– We react to hip-hop music from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, says Hobaid Raza. Together with four friends, he runs the YouTube channel Raza and SA. There they film themselves when they listen to new music for the first time. Then they post the video so others can see how they react. Over 14,000 have seen a half-hour video where the friends sit in the car and listen to Karpe’s album “Omar Sheriff”. – I think many people want to find someone who has the same opinions as themselves, says Raza. Action reaction Just try it yourself. Search for “Reacting”, “Reactions” or “Reacts” on a social medium, such as YouTube. The web is full of it. In addition, there are podcasts. Where people react to various cultural products such as films, TV series, music, games, concerts or books. – It seems that people want to be socially accepted. What did others think of what I like? Do they think the same as me? People need confirmation, Raza believes. The comments section below their videos suggests that Raza has a point. A typical comment looks like this: A feeling of being together The researchers agree with Raza’s theory. But the reason for the phenomenon is more nuanced, believes John Magnus Dahl, postdoctoral fellow in media studies at the University of Bergen. – Such videos probably satisfy a social need of people. Reaction videos give a feeling of being together about something. A sense of community arises. John Magnus Dahl says that young people use reaction videos as a background sound, like a kind of modern radio. Photo: Zulfikar Fahmy, UIB – Cultural experiences are experienced less often together now – and more often at home alone. It may well be that this gives a feeling of being more together in our digital age, says Dahl and adds: – But it probably also comes from a need to be creative. It is a modern form of entertainment. – TikTok has made it easier The phenomenon of filming yourself, especially when playing computer games, has been popular for several years – including through the platform Twitch. But Dahl believes there has been significantly more of it within other formats, especially after TikTok took off. – TikTok has made it easier to create such videos from a purely technological standpoint. There is even a separate button that you can press to create reactions. Professor of media sociology Hendrik Storstein Spilker believes that people use reaction videos to sort content they want to consume. Photo: Private “Det nye anmelderiet” Professor of media sociology at NTNU, Hendrik Storstein Spilker, has observed the phenomenon for a long time. He is convinced that there has been more of it lately. – In addition to the sense of community, there is also a new form of review and cultural journalism, he says. Spilker believes that many young people would rather seek out such videos or podcasts to get recommendations, than go to the traditional media. – On social media, they can also comment, react, tag and discuss. Artists or other content creators also contact people who make such reaction videos to get publicity, says Spilker. For Hobaid Raza, there was also another – and even more important – motivation for starting with reaction videos: – We wanted to show others in the immigration culture that this is also something you can do in your spare time. Opening that door for other minorities was important to us.
ttn-69
– People want to see if others react in the same way – news Culture and entertainment
