Reaction videos are videos of people reacting to something — a video game, cooking tutorials, natural phenomena, breaking news, and even gross-out porn. While some reaction video creators proclaim they make these videos as a time capsule of human sentiments for our descendants to discover, Mitch Therieau argues that the pioneers of reaction videos leaned into it hard because it was essentially self-propagating. These videos can be made about almost anything under the sun (including other reaction videos), extracting more content out of them. Read full article here
Societal Issues
To curb drug deaths, communities turn to Reddit, texts and wastewater
With drug overdose deaths on the rise, authorities are attempting to curb the epidemic by tracking and sharing information in real time. In one unique effort, a nonprofit in New York City is using drug-testing equipment and stamping or marking habits of dealers to identify drug batches that may endanger users. Other approaches are also being used, such as monitoring drug-related chatter on Reddit and analyzing local wastewater for opioid and other drug levels. With the combination of these efforts, researchers hope to put a dent in the opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths. Read full article here
Merv
June 1, 2023
