You’ve probably heard the term “ASMR” going around, more so in the last couple of years. And I’m sure, there have been some negative connotations with it as well. But do you know what ASMR really stands for? What it really is? ASMR, also known as “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” in its fully laid out form, is ” a feeling of well-being combined with a tingling sensation in the scalp and down the back of the neck, as experienced by some people in response to a specific gentle stimulus, often a particular sound.” (Oxford Dictionary) ASMR can help people with anxiety, sleep problems, and sometimes even help people relax and focus better. I know for me personally, as someone with anxiety and ADHD, ASMR helps center me, to help relax my brain so I can focus and get work done, if I’m not getting ready for bed. It’s achieved by a variety of endless items that the ASMR world calls “triggers”; things as makeup or paint brushes against a microphone, or scratchy sounds of people writing or typing on a keyboard, sometimes people eating, are just to name a few.
So, ASMR isn’t this bad, weird thing a lot of people like to display it as, a stigma that’s been long since disproved, though some people don’t want to have that talk yet. And more so, it has become quite a popular vein of YouTube, with more and more ASMRtists coming to the platform, and actually making a name for themselves. A few of these popular content creators include Gibi, ASMRDarling, ALBInWhisperland, FredsVoice, and that’s to just name a few! These ASMRtists take the idea of ASMR, and make it into enjoyable art. And there are a few ways of doing that.
1 ) Roleplays: A lot of popular ASMRtists will do episodes with them as characters, interacting with the environment and the viewer. A lot of these characters are original charters, made by the ASMRtist themselves (which is an art form all on its own), though sometimes people do it based on other characters, like FredsVoice does Thor, or Gibi doing charters from the popular anime My Hero Academia. There are many and a wide variety of these types of videos, some even themed based on the holidays (there have been a few witch themed ones going around the last week or two due to Halloween coming up). Some of the characters even make re-appearances in multiple videos, almost giving them a personality and a platform. These videos help to give the viewer a chance to be in a different world for that hour, and to help them fall asleep.
2 ) Raw Sound Triggers: This, although a bit less common than the roleplays, is still widely done. Basically, this is just an extended cut of the ASMRtist using the sound as it is, rawly into the microphone, without much context for the use, unless done in a specific set of items. Some examples I’ve come across are art supplies, whether it be writing across paper, dragging paintbrushes across the mic, etc., and barbershop items, along the same idea as the art supplies, with scissoring air cutting near the microphone, the sound of a razor, etc. These videos help people who like the more straight forwardness or harsher ASMR sounds.
3 ) Theme Triggers: Some ASMRtists even do videos based off themes! Some examples of this I’ve seen are different colors, Zodiac signs (down by Gibi, linked right), Holidays, you name it! They’ll take whatever theme they want, let’s say the color red, and find items that could be triggers underneath that color, such as: a red candle, for nail tapping on the glass (or burning if it’s a Wood Wick variety), a brush, for brushing and tapping the screen, a pen to draw on paper, that kind of thing. These can be soothing if someone associates a certain color with sleep, or a feeling, this will really help them, not to mention, they’re aesthetically pleasing!
So, while yes, sometimes things can have the negative connotation people give it, there is a fantastic community in the realm of ASMR, and it truly does help the people who listen to it, some of the ASMRtists even themselves listening to other’s work. It’s never too late, literally and figuratively, to take a step into the wonderful dreamland of ASMR.
