I don’t know what videos you’re watching, but that doesn’t jibe with what I’m seeing.
I generally am not much of a fan of pure reaction videos but I do like videos that watch something and explain why a certain scene in a move or show works. A professional Novel\Script editor has a Youtube channel where he shows scenes and then breaks down why this either works or doesn’t and why. To be honest it is mostly geared to helping writers write better dialog but I like it because now I know why I like a scene so much.
Here he break down Whiplash if anyone is interested.
Whiplash breakdown
I like watching musicians react to stuff they haven’t heard before, assuming they give musically interesting commentary. Some of the them have been mentioned, like the classical composer. He has perfect pitch and it was really fun watching him listen to Aja by Steely Dan and trying to follow the chords. His face contorted quite a bit, but he loved it. Lately, I’ve been enjoying reactions to the band, Dirty Loops, comprised of three phenomenal young Swedish musicians. It’s fun watching people’s minds being blown by how talented they are.
I would have loved to have seen a reaction video of me watching “The Usual Suspects” for the first time a few years ago. That would have been a hoot.
I think at least three times during the movie, I had guessed the big reveal. And then convinced myself out of it. And then when it actually happened, I didn’t even understand what was going on. Man, what a great movie…it got me to fool myself into getting fooled! I guess you could say that I caught on at different times all by myself
I wasn’t sure if I should spoiler that, so I did it anyway.
I don’t watch a lot of reaction videos, but some I liked:
A vocal coach reacting to various TV shows – Glee I think but also one of the Magicians musical episodes and of course Once More with Feeling
A classical flautist reacting to Jethro Tull
A woman from Ireland rating American Irish themed pubs (and Culvers)
Brian
Because of this thread I went down a rabbit hole of reactions to Stevie Ray Vaughan playing “Texas Flood” Live at the El Mocombo. In my opinion it’s the single best guitar performance captured on video. It’s something that I have no problem believing they haven’t seen before.
I started watching reaction videos back in the Game of Thrones days. It’s fun to watch people watch a show that is full of surprises or subverts expectations. I’ve seen reactions to Lost, Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, Succession and, lately, Severance. Severance is a good one because it never fails to blow people away. For me, it’s important that the reactors have good media literacy and can discuss not only plot but direction and production design, etc. But someone constantly trying to predict the next twist is really boring. That’s just trying to show off. But some people like that I guess.
I also prefer duos or groups rather than individuals, though I’ve found a few that are good on their own. One group I enjoy is Blind Wave. They are just a bunch of nerds who love TV and movies and always have interesting discussions. They’ve been around a long time and have almost a million subscribers. Reacting is their job now. They are in their late 30s, early 40s and I wonder if they plan to do this for the next 20 years or so. But, of course, who knows what media will be like at that point. I hope they are saving for retirement.
I used to say way back in the day that reaction videos are for friendless, lonely losers. And then I found out I was right when I became one of the lonely friendless losers. Thou I only watch them when I’m too drunk to play Balatro correctly. And not drunk enough to start a 4+ hr DJ set…or go to bed.
To those saying they are fake reactions…of course sometimes are, and yes, those are total garbage that get skipped pretty quick. Just like everything, 90% of it is bullshit trash from the bottoms of the pits of garbage. But there are definitely some good personalities/reactors out there that can give you a laugh or make you see/hear something in a new way even after millions of times seeing/hearing it yourself. The one with genuine emotions can really spark a sympathetic response pretty hard. Making you remember why you like said media in the first place.
And then there’s the ones that definitely were not impressed with whatever it is. And if done right they earn your respect for having the courage to speak their mind without just shitting all over the source or their viewers. Definitely way better than faking like they liked something that didn’t, which is super easy to spot if you have seen a few other of their reactions.
I was honestly surprised that the aforementioned Doug Helvering wasn’t familiar with Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” ahead of time when planning out this video, but then again, he was a baby when it was a hit.
I started this thread almost a decade ago!
A brilliant bit from a brilliant comedy special (Bo Burnham: Inside).
“Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything”. I need to keep reminding myself of this 
To answer the OP’s question, yes, I sometimes enjoy reaction videos, though they can create some weird dynamics. For example there’s a whole subgenre of Black people listening to rock music for (ostensibly) the first time. While it’s fun to see the things I love be enjoyed by others for the first time, I can’t help but note the racial implications of Black people enjoying stereotypical white people music for white people’s entertainment.
Which is why I stopped watching those (plus they got boring/repetitive.) I occasionally enjoy the ones by experts in their field, some of which have been mentioned upthread. I also enjoy Markiplier reacting to video games. His several part series on Getting Over it with Bennett Foddy was both hilarious and transcendent. I would never, ever play a game that difficult, but watching someone have a nervous breakdown while trying to play it was highly entertaining. The game itself is deeply philosophical and you can experience the whole journey from hope, to despair, to acceptance, to victory.
I also enjoy things like Lin Manuel Miranda reacting to Weird Al’s polka rendition of Hamilton.
As a black person, I herby give you permission to enjoy watching black people enjoy listening to music, no racial politics need to be involved.
I don’t think it’s necessarily racial. I think it’s the appeal of seeing someone who grew up listening to one kind of music exploring a different kind of music—so, not that different from the classical musician listening to rock songs for the first time.
That hilarious. I just filmed my daughter’s reaction to that movie a month ago. She had to watch a mob or crime movie for a end of school project and I suggested that one. I am not a Youtuber so I only took the video for my own enjoyment.
Please don’t take this as a gotcha post. As I don’t think your intentions are wrong here.
But personally, I am in favor of anything that gets the 2 cultures to appreciate things about the other more as ultimately that is the only path I see for us to stop screaming at each other and accept each other as who we are.
Well, one of the guys I really liked did hit this exact theme, repeatedly, and he was starting to share his favorite music, which often I had never heard before. But then all his stuff disappeared off YouTube. I appreciated his earnestness.
There was one duo I remember who reacted to “Killing in the Name Of” by Rage Against the Machine and it was fun seeing them work out the message.
I kind of assume these reactions are genuine, even though I recognize they aren’t always. And a lot of times they will say, “I’ve heard this song before, I just never really paid any attention to it.” Which I find more plausible than the idea that someone lived to be forty and never heard “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
I watch Youtube videos of people playing video games, but I wouldn’t call those “reaction videos” any more than I would call a televised baseball game a “baseball reaction video”.
Generally I would agree, but in this case, the entertainment was the reaction. At one point he threw a chair. And honestly I don’t blame him.
Speaking of big reveals, it’s a lot of fun to watch people react to the Season 3 finale of Lost, as they come to the realization that what they thought were Jack’s flashbacks were actually flashforwards.
It is my tweens preferred method of watching tv on YouTube. As a dad in his 40’s I’d say it’s similar to having an older sibling on the couch with the remote flipping through curated content.
Screens and internet access throughout the house are common now so viewing anything beyond vine videos with another person isn’t as common as it used to be. It was nice then, you built a sense of community and shared inside jokes, so I get why an artificial version is popular now.