Every night as I prepare for bed, I unfailingly put one Bluetooth earbud in my ear and open the YouTube app. I select an ASMR video from the numerous new posts in my subscriptions feed, chuck my iPad on the floor, and fall asleep to whatever whispering or soundscape that evening’s video contains.
It seems, however, that I am not the only one to enjoy ASMR content. In fact, the number of ASMR videos on YouTube has now surpassed 25 million – if this gives any indication of the genre’s popularity.
ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a physical sensation characterized by what are generally referred to as “tingles” (on the head and back) and an overall feeling of relaxation and calmness. ASMR videos therefore aim to provoke this sensation in the viewer by presenting auditory (although sometimes visual) “triggers,” which are most often, but not limited to whispering, tapping, brushing, crinkling, or eating sounds.
Although the phenomenon was officially labeled ASMR in 2010, it took until about the mid 2010s for this genre of videos to gain significant popularity on the internet. Since then, ASMR content has grown exponentially with the arrival of new creators (known as ASMRtists) and the proliferation of new video themes. Today, the ASMR community has become a veritable internet subculture, with its influence and content spreading across pages and platforms.
Despite its popularity, ASMR has been met with mixed reactions. People often dismiss it as strange or uncomfortable and falsely claim that ASMR is inherently sexual. Although the sensation invoked is sometimes described as euphoric, the phenomenon itself is not of a sexual nature. This common misconception often leads viewers to be less open about their consumption of ASMR content and reinforces (dare I say) stigma around the genre.
There is also heavy crossover between the genres of ASMR and Mukbang. Mukbang, a portmanteau of the Korean words for “eating” (meokneun) and “broadcast” (bangsong), is an online eating show where creators usually consume large amounts of food on camera for viewer entertainment. With the use of sensitive, high-fidelity microphones, Mukbang videos usually emphasize the acoustics of eating, such as food squishing and chewing noises. Many Mukbang videos will therefore present these sounds as ASMR triggers and claim to relax the viewer. However, Mukbang videos are regarded by many as strange, graphic, uncomfortable, and misophonia triggering. Because these eating videos have, through their highly unusual nature, become somewhat falsely emblematic of more common ASMR content, the latter’s reputation as strange and unappealing has only been solidified.
I must however make the case that ASMR is so much more than the Mukbang. As I am often met with slight concern or hesitancy when I tell people how much I enjoy ASMR, I feel the need to fervently defend this sensory phenomenon. Although it is only beginning to be studied scientifically, research findings already indicate that ASMR has many positive effects.
In a 2015 study conducted by Swansea University, researchers found that eighty percent of experiment participants reported boosted mood after engaging with ASMR content. Furthermore, the study found ASMR to have a particularly positive effect on participants with high depression levels, who were more strongly affected than other participants after viewing the content. The study also focused on the effect of the phenomenon on chronic pain; out of ninety-one participants who experienced chronic pain, thirty-eight reported reduced symptoms in the hours after viewing ASMR.
Another 2018 study by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University found that heart rate was significantly reduced in participants who had viewed ASMR content in contrast to a control group who had not. Skin conductance levels, which can indicate emotional arousal and, in this case, the sensory manifestation of ASMR, were also have found to increase in participants who had viewed ASMR videos, compared to those who hadn’t.
ASMR is so much more to me than its unfortunate sexual misconceptions and erroneous association with Mukbang videos. Proven to have positive effects, this sensory phenomenon seems to be a highly accessible and possibly underutilized tool to assist anxiety or depression management and improve general wellbeing. As an avid watcher of ASMR, I will continue to sing the praises of this refreshingly wholesome internet subculture and hope that it will be enjoyed by many for what it truly has to offer.
