Do you like to watch reactions?

[Hat']

Whenever I watch or play something that got me really hyped or excited I just have to watch reactions to them.

A few reactions I find myself coming back to are the 2019 E3 Nintendo Direct and the ACNH 2.0 Update Direct. I love seeing people reacting to them, especially when the thing isn't out yet, it really build up my hype lol.

 

[Kitsuragi]

im not the biggest fan of reaction channels but i do like watching the Nintendo store reactions for things like smash reveals (rip) and directs. Idk if they do them anymore post COVID.

 

[~Kilza~]

I'm not somebody who watches videos of other people reacting to things. I understand how those videos can appeal to people, though, since seeing the raw emotion that comes out of somebody seeing something for the first time can be really exhilarating.

 

[Belle T]

If they're reactions that add commentary or additional context, I might watch them if it's from someone whose opinion on a matter I care about. But otherwise, I'm not terribly fond of videos of the "Nintendo YouTuber reacts to Minecraft Steve's Adult Video Premier" variety. I don't know, cheering on product announcements or specific pieces of media on its own doesn't really excite me, particularly when much of this content is largely exaggerated and curated for effect.

 

[Paperboy012305]

Oh heck yes, but it depends on the game I like. Mostly Mario and Pokemon related stuff I watch their reactions to because the hype is real, I need to fuel my excitement.

 

[S.J.]

It doesn’t appeal to me to watch people do/react to/experience things. Generally, I only use YouTube to learn something (e.g. art techniques), and similarly, I don’t watch Twitch except during TBT gaming events. But, I appreciate we all like different things!

 

[Midoriya]

No, I don't watch reaction videos. I'd rather experience the excitement for myself.

 

[Halloqueen]

I don't go looking for random people reacting to stuff, a lot of it comes across as performative and over the top. Not all of them are, but a lot.

Some reaction stuff can be neat. Stuff like musicians or singers reacting to songs they hadn't heard before and commenting on it, or a historian reacting to history videos, or people who know about swords and armor talking about how they're depicted in media, and other stuff like that where people can add their own perspectives into things can be interesting.

It's also nice to see people you already follow react to stuff they're passionate about.

 

[Cheremtasy]

I do enjoy watching reactions, it's nice to see I'm not the only one. Not limited to games, as I also enjoy watching people to react to movies, shows, etc. as well. But I'm certainly guilty of looking up scenes from games and typing in "reaction" and will watch whatever tends to appear, even if it's people I don't know. It's just really fun and interesting to see what people will take away/notice while experiencing something that I also find interesting.

 

[Croconaw]

I don't like watching reaction videos. I want to see things for myself and form my own opinions.

 

[moonbyu]

i usually don't like them, but sometimes i just wanna see someone's reaction/input to something i found really interesting in regards to it

 

[thatawkwardkid]

I used to like watching reactions of people listening to my favorite songs for the first time. I stopped watching them because I found that the reactions were very unauthentic or they just talked about something irrelevant the whole time and couldn't listen to the music. I found this one woman who said she doesn't react to music she hasn't listened to and I was like ????

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

This is probably gonna sound silly but reaction videos make me irrationally angry; at least when it's someone reacting to someone else's video or a video of someone else, if that makes sense. I don't think I'd be as mad about someone reacting to E3 Nintendo Direct News, or even a musician reacting to another musician's work (like Pharrell reacting to Alaska by Maggie Rogers), because that doesn't seem as... idk how to word it.... exploitative?

For example there was this guy's page recommended to me on Facebook a month ago for whatever reason, and his whole thing was reacting to videos, whether it was art process videos or a video where someone was wronged by another person, etc. He would react to the videos and talk about what was going on and it was so annoying because I don't care about this random dude, I just want to see the original video! Like how important do you think your forced reactions are, dude? Make your own dang content. Idk, it just seems like reaching for the lowest hanging fruit.. lazy.

 

[Snek]

No, not really. I feel that most reaction videos are rehearsed and not genuine. There's only a select few out there that I feel are genuine and I only watch them once I've experienced it myself, especially when it comes to new Nintendo or Pokemon content.

 

[Xara]

sometimes! i’m not super into watching people’s reactions to most things, but i have watched them for certain things— usually funny, controversial or shocking things, or things that i’m into and/or hyped for.

i’ve watched reactions to doki doki literature club (specifically the jumpscares and death scenes), melanie martinez’s albums (the last ones i watched were for her portals album, specifically the deluxe tracks— i loved them so much i just had to see other people react to them!), everything everywhere all at once, stranger things s4 (specifically the finale and the “running up that hill” scene), the end of the ****ing world, black mirror episodes, the last of us part II (specifically that one part that i am pleading neil druckmann not to include in the show adaption, but i know it’s inevitable ), that weird “lift yourself” song kanye west released, and probably a few other things.

 

[Giddy]

There are certain, limited people on youtube that I watch for specific games or mainly series reactions. Now I usually watch or play things beforehand, but these specific people do add their own flare into what they do and watch.
Some make amazing edits, some don't show everything, One specific person, has long reviews of the episode, film so its great because I don't really have people around me who watch the same things as me.

I do not watch people who over react to things just to get views. I mainly watch it because I like the person and their views on the video are very valid and clever.

 

[QueenCobra]

I think it’s funnier when people react to old videos of themselves, like when Trixie Mattel reacted to the YouTube channel she had when she was 19.

 

[Romaki]

I occasionally watch them by YouTubers I'm subscribed to.

 

[Beanz]

honestly i can’t stand reaction videos, i really don’t understand the point of them but i guess it’s comparable to watching video game let’s plays.

however, i do like watching unboxing videos which could constitute as a reaction video if you want to get technical.

 

[Belle T]

however, i do like watching unboxing videos which could constitute as a reaction video if you want to get technical.

I would argue that unboxing videos have the benefit of being slightly more informative and practical than "reaction" videos. It involves opening products to show their contents, potentially demonstrating how they work, and giving an opinion on the product so that potential consumers can make an informed purchasing decision. Although they're not traditionally regarded as "reviews" because language is a scrupulous and often nebulous concept, they are in a much more similar vein to that than what we colloquially associate with "reaction" videos today.