From the archives: ASMR – read on for the definition – has been around a decade now and shows no signs of waning in popularity. It’s migrated from YouTube to TikTok, remaining as one of the most viewed pieces of online content, especially beloved by those needing help to sleep or just relax and unwind. Marc Wilson wrote about the phenomenon for the Listener in 2021, providing a basic rundown of what it is and why it might work. We revisit his article here.
Ever heard of Maria Viktorovna? What about Taylor Darling? Bob Ross? My bet would be no, no and maybe.
First, Viktorovna and Darling, who are better known as Gentle Whispering and ASMR Darling. The clue to their relevance is the “ASMR” part. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, a term I first heard from my internet-addicted son about four years ago.
The name won’t give you any help understanding what it refers to, though, so I’ll put you out of your misery. ASMR refers to the feeling of deep relaxation that frequently goes hand in hand with scalp paresthesia – that tingly, prickly feeling you sometimes get on your scalp. Or “brain tingles” as ASMR adherents call them. Although I’ve not tried to make this feeling happen, I can almost bring it on by remembering how it felt when it occurred naturally. Maybe you can, too.
Or maybe not. Research on ASMR is a relatively new thing, but it seems that between half and three-quarters of us have had this combination of subjective experiences. One in five get it strongly. Personality appears to weakly predict who experiences ASMR and who doesn’t. Those who do, tend to be more introverted and comfortable with their own company and more open to experiences. They also report more emotional highs and lows and lower-than-average conscientiousness.
The feeling has obviously been around a while, but the term is much newer – just over a decade. It was coined in an online forum and not a scientific journal.
Relaxation and brain tingles sound nice, particularly as we come to terms with a month back at work and finally getting into the habit of writing “2021″, and this is where Gentle Whispering, ASMR Darling and, yes, Ross, come in. Viktorovna and Darling host YouTube channels with between 2 and 2.5 million subscribers each. That’s a lot of subscribers – and also rather a lot of revenue. A 2019 Wired UK story reported that China’s anti-porn authorities banned ASMR videos the previous year, and that Darling was getting about US$1000 a day from advertising on her channel.
This is because ASMR can be induced by various sensory experiences. For example, whispering is rated as the most intense trigger of ASMR (Gentle Whispering, geddit?). Tapping and scratching sounds are at No 3 and No 4 on the ASMR scale. But it’s not just sounds. Watching someone get their hair cut or just having their hair touched come in at No 2 and No 5. People most typically seek out ASMR videos to help them sleep and deal with stress. And it works. People report feeling calmer and happier after indulging, but research also shows this relaxation is more than skin-deep.
Where does Ross come into this? For those who don’t recognise the name, he was best known as an American landscape painter who “taught” people how to paint through his TV series The Joy of Painting. The show ran in the US for just over a decade before his death in 1995.
I can’t find anything to indicate that it aired in New Zealand at the time, but it is currently available only through Amazon’s streaming platform. Parrotanalytics tells me that The Joy of Painting is among the top 10% of all documentary titles in New Zealand. If we trust that number, Ross is pretty popular.
He’s relevant, because when I googled “ASMR YouTube”, I got Viktorovna. Darling and Ross were among the top five “people also search for …” recommendations. If we return to the research on ASMR triggers, the No 6 and No 7 spots are reserved for watching someone draw or paint, respectively. Ross’s classes are typically quiet, soothing affairs, punctuated by his calm, deep voice.
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, and watching people get their hair brushed feels creepy, there are tens of thousands of other videos online. Unless you’re in China, that is.
This story was first published in the NZ Listener’s January 30-February 5, 2021, edition.
