Streamer Ludwig Ahgren made headlines in 2021 when he broke many records on Twitch with a marathon stream. However, he now warns: Streamers are jeopardizing their own streaming platform with their “Reaction” streams, a trend on Twitch. Some of them are really overdoing it.
What trend is it about? Ludwig is annoyed by “Reaction” streams. In this format, a streamer watches a clip or video from another streamer live and reacts to it. He pauses the video and shares his thoughts about it. Sometimes it is enough to make a face or a gesture.
These “Reaction” streams have become a large part of the content for many YouTubers and streamers. Some do nothing else but click through countless clips on the internet.
Some streamers spend hours having their fans send them videos to watch and react to.
When a major topic arises around Twitch or YouTube, many content creators, whether small or large, comment on this event in their own reaction streams.
Regarding controversial streams by Amouranth, many streamers gave their opinions and reacted to these videos, including Ludwig himself:
“Someone has to create content that others can steal”
What bothers Ludwig about the trend: He says:
“There are now too many React Andys. It’s going too far. I feel like people go live and all they do is watch content from others. That’s okay, I do it too. But it’s just too much right now. I actually like it, but if everyone does it, then the whole system dies because someone has to create content that can be stolen.”
Ludwig Ahgren
As an example of this “React” mania on Twitch, Ludwig mentions the current scandal surrounding the cryptocurrency “Save the Kids”: Because YouTubers from the FaZe Clan specifically promoted this crypto coin, their fans lost a lot of money. The FaZe Clan subsequently fired one of the YouTubers and suspended three others.
Ludwig says: He feels like every Tom, Dick, and Harry came along and had something to say about the “Save the Kids” nonsense. Every day, there was another one coming in and voicing their opinion.
What would be the solution for Ludwig? Ludwig says: What Twitch needs is “fresh content”.
For example, he is planning a new marathon stream. He wants to stay live on Twitch until he has completed all parts of “Dark Souls”.
But even the marathon streamer Ludwig is apprehensive: He has no idea how long it will take him.
The streamer xQc is known for reaction streams. There’s a video where he reacts to a reaction of himself reacting to his own video, where he fails at building a PC. So, a “threefold reaction”.
“Reaction Streams” – Little effort, no preparation, high yield
The background: The “Reaction” streams are a template that works for YouTubers and streamers, requiring no preparation.
It is even seen as a prerequisite of the reaction videos that streamers actually watch the clips for the first time and are not prepared for them: This is precisely what gives the “authentic appeal” of these clips. You can see how a streamer reacts to something “for the first time”.
These streams have several advantages for streamers:
- The streamers themselves and their personalities are the focus, not a video game. They are “personality” streams, which increases the bond between fans and streamers.
- They can take a break anytime and interact with the chat
- No special skills are required – unlike in video games or other activities. Basically, one risks nothing and can hardly do anything wrong.
- These streams are also so popular because fans hope that some conflict arises between two streamers. The reaction streams also have synergy effects: the streamer being reacted to may react back – thus streamers reach new target audiences.
For streamers like xQc, who are on air for 10 to 16 hours a day, such “Reaction Streams” are a way to fill the stream with content. Because they do it so successfully, it has become a trend with many imitators.
Ludwig is right: Someone has to deliver the content that others can then react to. Someone needs to put in the effort to come up with something original. But that is so terribly exhausting and takes effort.
That such “I react to what fans send me” streams can also bring serious trouble was experienced by streamer Forsen. A fan tricked him with a GIF, which led to a ban from Twitch:
Twitch permanently bans one of its biggest streamers – Because of an image
