If you’ve been on YouTube often enough (and looking in the right places), you’ll probably come across videos like these:
Or this.
That’s right.
ASMR
Or, the entire phenomenon: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.
Nobody actually knows what it’s all about, at least in terms of the science behind it.
The term was coined back in 2010 by Jennifer Allen, a lady who started a Facebook group to try and find out what’s going on.
Some people also have the concept of it being sexual in nature (with a pretty lady whispering into your ears about “taking care of you? Of course) or relating the sensations as having a braingasm.
But this isn’t exactly accurate either.
In 2015, Barratt & Davis was one of the first studies to begin a scientific investigation of ASMR.
They defined it as:
A “sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck, and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli. This sensation is widely reported to be accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being.”
And here’s the interesting thing: not everyone feels the same way.
If You Get It, You Get It
Been online long enough and you’ll see this sentence pop up often: If you get it, you get it.
Typically used by young people, it’s used to show a subject or scenario that only a subset of the world’s population can relate to.
And ASMR is probably the ultimate example of this.
Reactions to ASMR varies from people to people and nobody knows why.
Some people are bored and wondering what the hype is all about; while others get the “tingles” across the back of the head and spine.
Then there are people who claimed that listening to ASMR videos relaxes them to the point of falling asleep.
So Why Do People Like Watching ASMR Videos?
What makes them go back again and again, to watch a (sometimes pretty) lady on-screen brushing her hair, scraping the microphone or eating a cheese hot dog?
Psychology Today offers a few suggestions:
People might turn to such videos for relaxation and relief from depression, insomnia and chronic pain.
Others might like these videos because it serves as a type of guided relaxation and meditation.
These videos could distract viewers from the troubles of their daily lives.
Or people just like being cared for as these videos place a huge emphasis on caring for the viewers.
With that said, there’s no exact science behind it. Yet.
When more studies are conducted on the subject, we may know more about it.
But One Thing For Sure
ASMR videos are tough to make.
While studies are unable to find out why people like watching ASMR videos, one finding reveal that people will grow “immune” to the same type of sounds.
So ASMR video creators (or ASMRtists) has to get creative and come up with fresh, new content that achieves the ASMR effect.
Yes, people, it’s not as easy as whispering into the microphone.
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