I used to occasionally enjoy watching random videos online. But this trend of people attaching their annoying and obviously FAKE reactions on top of the video is happening a lot lately. Aren’t people bothered by this ? How is that even supposed to help with the content of the video ? I understand if they own the content of the video, but lately I see a lot of people doing it on completely random content.
It boosts engagement. Anything you see trending is because it boosts engagement. Social media pays for engagement, content creators min max for that.
Are there people who specifically watch these videos for the reactions? I can imagine some enjoying it, but I thought the general consensus (at least among my friends) is that it’s annoying. I was hoping the trend would die out at some point, but the opposite seems to be happening.
Reaction videos have been for many years always very profitable. I mean, you can easily find creators/channels that have millions of views and they just film themselves reacting to a video. As a creator, you can incorporate a bit of that into your content and you’ll likely see people engaging more. I personally never understood what’s the appeal of watching somebody watch something instead of me watching that directly. I think it is something that goes in the direction of a para-social relationship, but I’m no expert.
Edit: I think I might be thinking about a different kind of reaction videos mind. Sharing an example of what you were referring to?
It is gross, but watch a child watch the video. They look to the talking head to interpret what is happening and to tell them how to react.
Sounds like boomers watching cable news to me.