When I posted my first unboxing video on YouTube (the previous generation Mighty Mouse), I actually received a bit of a zap from my friends. They really couldn't understand why I had posted a video of me taking a mouse (of all things) out of the box it ships in. Since I'm a large part of the online community as a whole, I couldn't grasp the fact that they couldn't grasp the fact that people worldwide post videos of themselves taking products out of the box. But then I began to think about it. Most normal people (yes, I said it, none of us are normal :p) really couldn't care less about these kinds of videos. Well, me being me, I deemed a blog post a viable option for explaining the whole point.
Before you can understand the point of unboxing videos, however, you must understand that geeks have a certain community of their own on the internet, especially Apple geeks. Apple geeks (and geeks in general) LOVE new and shiny gadgets, so they like having the opportunity to show it off to people who don't have one, or just like watching it coming out of the box (like myself). Most unboxing videos cater to this breed of humans (mostly male), however, there is still a spot for those not exactly qualifying as a geek.
A lot of people (especially those a bit older) are a bit nimble about ordering online. They go over their order details dozens and dozens of times to make sure that they will be getting exactly what they want and expect. Unboxing videos find a very particular niche with them; they are finicky and seeing an actual person take the product they were planning to buy out of the box, they know exactly what to expect when they get their aforementioned product. This niche also applies somewhat to geeks.
But, believe it or not, there is one more reason for the existence of unboxing videos. You may think that this one is stretching it a bit, but it does exist. Some people just love technology. Period. And the fact that the internet (mainly YouTube) has a huge inventory of other people talking about technology and showing off technology is extremely appealing, and can even serve as entertainment to hardcore geeks (I love unboxing videos as entertainment).
The unboxing of a product can really be a special time for a geek, especially when it's something that person has been looking forward to/saving money for for a long time.
In order to conclude this post, I just want to say one thing: don't hate. If you aren't in the mindset of hardcore geekery, then don't worry about it. Just ignore it then. Hating on geeks is going to get you nowhere but in trouble with the troll police.
You can contact me by emailing me at ndmacgeek@gmail.com
Alex Baumann