Tune into the ASMR universe
Published: Mon 25 Jun 2018, 11:13 AM
Last updated: Mon 25 Jun 2018, 1:50 PM
After a long day at work, some people may prefer relaxing with a mug of warm coffee while others may choose to binge-watch a popular series to cope with work woes. However, a majority of people have embraced oddly satisfying videos on the Internet and are seemingly hooked on to these; ASMR, a term first coined in 2010, is short for Autonomous Sensory Meridien Response. It is a tingling sensation that you first feel on your scalp, which then moves down the body. Not any tingling sensation one feels can be labelled ASMR though. It is a serious community - an entire universe of ASMRtists (ASMR artists) make a living by creating such videos and sounds to aid stress, provide anxiety relief, and attempt to cure insomnia. Some of the triggering sounds that are known to work best are whispering, turning pages, scratching and tapping surfaces, opening and closing sticky-fingered fists, and crunching dry leaves. Have ASMR videos replaced bedtime stories or should a parent try to whisper a bedtime tale to ensure that the child sleeps better? "ASMR proves that the subconscious mind does not know the difference between imagination or reality. If you are watching a whispering ASMR video, you could get relaxed the same way you would if someone was telling you a bedtime story in a soft voice," says Mai Elsayed, a licensed clinical hypnotherapist.
Celebrities and brands have joined the bandwagon
ASMR-inducing videos, featuring celebrities such as Jake Gyllenhall, Dakota Fanning, Margot Robbie, Kylie Jenner, and Eva Longoria, have been doing the rounds on the Internet. In fact, McDonald's recently roped in John Goodman to advertise its fresh beef Quarter Pounder burg-ers through an ASMR video; he whispered into the microphone (while the burger was being pre-pared) - "930 Fresh Beef + John Goodman = ASMR(ish)", McDonald's tweeted. Recently, IKEA (with Ogilvy & Mather) leveraged ASMR exceptionally in its campaign called 'Oddly Ikea'. The 25-minute long ad featured a whispering female voice and was essentially a demo for dorm products for college students. "Recent studies that link personality traits with ASMR demonstrated that individuals with ASMR score higher on openness-to-experience and neuroticism, and significantly lower on levels of conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness compared to matched controls which can, somehow, explain why some celebrities with these personality traits tend to indulge in it. Another reason can be to use it as coping mechanism to deal with high levels of stress and anxiety," says Dr. Monica Mendez, clinical psychologist, Valiant Clinic.
Trends that got the Internet talking and woke to ASMR
When it comes to ASMR, perhaps each trend is as unique as the previous one. A bar soap need not be limited to only its stand in the washroom anymore. It has now been put to use differently - the Internet is obsessed with soap cutting videos. Other trends that followed a similar pattern were carving candles and destroying make-up. Women in Japan recently indulged in ASMR by eating ice in different shapes and colours; thereby, producing a crunchy sound, and sharing the videos with the hashtags, #ASMRice and #IceEating. Internet users have often claimed that watching ASMRtists stretch, poke, squish, and jiggle a variety of gooey slime is incredibly relaxing. Similarly, a majority of them find themselves sucked into the world of satisfying videos of people crushing soaked glittery floral foam. For those who have travelled the ASMR route, sounds generated by the brushing of one's hair or a scalp massage are soothing too. Apparently, the trigger can be produced even through food. Houston-based ASMRtist Spirit Payton (popularly known as the 'Pickle Lady') performs food ASMR on her YouTube channel, ASMRTheChew by chewing, slurping and eating - the sounds are amplified using a microphone. She stumbled upon the trend when she was battling a degenerative bone disease, and her daughter handed her a pair of earphones to introduce her to the ASMR universe. A far cry from Payton's style, there are also quite food videos that trigger pleasing sensations with the help of crinkling, chopping, sautéing and stirring. In line with this is the 'mukbang' trend - an online broadcast of an eating session while interact-ing with an audience.
It's an art - you don't know it yet
It's likely that millennials who experience ASMR know of the late iconic painter Bob Ross primarily because of his voice. He is referred to as the accidental pioneer of ASMR. On his television show, the sergeant-turned-landscape artist taught painting techniques to viewers. He promised himself that he would never raise his voice again if he left the military; videos of him teaching painting are popular in the ASMR community because of his soothing voice. Millions of people tune in to hear American ASMRtist Maria whisper to them on her YouTube channel, GentleWhispering. Reportedly, she familiarised herself with ASMR first in 2009 when she was undergoing depression, and happened to click on a video titled, 'whispering' - and that one video opened the doors to ASMR for her.
Battle bad moods; cope with stress and depression. "A study by Swansea University in the UK suggested that triggers such as whispering can improve moods. In fact, the research proved that watching ASMR videos led to temporary improvements in users who suffered with depression and chronic pain. However, this is still an area that needs to be scientifically explored and researched from a psychological point of view," adds Elsayed. A YouTube search is enough to conclude that ASMR videos feature women more than men. "While there are no scientific studies that support that idea, it is widely known that the tendency to suffer from depression is significantly higher in women and these videos can be used as a coping mechanism to enhance wellbeing and fight against depressive symptoms and chronic pain," says Dr. Mendez.
"Be it content creators or users, millennials are leading the ASMR community. Individuals between the age group of 21 to 45 tend to be more open-minded and willing to explore what is on the Internet. The first and most obvious choice that they make is to search the web for answers."
Mai Elsayed, licensed clinical hypnotherapist
Triggering stimuli are often socially intimate in nature, and usually involve repetition of movements or sounds. Today, we know that such sensations are widely reported to be accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being, particularly in young adults."
Dr. Monica Mendez, clinical psychologist, Valiant Clinic
disha@khaleejtimes.