It seems that whenever the trailer for a much-anticipated movie is released (i.e. the Twilight sequel), fanboys and girls feel the need to record themselves watching it for the first time. Watching someone watching something else…why?

As you would imagine, some of these videos fall flat (booooring…it would be so much better if the kid were peeing his pants in fear). But many of them end up becoming viral hits solely because the people “reacting” to the film trailers behave like complete lunatics on camera. Just watch Exhibit A.

There can only be one reason why people make these videos: attention-whoring. I can’t think of a single benefit from recording myself screaming “OH MY GOD, EDWARD!” every five seconds other than a one-way ticket to a million hits on the Internet. The people who do this are opening the door to two things: ridicule and World Wide Infamy. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one truly cares what your opinion of the trailer is. As long as you’re waving your arms around and squealing like a baby pig, however, you’re Internet gold.

This phenomenon says a lot about how much (or little) we value self-respect and integrity these days. People who willingly humiliate themselves in front of millions of strangers exemplify all that is wrong with pop culture. What’s really sad is that many of these people seem utterly clueless as to how others perceive them. You can give them credit for being gutsy enough to go on camera in the first place, but you can’t give them points for common sense. Few of them seem to have it.

If anyone believes that making one of these videos qualifies them as a film critic (especially since the movie isn’t even out yet!), they should quit while they’re ahead. If I wanted a coherent and well-structured opinion on a movie, I’d read what A.O. Scott has to say in The New York Times. All reaction videos give us is something to laugh at and fodder for snarky blog posts. Although, if you think about it, that’s all the Internet is really good for, anyway.