) or it's kind of like mukbangs, where some people would watch them while eating themselves so as to feel less lonely.
That's the "better" reaction channels. There are channels that record singer generic reactions (no commentary) and put them over hundreds of videos despite the reactions not making sense at all
as I literally watch such a video
I'm there for the added layer of humor provided by the "reactor." Like GameGrumps. I am not watching them play games to see them play games; they actually kinda suck at most games and its frustrating seeing them unable to solve easy puzzles or win easy fights. But they are funny as fuck.
Idk if watching someone play a game counts as a "reaction" video. In my mind a reaction video is a video that shows someone watching a YouTube video that you probably don't even get to see unless you go watch that video on your own.
Not the same type of videos I’m talking about. I mean the dipshits that just nod through the whole thing, taking up half the screen.
Gamegrumps are not a reaction channel. I don't think you fundamentally understand what a reaction video is..
It's a video with a silent face super imposed and nothing else. THATS IT.
It's entire very cut and dry genre of video.
I think some of y'all need to learn how to parse a paragraph. I am not saying Game Grumps is a reaction channel, I am saying I am there for the commentary and humor, the same as with reaction channels.
It's just a video with a silent face super-imposed over it and nothing else.
Also: You don't even seem to understand what an actual reaction channel is if that's what you think they are. Either that, or y'all be seeing some of the worst, bottom of the barrel "reaction" content possible.
Ok. I'll throw myself on my sword and give a different take than what most people are.
I wasnt into reaction videos aka analysis vidoes at all until Kpop Demon Hunters came out. I really like this movie. I've even watched it several times, including once at the theater, which is very unusual for me.
I have a fairly isolated life. Not many friends and the few I do have I only see occasionally. So I don't have anyone I can gush about this movie to let alone rewatch it with or introduce it to.
Putting on a reaction video while walking the dogs lets me listen to someone else enjoying discovering the movie for the first time. Obviously I can't participate, but I've still shared their joy.
An alternate one is singers analyzing music videos. I watched someone going nut over a Beatbox video of Beatpella House, then saw their reaction video of VoicePlay covering Nothing Else Matters. Mindblowing rendition! I would never have found this without scrolling through their other videos. Sometimes being open to new things pays off.
Again- I’m not talking about analysis videos.
I’m talking about videos where a useless pile of flesh takes up half the screen, nodding along, or laughing while saying nothing at all.
I’m talking about videos where a useless pile of flesh takes up half the screen, nodding along, or laughing while saying nothing at all.
Such videos almost always consist of a watchful observer offering their opinion of the behavior going on in the video clip. Their opinions are what creates their fans.
Its affirmation therapy for insecure people. "Somebody likes the thing I like!"
It’s the easiest/laziest way to get a ton of views/engagement. Why bother doing the work of creating your own content when you can just steal other people’s videos and put your face in the corner “reacting” to it, then publish it as your own? Get enough subscribers/followers and views and you can start monetizing it.
I can understand that many people find reaction videos useless and low-effort content. Personally, I enjoy rewatching a lot of shows and it adds to my enjoyment doing so with somebody else. I have nobody in my life who is interested in that, so reaction videos work as a parasocial substitute. I can still see people I like (as little as I really know them) sharing the experience and sometimes having interestingly different reactions and observations.
BTW: For those who think reaction videos are a sensible way to not pay for the original content, may I introduce you to BitTorrent?
Yeah this. I never really cared for them, and tbh a lot of those reaction videos are very over the top or fake. But I kinda latched onto the more grounded ones this year. It allows me to rewatch some of my favorite content "with others". Obviously it's not as good as doing so with friends, but getting friends to watch all this content is kinda hard. If they care, they've probably already seen it or it's just very hard to plan something like this. And if they don't care then watching together won't be fun anyway.
Last year has been quite stressful and sometimes I just need some "mental fastfood". Reaction content is that. There's no stress, I know exactly what will happen when. There's just the joy of seeing someone else watch or play something awesome for the first time. It kinda makes it feel like I'm seeing it for the first time with them. And some of these people actually see or know things that I wasn't aware of when watching. Or they come up with interesting theories about what's gonna happen next.
There is some content I am curious about but can only stomach when I watch it on a reaction channel so I don't die of second hand embarrassment. For other people I think it has a lot to do with feeling lonely. Reaction channels make you feel like you have someone to share the jokes with. I think way too many people are lonely nowadays.
As a counterpoint, I like watching The Charismatic Voice - a trained opera singer reacting to pop and rock music vocalists, often the first time hearing them, and offering a great analysis of their vocal techniques. That's a reaction video done right.
As an example, watching her react to John Farnham's performance of 'Help' reduces me to tears.
often the first time hearing them
If there's a bigger lie told by react videos than this, I'd like to hear it.
The last time someone made a similar complaint about reaction videos, I responded with a comment similar to yours regarding El Estepario Siberiano reacting to a Danny Carey performance and someone else responded to me explaining that an analysis video is much different than a reaction video and I tend to agree. I appreciate analysis videos where the person provides insight and context to what they're showing me that I might not understand on my own.
Exactly.
Yeah, I guess analysis videos are a different animal, and not really what the OP is talking about. I too avoid those.
That’s not what I’m talking about. And I love her too. She’s a trained artist listening to comment and teach on that art.
I’m talking about some idiot that just sits there nodding looking like a clown.
I think it’s one of the most lazy ways to make a video, and leeching off more popular content.
They are not transforming the content enough to be free use.
That's literally all Japanese shows. Sometimes they several reaction faces simultaneously.
Cannot stand reaction videos. We’re on the same page.
oh I have seen that!! and wondered the same. For anyone confused, it's (what I assume to be) somebody else's recording, with a head superimposed on it that chuckles every 10s or so
I’d say let’s start reaction to reaction videos, but Bo Burnham already covered that ground
I'll do it but it's just me sitting stony-faced before going "load of wank" and turning it off halfway through.
Its literally being done now. Its excruciating.
I don't know but I'm thankful I don't see any of that shit pitched to me yet.
Idiots seem to determine what gets popular on YouTube and that happened to be one of them for a good while.
If I want to watch 10 minutes of funny shorts/tik toks, do I
a) open my feed, where I have a chance to find not funny content, and have to physically swipe for every video? Plus laughing alone is not as fun as laughing with someone else
Or
b) watch sniper-ali-freerobuckz watch the good ones, and I can sit back and enjoy someone to laugh with?
I'm not defending reaction content. They are obviously lazy and just copy-pasting for easy views, but I can see why they get clicks.
Further proof idiocracy is a documentary.
Ive been saying kids are stupid since I was one. People dont understand the brain rot theyre being fed.
The cynical answer is that it panders to people who are fans of [X] by showing someone younger, cooler, and/or hotter reacting positively to [X]. Imagine every time you've tried to share your favorite song or movie with a friend or crush and gotten total disinterest -- now you can have dozens of people reacting with awe, laughter, and tears on demand!
Sometimes you want an idiot explaining what is going on. Other times you want a subject matter expert doing it.
I find enjoyment in some of them, but not all. I can’t find entertainment in watching someone else play a game. I often wonder if a lot of the people doing this on sites like Twitch are the “younger siblings” who always watched someone else play and now that’s their thing?
I do find enjoyment in watching a musician listen to music I like, but more so for their commentary like picking up on things I never paid attention to or explaining something and how it compares to other music. Or seeing how they react and if they have the same reactions I do to my favorite parts of a song. I don’t know why, but I get a kick out of seeing reactions like that.
And on the reaction video side, a very rare time I can see it is like watching some old person watch GTA gameplay and seeing their reaction to it. Even then, it’s going to be for the most extreme of reactions like them really going all out crazy over it and having a hilarious response.
Not the same types of videos I’m talking about.
Clearly you're not a fan of the Wakaliwood Ugandan movie Who Killed Captain Alex and its video joker
I have never heard of it.
Idk but I feel like Japan started it with their picture-in-picture on TV lol
I have watched a couple of them because the only video I have found on some interesting theme has been such a reaction video.
But, I'd say that I do feel kind of comfortable "having someone around" when watching the video. I would still prefer the video without the extra commentator saying things aloud that I can see myself, but I bet there are people who really do get something out of the reaction videos. I'd imagine they are very nice things for the most intoverted among us?
Still, they are there mainly for generating revenue for their makers and for youtube, not so much for some actual need...
Fully agreed that this is a dumb thing but hasn't this been a fad since like 10 years ago?
I've seen people do that (or worse, watch a video of someone else playing a game) since looooong ago
Many of the reaction posts are cut from a longer stream. So viewers have built one-way relationships with creators and thus "spend time" with them. The reactions were born out of that.
Yeah you know what's even worse? Where people do the same thing but they *write" the reaction and post it to a website.
Awhh brehh he was like brehhh
So. You’d be the one to ask.. seriously, why do you make these videos?
Tbh its the same purpose as a laugh track and I hate laugh tracks. It says "this is where the joke is". Imo this kind of stuff helps younger people identify and parse information, especially people who are more social/extroverted.
I actually prefer doing it with typing but its because I like have a breakdown if too much sound is happening so laugh tracks use to be too distracting to me.
Imo this is more likely an auditory thing for the viewer.
Source: I have a lot of siblings and the social butterflies and kids tend to love the reaction videos, especially those who can parse noisy environments (I cannot)