What is ASMR? According to this article, it stands for ‘Autonomous
Sensory Meridian Response’ and can be described as, “..a relaxing, often
sedative sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the body. Also known
as brain massage, it's triggered by placid sights and sounds such as whispers,
accents, and crackles.” In YouTube context, it’s people whispering and tapping
on their microphones, sometimes for an hour or more, in an effort to create a relaxing
environment conducive to sleeping/meditation.
Think warm and fuzzy, like this chipmunk gif I found.
Yet, most of the videos on YouTube are just women making uncomfortable
smacking noises as they whisper too close to microphones, or loudly eat things
like pickles.
Obviously I’m not an expert on ASMR—maybe this is a case of
the most popular videos just being the most sexualized—but a significant
portion of the movement just seems like a fetish. I’d love to be proven wrong.
Unfortunately, I came across this video just a few days ago, about a preteen who
does ‘ASMR’ and has over 1.1 million subscribers. (Just a warning, the video is
super uncomfortable to watch.)
Does anyone know more about this movement? Am I the only one
that thinks the goal of these videos isn’t meditation at all? Isn’t that chipmunk
gif adorable? That’s it.
I thought that this post was something that was very different. I have heard of it but didn't really know what it was about. I feel that for me I don't know that it would be something that is relaxing. Probably more of something that would be of an annoyance. I agree with you in saying that, I think that there is more to the agenda to the videos, than just meditation. Usually during a meditation, people will talk lower and softer. I have never heard of a meditation, when a person is videoing themselves eating pickles to make others relax. I think that it could be for a small amount of people, but usually there are probably better things to do to relax a person. YouTube has been blowing up with different influencers that people watch recently. I think that people are trying to be different and seen on YouTube. This is why people might be getting into ASMR. They want to be unusual. I just think about how this could take a different turn and be seen as something that isn’t just for relaxation and meditation. I don’t really think that this should be made because it doesn’t seem constructive or like a meditation.
ReplyDeleteI would love to know if this is actually helpful for people with traumatic brain injuries, like real videos that are produced by professionals, not some preteen thing I was not willing to look up. I suffer from post concussion syndrome and I am always on the lookout for natural ways to heal what has happened to my brain chemistry. I love essential oils and drinking lots of water. Actually I hate drinking lots of water but I feel so much better when I do! I’m sure there is something out there with this kinda of thing, so I’m going to google it and hope nothing awful comes up. I’ll report back.
ReplyDeleteDoesn’t look like a lot of science but some very interesting YouTube videos.... maybe someone will find this and see if there’s any science behind it, and maybe add some regulations! Cool topic though.
DeleteI actually have heard of ASMR from a friend last year. She mentioned how she watched these videos on youtube that people made calming sounds. At first I was very confused at what this was so I decided to see for myself. Basically it was a video that was supposed to make you feel calm and relaxed. The video I specifically watched was a video of someone brushing their hair. To me it was just weird listening to that I didn't really feel relaxed or calm. After watching that video I came to find out theres videos of people doing that and all sorts of other things like just whispering, scratching/tapping, and even eating like you mentioned. I actually have seen the little girl who does ASMR eating videos and I find her rather cringey and I can't understand how she has so many followers. Overall I don't really understand how people find it entertaining or amusing but that can just be me.
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ReplyDeleteI would also love to know if this really does help people have brain injuries. I find it interesting that this is deemed as a form of meditation and I suppose that makes a lot of sense. Although, I do not think I would be able to consider this a relaxing environment. I suppose that if it were situations such as what seems to be the original intent of ASMR, with just quite relaxing tones I would be able to consider it relaxing. I have never found myself so overwhelmed and stressed that I felt the need to listen to someone quietly whisper and loudly eat pickles. As far as the video that was attached, I find that to be the strangest ‘trend’ I have ever heard of. It is sort of disturbing to see the things that people are watching that poor young girl do. I watched some other parts of the video that made it seem as though the parents of that girl are the ones who are supporting her doing this which is shocking and sad. I agree with the point you made that this just seems like it is a fetish.
I have heard about ASMR since I was in high school and there are plenty of videos and audio clips across YouTube involving it. From eating different foods, to replicating noises (clicks, the chipmunk GIF you posted, etc), to some... strange clips, it seems ASMR is a popular trend online in recent years. While yes, there are sexual uses of it, but in my opinion, the internet is where just about anything is somehow "sexualized" (odd to think about but there's some REALLY odd content out there to say the least).
ReplyDeleteI do like that it can be used for the greater good as more of a therapy tool. You mentioned how it can help people fall asleep, as someone who likes to have "white noise" (i.e., a fan) on when I go to bed, something like this can be seen as a similar tool to it. So, the relaxation aspect of it definitely peaked my interested when reading this post.
Great work!
I have seen ASMR pop up on the Youtube or Instagram videos that I come across. I never knew what it was until I saw the hashtag ASMR. I used to think that it was odd to see pieces of soap being cut up or people sticking their fingers into big tubs of slime, even people simply whispering into a microphone. A lot of people actually find it mesmerizing. It is simple sounds that certain objects make to trigger certain senses in the brain to create a more relaxed mood among people. Sometimes when I am stressed out about something I tend to watch the soap cutting videos because they are so fun to watch. It is relaxing because there is no music playing in the background. It’s just simple soap cutting. The sounds are relaxing and cool to listen to when the knife slides into the soap. These objects can create all sorts of sounds, it just depends how you want them to sound. If you tap glass it is very fine and to the point. Soap cutting looks cool, and also creates a unique sound that I can’t explain. I wonder how ASMR even started because it is going viral and has been the past couple of years. So many objects can create sounds we’ve never thought to be relaxing!
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