I can't pretend I haven't watched my fair share of reaction videos too, but it is a fascinating trend and it's not something I feel particularly great about when I am watching it. I think people really like to have their tastes affirmed, even more so if its by a person or group of people who would not be considered the 'normal' target audience for a piece of media. I can also seem like a form of anti-snobbery, i.e. if a classical composer likes one of your favourite songs that must mean it's great, and you have great taste!
It's an interesting one to ponder. I don't think wanting other people to like the same things we do is a new thing that didn't exist before the internet - but now we have a perfect platform to have that same itch scratched on a much larger scale. And the inauthenticity and hyperbole of a lot of this content, as you mentioned, is a little bit disturbing. Some of the reaction videos can definitely be fun, and some can be insightful, but I can't say I'm too encouraged by the normalisation of inauthenticity.
I can't pretend I haven't watched my fair share of reaction videos too, but it is a fascinating trend and it's not something I feel particularly great about when I am watching it. I think people really like to have their tastes affirmed, even more so if its by a person or group of people who would not be considered the 'normal' target audience for a piece of media. I can also seem like a form of anti-snobbery, i.e. if a classical composer likes one of your favourite songs that must mean it's great, and you have great taste!
It's an interesting one to ponder. I don't think wanting other people to like the same things we do is a new thing that didn't exist before the internet - but now we have a perfect platform to have that same itch scratched on a much larger scale. And the inauthenticity and hyperbole of a lot of this content, as you mentioned, is a little bit disturbing. Some of the reaction videos can definitely be fun, and some can be insightful, but I can't say I'm too encouraged by the normalisation of inauthenticity.
"Christians react to heavy metal songs about Satanism (or other pop culture about the occult)" is one variation on this format I've noticed.