Top 10 Most Annoying Things In Reaction Videos
I like the idea of reaction videos, and I like some of them, but several things annoy me. Some of the guys who make those videos should realize that some of the things they do are annoying and distracting.
I think that a reaction video is supposed to show the spontaneous reaction to what somebody hears or watches during the process of listening or watching, not a review or analysis after watching it. Because it's called a "reaction" video. But it isn't a "reaction" video if there's no spontaneous reaction to what they hear or see. Not reacting during the video is a big change from the initial idea of those videos, and it turns them into the complete opposite of what they were supposed to be.
A review after the process of listening or watching is great, as long as the person also reacts while listening or watching.
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Reactors listening to an entire song with no facial or body expression
What you get is watching someone lifelessly listen to music, like a mummy staring at a screen.
It's terribly boring. It's more annoying when the song is long. Why should I watch someone sitting as dead as a rock for 10 minutes? No, thanks.
I like reaction videos when the guys nod during a section they like, smile, or start playing air guitars, drums, or headbanging... something.
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Reactors listening to an entire song without saying a word or making a sound
I definitely like reaction videos with actual reactions in them, such as people spontaneously saying "that was fire!", "hold on, hold on", "yeah, yeah!", "wow, that was amazing!"
There should be at least some tiny signs the guy actually "reacts."
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Reactors listening to an entire song without pausing to verbally react to a moment in the song
Again, it's a reaction video that is supposed to show your reaction to what you hear, whether you like the song or not. If I have to wait until the end of the song to hear your reaction, it's not a reaction video. It's a short review.
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Fake "first time listening" reaction videos
When people pretend to watch an incredibly famous and popular movie for the first time. They obviously would've seen it but know it'll get views. It's disingenuous. Sometimes they'll make a comment that gives them away and it just makes you feel cheated.
Sometimes I feel that it wasn't the first time the guy heard the song he/she is making a "first time" reaction video. I don't know, it just feels fake.
There is nothing wrong with listening to something twice. Sometimes you find the best stuff the second or even third time around. Just admit it.
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Reactors talking too long about things not related to the video
I don't mind a short remark about something not related to the video, but long stories, especially when they aren't interesting? No, thanks. Or long rants? They are rather distracting and annoying.
A short off-topic comment or a joke may make a reaction video more "alive," but not the long ones. No, no, no.
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Reactors trying to figure out what the song is about instead of making comments
Well, you just heard a masterpiece with great vocals and instrumentation, and all your "reaction" consists of is trying to figure out what the lyrics were about?!
Example: "What did Dio mean by 'ride the tiger'? [...long pause...] Was the tiger this or that...?" Oh, come on. Do your research and don't waste my time!
However, I personally think reaction videos should be done without pre-research to keep the spontaneity. But if you literally know nothing about the song, you have to focus on what you got and not on what you didn't get. For example, you should talk about the solo and not about how you don't know who played it. You can mention you don't know who played that solo, but don't spend three minutes guessing, completely ignoring the solo itself.
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Reactors focusing on insignificant elements in a song section while missing the real gems
Here's an example from a real video I watched: "I love how they moved from loud guitars to acoustic guitar. Wow, the acoustic guitar is beautiful." I admit the acoustic guitar was beautiful (actually, it was a clean electric guitar and not acoustic, but that wasn't the biggest issue in this comment).
They completely missed the mind-blowing bass solo on fretless bass that was the main focus during that "acoustic guitar" section. This section was created to make room for the bass solo and enable you to hear it better. The acoustic guitar was there to accompany the bass solo and was of secondary importance.
Another example: during a jaw-dropping guitar solo, they talk about the drums and say nothing about the solo. While drumming to some guitar solos is great, can you please also say something about the solo, which was more impressive than the drums?
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Reactors not bothering to find the version with the best sound and video quality available
Not the biggest problem with these videos because you can find the best version yourself if you don't know the song or the movie scene. But bad sound quality annoys me because it's painful to listen to. It's most annoying when the reaction video is actually good, and I enjoy the guy and his/her reactions, but I also have to listen to a track with bad quality.
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Lazy and crappy reaction videos about masterpieces
It's annoying because some low-quality "reaction guys" make easy money off the brilliant hard work of somebody else.
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Reaction videos showing no effort or valuable content
It's when the guys make only general comments and say nothing about the particular song ("Music is great, man, yeah, that was cool. Wasn't it cool? It was, man, yeah").
Or when they read the lyrics aloud instead of reacting or making comments. They are just trying to conceal the fact that they actually have nothing valuable to say.
That's completely pointless.
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Reactors talking over the entire song
If you're talking, you're not listening. At least pause, then skip backwards and resume when you're done.
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Reactors pointing out the painfully obvious
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Reactors pausing the video every 5 seconds
Why do they have to stop the video to talk about every little unimportant thing? It gets to the point where you end up just watching the actual video so that you don't get constantly interrupted by some squeaky voice talking about something random that nobody else cares about.
Get a notepad and a pen, and write down quick thought points. Then talk about it at the end, please.
How can you react to a new song until you've heard it? Is their attention span that short?
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Reactors pausing halfway into a bar or chorus to say it is fire
Let the music speak. You can tell us what you think afterwards.
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Reaction videos having a tiny screen for the artist while showing the reactor's whole room
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Reaction videos having low video quality
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Reactors not understanding the song context and rocking to the beat of a sad or reflective song
Slightly annoying but also funny. It would be nice if they did a little homework first. For example, the guy with the flute is named Ian Anderson, not Jethro Tull.
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Fake reactions of Black people to white singers
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Reactors having loud donation alerts
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Reactors bopping their head to a slow song
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Reaction videos being fake