Nerd striptease: Unboxing lets others watch you unwrap your gadget

By Dirk Averesch Feb 12, 2012, 2:06 GMT

Berlin - The unboxing trend likely started in the summer of 2006, when Vincent Nguyen opted to film the unpacking of his new Nokia E61 smartphone.

He unpacked the mobile, driver CD, battery, memory card, headset, handbook, USB cable and charger. There was a brief highlight as Nguyen told viewers that the device was an import from the European Union, before proudly showing off an adapter for the United States.

'Basically, that's it,' he said, concluding the one-and-a-half-minute video, which seemed much longer thanks to its slow pace.

Since then, hundreds of other men have begun to film as they unpack their new gadgets. It's called unboxing. What's surprising is that thousands enthusiastically follow these proceedings.

Even as the trend has spread, the videos have remained amateurish. Usually you just see hands unpacking, although sometimes the owner makes an appearance on screen. The ritual always remains the same: Components, accessories and the handbook are fished out of the box, unsealed and laid out for all to see.

The practical benefit? If you're interested in purchasing the device, you now know what you'll get.

Most unboxing videos are on standard video-sharing portals such as YouTube, MyVideo or Vimeo. There are also dedicated sites such as http://unboxing.gearlive.com that are devoted entirely to the unpacking of smartphones, tablets and the like. Devotees of the practice are almost all men.

But what motivates people to unpack their technology in such a well-documented manner, or to watch other people do it?

'New technology holds a lot of fascination for men,' explains psychoanalyst Brigitte Boothe of the University of Zurich. It's motivated by a love for the function and controls of gadgets. The proud presentation is an added bonus.

'Glorifying something is an active step towards improving one's sense of well-being,' says Boothe. The simple act of unpacking a device without interruption, along with an internet audience, amplifies the sense of giddiness. And viewers get to enjoy the glow of a new device, which also adds to the feel-good sense.

'It's the vicarious pleasure of something that you don't own,' says Boothe, who has made the study of desire one of her focuses. 'It's not like you absolutely have to have it.'

Sometimes just watching the presentation video is enough to make you feel better, even if you don't have the money to make such a purchase yourself. As for those who really want a product, they get a preview of the object of their desire.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from unboxing videos are haul videos, in which women report about their shopping adventures for cosmetics, accessories or clothing.

'It's comparable, but it plays out in a different area,' says Boothe. With men, functional products provide excitement, whereas women crave fantasies and ways to glorify their own bodies, she says.

Business scientists have also busied themselves with the art of packages and the thrill of unpacking. US marketing professor Daniel J Howard noticed 20 years ago that the sense of self-satisfaction among his test subjects rose when gifts they received were packed more elaborately. Small wonder then that many manufacturers have opted for ever more creative packaging for their products.

And all manner of creative types have found some reason to focus on video and still life images of people unpacking items. On Flickr, one photo series shows Lego figures unpacking an iPhone. Some advertisers have begun incorporating packaging into their ads, with one featuring mini-Ninjas taking apart a mobile phone box.

Some have fun with it, like the unboxer who keeps pulling absurd parts out of packages, everything from a wristwatch to a dog. Even cars have been unboxed in ads.

But there are some calls for an end to the focus on unpacking. A parody clip, Let's End Unboxing, shows a new projector being shoved into the corner because the unboxer is only focused on the carton, plastic wrap, clips and foam packaging. Accompanied by mock-serious music, he practically fondles the packing.

'In all seriousness, unboxing videos are exceedingly useless and annoying,' says the announcer at the end, exhorting people to focus on the product, not the packaging.