It’s 12:55 AM and it’s 72 degrees. I’ve just emerged from the YouTube vortex and once again, I’ve lingered too long. Why am I hooked on reaction videos? I mean, it’s me watching videos of other people watching videos of yet more people…on video! Living vicariously is one thing but this is wild! It’s the same sensation you get when you play a song you really like for a friend. You watch them anxiously as they respond with an array of facial expressions and verbal acknowledgments. It’s reassuring when they confirm your enthusiasm and a little humbling when they don’t. Multiply this phenomenon by millions of viewers and you’ve got the online version. It’s puzzling when a YouTube video has thousands of likes and a hundred dislikes. I’m convinced that in some cases, it’s just individuals wanting to be contrary. Kind of like the punk rock and grunge movements and we saw what the end result of those was. Having bedhead and looking (and smelling) unbathed was all the rage. So was plaid. Lots and lots of plaid. Come to think of it, things haven’t changed all that much. Progress is still progressing, I guess.