Why are reaction channels popular on YouTube?

Reaction channels are a category of YouTube channels where one or more people consume media content, food, or drinks and share how they feel about it. These content creators are known as reactors. There are multiple reasons people might like them. Most commonly, people want to know how others feel about something they love. As social animals, human beings like being able to share experiences with others. Watching people have similar reactions to theirs validates their own lived experiences. Reaction channels can also serve as a way to get a review of media, food etc. without having to go out and try it for yourself which often requires an investment of time or money or both. In case you already agree with the reactors on other items, these reviews can prove to be more trustworthy than seeing an arbitrary written review somewhere on the internet and might open the viewer up to new experiences. These channels also gained a lot of popularity during COVID lockdowns between 2020-2021 because a lot of people were isolated and being able to share things they loved with others online helped build a sense of virtual community and helped people feel less alone.