Why Would Someone Do This?: Unboxing

Today I would like to share something that used to baffle me by it simply existing. This is the trend on Youtube, known as unboxing. Unboxing videos are entirely what they sound like. People receive a new product and proceed to unbox it before your very eyes, dangling it’s newness in front of you. Some people have full channels filled with nothing but unboxing videos. Some of these unboxing videos actually come from people who will review the product – in a completely separate videos that comes after the one where they take it out of its box. After a long time of watching these for no reason other than I’m the type of person who likes watching paint dry, I feel like I get it now. Not completely. But just hear me out here.
 
Typically, the videos go like this. Somebody briefly introduces the product; usually it’s something of the tech variety, as well as something expensive. The box usually sits there during this time while its anonymous announcer tells us about it, as if to say “Yep. That’s me.” They usually spend a large amount of time turning the box, showing every inch of it, trying to convince us of its legitimacy. Then the real unpackaging begins.

What’s particularly fascinating, to me, is that each unboxing is treated as if it was their first time opening a box, ever. “It’s covered in plastic.” “Whoa, better get this cardboard out of the way.” “Twisty ties!”  The opening itself is so meticulous, so gently done. It makes me reflect back on all the times I bought a new piece of technical equipment and ravenously ripped apart the box with my teeth until I obtained it; usually throwing out the manual and valuable other parts in the process. Do people really open things like this? With such care and love for each individual piece of packaging equipment?
 
Usually, a large amount of time is spent on the packaging; even moreso than on the product itself. Or else, the actual product and its features are saved for the final minute and a half or so of the video. So then why would someone rather watch this than an actual review of the product?
 
After all, many of these are coming from Youtube partners, or from people who have been paid by whichever company to do this. This. They are not being paid to write a review. They are being paid to cut open a box, take things out of it, and comment on how it’s packaged and how it looks.
 
What’s the appeal?
 

After watching more of these than anybody legally should be able too, I can safely say I have no idea. But if I were to take an educated guess. It would be this.