Heather Feather, “Candy Queen ASMR Role Play for Relaxation” (screenshot by the author for Hyperallergic via YouTube)
Sometimes we all just want someone’s gentle, soothing voice whispering in our ear that it’s all going to be okay, or we long to hear some meditative, relaxing sounds that induce calming sensations.ASMR, or “autonomous sensory meridian response,” offers these types of sensations from the comfort of your home.
People who experience ASMR tend to notice shivers and a pleasurable, relaxing tingle in the scalp, the back of the neck, and at times the entire body, a reaction that’s triggered by soft-spoken female voices, gentle male voices, or sounds like the magnification of a fountain pen’s tip while writing. Then there’s also my personal favorite: the sounds of clacking, shaving, cracking, and scratching as found in this “making fire with IKEA products” YouTube video. Personal attention is another experience that people find triggering of ASMR. Other more New Age-y ASMRtists (an abbreviation for “ASMR artists,” which describe the people who create and share ASMR–inducing sounds) such as Gentle Whispering, whisper soothing nothings, addressing an unseeable internet “you,” for almost 40 minutes, while others like Free Spiritwhisper an energy reading and healing session with a friend into the camera.
As this phenomena has sped across the internet in the past couple of years, video and new media artists who are intrigued by ASMR and ASMRtists started making their own, often playful, versions of ASMR videos.
Read more on Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/334964/artists-fascination-with-the-soft-tingling-sensations-of-asmr/
