When you go ahead and watch an ASMR video you typically watch a video to see if you like it and if you don't you move on to the next one. I feel like a lot of time when you do this you are looking for a personality that you enjoy. I doubt anyone would want to watch a 20 to 30 minute video and not like the person they are watching.
The sound of their voice, tendencies and of course their appearance all factor into this persona that is being created for you the viewer. I sounds as if I'm being petty but its true, pretty much in everything. If you don't like the look of something there is already some negative connotations in your head about whether or not you will like them. This all comes into play because at the end of the day you want to relax when watching these videos and you want what you are seeing to be easy on the eyes. At least for you.
Thats why I believe that almost anyone can get into ASMR because there is literally something for everyone. If you can think it odds are its been made. So if this is your cup of tea I hope you check it out.
I'm already approaching the point where I am running out of what to talk about. So, what I'm going to do is talk about myself. Not the self aggrandizing kind of talk but the kind where I share not just my thoughts on ASMR but my experiences.
For me ASMR isn't just some way to relax, its a daily ritual that I do before I go to sleep. That in of itself is kinda relaxing, just doing something you're familiar with to the extent where it's "easy" in all aspects of the word. Everything that previously mentioned in my older blog posts come into play here. The feeling of intimacy and lack of loneliness. I don't necessarily feel lonely but the real feeling of this person, who it feels like you get to know pretty well, talking and interacting with you can be something more. A sort of calming content. A familiarity that has you guessing on whats going to happen next.
I listen to all sorts of videos but I'm at this point where I need more than just being relaxed to achieve what I want out of those kind of videos. I need stability but unpredictability. I need familiar but changing videos. With this at the core what I essentially want from these kind of videos is to be absorbed in the interactions with us, the audience. If I am left with my thoughts it's almost impossible to fall asleep in any kind of timely matter.
For this post I'm going to combine the tapping and crinkle genre into one post since I feel they have a large number of things in common.
Firstly, I want to say that for these two types of videos you need some sort of object to emulate the sounds typically used in them. You can't make a crinkle sound with just the use of your body. Paper or plastic wrapping for example are some of the most common materials used to trigger tingles. I personally think that when someone watches a page turning video for example, they are relaxed mostly because of the emotions and memories they have attached to it. For example, you hear a someone turning a book and you think of the paper gently brushing against itself and your fingers and maybe of a time you were at the library. Usually the library is a very calm and quiet place so that in of itself is relaxing.
Tapping also uses other materials to trigger tingles. Maybe glass, wood, plastic, ceramic or even stone. That combined with the gentle movements of the persons fingers tapping and the sincerity of ASMRtist combines to make a more intimate experience. All of that combined with whispering or binaural audio all adds to a very stimulating experience.
Well, before i go off onto these other topics and start to subconsciously repeat myself, I wanted to talk about what happens to some people when they start to listen to these ASMR videos for extended periods of time.
There has been a kind of secret understanding in the ASMR community that after a certain amount of time people start to develop a numbness to tingles. Typically ASMRtist give the same advice whenever this happens to people. Its always along the lines of telling the viewer to take a break from ASMR (whether it be a week or month) and when they come back some of the tingles should come back as well.
As someone who has gone through this before I can testify to this working, but I can't say that it'll work for everyone. A lot of people experience ASMR Immunity differently, some people have listened to ASMR videos for years and never have a problem getting tingles. Hopefully this has shed some light on the subject.
I want to bring up this erotic factor to ASMR that, in my opinion, is real. A large number of the ASMR fanbase will say it's an entirely different thing than your typical ASMRtist will create, but I think that its certainly a different type of trigger yet in its purest form the essence of ASMR. Man, i feel like I've said ASMR a thousand times at this point and it's only been three sentences.
A lot of the time whenever I hear someone try to explain ASMR they almost always say its like a brain "orgasm" and people immediate get some amount of understanding on what this thing they've never heard before means. The fact this is the descriptor for what ASMR is should be a open and shut case for erotic ASMR, being in its simplest and purest form, ASMR tingles.
Tingles are a pleasurable feeling and I don't in any way shape or form mean its equal to what you feel when having an "orgasm" but I do believe they are related and are scaled down versions of themselves.
So if you ever find yourself looking up erotic ASMR I don't believe there to be anything wrong with that. Some people react to loneliness different than others so let them whether they're lonely or not do what they want. Within reason of course. Its not like they're watching any XXX material. If there is some I've yet to find it.
Sometimes something as little as the repetition of chewing gum can be soothing. The rhythmic action of the trivial act of chewing on a piece of gum can be comforting. Something that a number of people actually do subconsciously. I actually know of people who chew gum during workouts. Keeps them somewhat calm and in control.
Eating or chewing in an ASMR video is something that some hate yet some love. Of all the videos I've seen, this is the one genre where the number of people who like and dislike it vary the most.
Ignoring ASMR videos for a quick moment, I know that the internet is a petri dish for weird and sometimes there are movements of what some would call strange and it might just be the cause of a lack of understanding. You start to comprehend it and all of a sudden it becomes less weird. If you ever caught yourself trying to explain something but not before prefacing that whatever you're about to say is not weird or that you used to think it was weird I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Surely we've all seen something like that on the internet.
Maybe some viewers like to eat while the video is playing in the background so that they don't feel lonely while doing so. Perhaps they just find the gushy sounds of chewing and lip smacking to be music to their ears. If you ever start to wonder yourself, here are some videos for you to check out.
Moonlight Eats
amalzd
This video in particular is one I can see people playing
while they eat so that they don't feel too lonely.
I hope the title of this blog doesn't give you the wrong idea. Just wanted your attention.
Role-play is one of the biggest triggers for people from what I can tell in comment sections and forums.
Essentially what Role-play videos do is the video is shot in first person point of view and you, the viewer, are essentially supposed to be the person the ASMRtist is talking to. This kind of view creates a closer relationship with the viewer and they are able to put themselves in their shoes. This added dimension to the video is what get people so relaxed. In these videos in particular i read about people who have sleeping disorders or just anxiety get help through these videos.
For this entry I wanted to start with a an explanation of something that is instrumental for most ASMR. When you watch a video and it tries to trigger you what the video is trying to do is duplicate real life scenarios. When people whisper they usually do it into your ear because you wouldn't be able to hear otherwise. What happens when you record with a binaural microphone the microphone takes into account where you are situationally from it. So if you are standing behind the mic it will sound like you are talking from behind the listener and if you are talking 5 inches from the microphone it will sound like you are up close to the listener.
What this essentially does for the viewer is add another dimension to the audio therefore enhancing the experience. Humans have binaural hearing so it makes the most sense to just be a copycat and get all the credit for making the video and giving people amazing tingles. I personally love binaural ASMR and I would go as far to say that if the content creator isn't using a binaural microphone it isn't worth your time. The pros of a video with a good mic simply overwhelm the ladder.
Most videos worth watching have amazing mics so i wouldn't let it bother you too much. Just enjoy your time listening to them, pop on some headphones because I'm giving you some homework, and ascend into tingle heaven.
Channel Name: Heather Feather
Channel Name: Massage ASMR
As usual please remember to wear headphones!
I would absolutely love it if you were to check these channels out because these two above videos are just two of many amazing ones they have on their channels.
Oh, and if by some chance you are reading this, god help us all, and aren't apart of my class I upload once a week on Sunday. Last week I forgot to post but here's hoping that I never forget and disappoint anyone again because i know how much everyone loves to listen to me prattle on. Till next time.
I found out about ASMR about 4 years ago and in all that time it feels like the genre likes to tell its story using seven different formats:
-Roleplay -Whisper
-Binaural -Eating
-Tapping - Crinkling
-Erotic
Each of these formats give ASMR a different feel and give the viewer a sort of variety to choose from. Most Videos are made of a mismatch of two or more of these. The way ASMR works is that it tries to emulate sound in a natural way from its natural environment, or in at least a way that would give you tingles. Most people would say that ASMR that you get naturally is the best so you have people making videos trying to put up as much sound and in a way to trigger tingles. That is the basic premise of all ASMR and what ASMRtist (Youtubers who put up this content) try to do everytime they post a video.
For the next seven weeks i'm going to be writing a different post detailing on each and every one of the formats that i listed above. I will of course be give one or two videos as recommendations and examples of each one. Cheers!!! To the next two months!
This is a quick story about how i first came about ASMR and my first experience.
When i was 6 years old i started my first year of school and i remember being back in pre-K and some kid whose name i cant remember anymore was tracing out the word school on my back. Something sparked me to life and i couldn't help but wriggle around because of the electric sensation going from my head down my back. this was something that at the time i didnt really question what it was, so years later when i could better comprehend it i started to wonder what it was and began entering words like tingling, whisper and relaxing into the youtube search engine and found some videos with bob ross.
I filtered through them and eventually cam across the acronym ASMR and my life hasnt exactly been the same since then. every other night i listen to some form of ASMR and has become part of my life and thousands of others.
ASMR has grown immensely these past few years with the most subscribed ASMRtist reaching over half a million subs.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is its acronyms counterpart and once read out loud probably doesn't make much sense. Essentially, ASMR, is a relaxing and pleasant feeling some people get when exposed to some visual and auditory stimulus. This sensation typically presents itself as a tingling feeling traveling from atop of the scalp to down the neck and along the back.
WATCH WITH HEADPHONES!!!
Some people experience this feeling when listening to music and a sudden chill travels down there spine. Maybe you've experienced this phenomenon but aren't even aware of it. Have you ever felt an almost overwhelming wave of relaxation hit you when you were little and would play a game where you would have a friends write a letter on your back with their finger and you would guess what letter it was? Have you ever felt a sudden chill, which you had no way to expect, when someone would whisper in your ear causing you to melt in place? This Feeling of someone running their finger down your back and whispering in your ear with their warm breath are the TRIGGERS that set off your ASMR. Maybe crumbling paper is enough for you or maybe you've never felt this sensation before. Hopefully after reading you can take the time to find out.
