ASMR

By Laura Szrom

Introduction

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      ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and was coined by Jennifer Allen in 2010. It can be described as euphoric tingling and soothing sensations. This can include sleepiness, tingles, calmness, relaxation, etc. These sensations can be physical or psychological and can be triggered multiple ways. The four most prominent triggers are whispering, personal attention, crisp sounds, and slow movement. The feeling usually originates on the scalp and travels down the spine to other parts of the body (Barratt & Davis 2015). In the case of YouTube, the stimuli is auditory, including object sounds, oral sounds, and spoken sounds. This is an alternative to other videos that give visual pleasure, like mukbangs. ASMR videos use household objects to use and tap on to produce the sounds that give static sensation. The results can be an improvement in mood, anxiety, sleeplessness, and more. 

     YouTube

    The first ASMR dedicated YouTube channel, WhisperingLife, was started on March 26th, 2009. By 2012, 60 new ASMR channels were created. Now, there are more than 1.5 million ASMR videos on YouTube by people known as “ASMRtists”. Many ASMR youtubers will partake in “ASMR role-plays” to create different close proximity scenarios for their viewers. For example, a popular channel called the Gentle Whisperer will pretend to be a hairdresser, masseuse, librarian, travel agent, etc. Her videos have resulted in more than 87 million views. Her videos and others like hers  are very uneventful and long. They aim to be a form of meditation and not require much thought.

     Unlike other YouTube videos, ASMR videos are not just for profit and pleasure. Most ASMR youtubers want to help their viewers with anxiety, depression, insomnia. Maria from Gentle Whisperer says that other ASMR videos helped her through depression, and now she wants to pay it forward.  The letters she gets from her viewers thanking her for helping them get through a tough time are more than enough of a reason to make the videos.  She also sees fellow ASMR youtubers as friends rather than competitors. These videos can be someone’s escape from the chaos of everyday life. The goal is comfort, relaxation, euphoria, and so much more. People will feel better for hours after watching a video.

      YouTube ASMR videos are different from other traditional agendas of old media because they are not sought out just to entertain. The rest of YouTube is filled with educational videos and videos made solely to entertain their audience. This is done in the hopes that views will rack up and money will be made. ASMR videos, on the other hand, are mostly made to help people. “ASMRtists” produce videos for complete strangers around the world to benefit from. So many viewers have testified to having better mental health after watching ASMR videos. Having the power to improve someone’s mental state is more than enough of a reason for these youtubers to create videos. They are personal and intimate, creating the ideal tranquil environment. In addition, people having the feelings of ASMR feel validation knowing there is a whole community on YouTube that feel the same. 

   ASMR videos challenge people’s perspectives by having actual benefits despite the weirdness. A video anywhere between twenty and sixty minutes of someone whispering seems a bit odd. But the ASMR community on YouTube continues to grow as more people understand and appreciate the concept. ASMR videos are a great alternative to other forms of anxiety/depression relief. Listening to a YouTube video is another option that people can explore whether they need to de-stress, relieve a bad mood, be put to sleep, and so on. This is different approach than traditional solutions like therapy, antidepressant medication, comfort food, etc. It is also an alternative from getting ASMR through personal attention. This can happen from getting a back massage, a hair cut, or an assortment of other services. The advantage of YouTube is that it can address a large amount of people at one time. There is no need for someone to actually play with your hair or trace circles on your back. One can just put on a YouTube video from their own home and enjoy the benefits of ASMR to their heart’s content. 

Works Cited

Barratt, E. L., & Davis, N. J. (2015). Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state. PeerJ, 3, e851.

O’Connell, M. (2013, February 12). Why Has This Hourlong Video of Someone Pretending To Get a Haircut Been Viewed Nearly 1,000,000 Times? Retrieved from https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/02/asmr-videos-autonomous-sensory-meridian-response-and-whispering-videos-on-youtube.html

Richard, C. (2018, December 05). What is ASMR? Retrieved from https://asmruniversity.com/about-asmr/what-is-asmr/