Poll of the Day > Reaction videos are just laugh tracks for zoomers

(+) Yeah! (+)

Good thing there's a bald ginger guy going O_O next to the video I'm watching otherwise I wouldn't know how to feel

True

This actually seems pretty close to the mark. Not necessarily the "telling me how to feel" thing, but it plays into the same psychology that makes laugh tracks appealing: We enjoy things more when we feel that somebody else is enjoying them with us. That little bit of external validation for whatever we're feeling taps into that part of our lizard brain that wants to be socially accepted.

Sometimes a person's reaction is funnier than what they're reacting to in the first place lol

I think reaction videos are more a millenial thing.

Blightzkrieg posted...

I think reaction videos are more a millenial thing.

I'm an older millennial and the only reaction videos I watched involved a singular cup

I don't deny the aspect that adjl described. As I said before, I like reaction videos for two reasons: a) they often understand and examine the work in ways that I hadn't before, and 2) I'm lonely af.

I mean sometimes it's an expert reacting to certain things and saying how accurate they are, and sometimes it's just Asmongold making dumb faces and saying dumber things

Metalsonic66 posted...

Sometimes a person's reaction is funnier than what they're reacting to in the first place lol

Literally never true.

SomeUsername529 posted...

Literally never true.

Maybe it often, but can easily be true, even if its not true for you

SomeUsername529 posted...

Literally never true.

Literally even

BADoglick posted...

I'm an older millennial and the only reaction videos I watched involved a singular cup

The big explosion of react channels happened over a decade ago.

The zoomer equivalent is probably like vtubers or something idk im not a z lister

Im not even sure if they actually feel themselves, they all seem to copy the same uncanny expressions. The zoomer equivalent is talking about nothing while doing random three point upper eye rolls searching for thoughts that aren't there.

SomeUsername529 posted...

Literally never true.

It's quite true sadly.
I work with a coworker who just repeats things and people get a laugh out of it.
It confuses me cause i feel like people aren't listening, but I guess it doesn't suck they're happy.

SomeUsername529 posted...

Literally never true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkk9DI-8el4
I guaran-fucking-tee you that this guys reaction to the story being told is funnier than the story itself.

Just reminded me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPzj6P57gm4

It's definitely true that some people get more out of the reaction, but it doesn't do much for me. My son will show me a video of something vaguely funny, but because there's a sound effect and some guy with a funny laugh laughing hysterically in the corner he'll be cracking up at it. He usually gets a pained smile from me. But I'm a joyless Gen X dude.

Anyways, it's absolutely laugh track mentality.

RIP Bob Saget

Blightzkrieg posted...

The big explosion of react channels happened over a decade ago.

The zoomer equivalent is probably like vtubers or something idk im not a z lister

I'd they started with younger millennials and really young zoomers.

Zangulus posted...

So, you as an elder millennial, agree, that reaction videos are old enough that theyre more of a millennial thing... got it.

I'd break it down like this. Millennials watched youtube videos of randoms reacting. Zoomers watched streamers reacting to youtube videos.

I used to enjoy reaction vids at first, it was interesting seeing what people outside my usual peer group think about the things i like.

Now, just like with anything else that becomes popular and profitable, it became crap.

Now its stuck in my algorithm, im constantly bombarded by thumbnails of some goon, mouth agape acting like they are mind blown. Even worse the odd one i do end up clicking on out of boredom, the reactions are so fake and they act as if it is the best thing they have ever seen as they try to pander to people to pay them to react to their favourite videos.

Pretty accurate. Anyone who tries showing me a reaction video gets the side eye for the rest of the day

I didn't get it until I found a channel I actually like. Like someone else said, the commentary during the reaction is why I'm there.