Mikey Reacts to Reaction Videos

Mikey must admit that he finds the concept of Reaction Videos more than a little bizarre. In fact, until recently Mikey did not even realize that this was a phenomenon or that it had a name. Hold on a minute while Mikey asks Rod Serling to pipe down back there. Okay, where were we? Oh yea, please let Mikey know if you find a Reaction Video of someone reading this post, or maybe even someone watching someone read it.

Well, how did we get here? Mikey suspects that there were several wrong turns as civilization meandered unknowingly along the information superhighway’s alternate route and that is what brought us to this curious place where an individual’s reaction to various “stimulating content” somehow became as much or more interesting than the content itself. It might have all started with “Video Killed the Radio Star” which may have made an impression on a young Jon Gruden who became maybe better known for his entertaining sideline facial contortion antics, sincere though they may have been, than for his coaching prowess and together these as well as various other developments stewed and percolated and then somewhere along the road to perdition all of these influences gave birth to what we now know as the Reaction Video. What else could explain it?

At this point, for all Mikey knows, there may even be videos of people watching people watching people’s Reaction Videos, but Mikey has yet to come across this and let’s hope for humanity’s mental well-being that such videos, in fact, do not exist. The “stimulating content”  that is being reacted to, so far as Mikey knows, consists of one or more people playing video games, a music recording or video, a movie and perhaps other fairly tame subjects. Although probably anything is now possible and the imagination shudders when one considers where this path might lead. Mikey has also just learned that there are people that actually request Reaction Videos for specific content if one can believe that.

Now Mikey realizes that there are two sides to every coin, so for people who are unable to personally take part in a certain activity, these Reaction Videos might serve a not wholly unholy purpose. But still, this spectacle is honestly a little embarrassing to even know about, and more than a little awkward to accidentally stumble upon when clicking around on YouTube. Mikey can’t help but wonder whether having these enterprising and uninhibited Reactioneers lie on their backs with their heads hanging over the edge—so that the camera captures their upside-down facial expressions—might be more fun to watch.

Evolution or entropy? You decide. As for Mikey, the only reaction you’ll ever see from him will be in print. Never videotaped.

Until next time… And oh, in the meantime, please pass along the memo: friends don’t let friends make, or watch, Reaction Videos. Mikey now ends with this special nod to Jon Gruden “For those (of us) about to [react], we salute you, yes we do.”