The Unexpected Importance of ASMR In Social Media

ASMR has been one of the most interesting trends to surge on the internet. It started to have introduction videos in 2015, but it wasn't until 2017, there had been some keen interest to showcase this community. How the idea of ASMR changed from just noises to calm to expanding with story telling. Making ASMR into an entertainment platform while also maintaining it's identity with therapy.

I remember the first time I saw ASMR was on a Benny and Rafi Fine video in the React series that they do to showcase certain topics for different reactions. I remember the reactions that most of the individual Youtubers had was very mixed. Some of them were very neutral to it, some of them didn't like it. The information they gave as trivia explained that most of the reactions was garnered to believe that ASMR was used for sexual arousal because of the sensations from how the ears are taking in the sounds and how it travels throughout the body because of the feeling from something as intimate as whispering. Some people found it to be very awkward and uncomfortable to have someone whispering in their ears.

At first many made fun of it, I too made fun of it. I thought it was odd to have to listen to something like noises or whispering, I didn't find it to be therapeutic or interesting to listen to sounds of brushes or tapping. I thought it was an odd trend, I didn't know that it was used for anxiety.

A couple months ago, I couldn't sleep and for some strange reason I thought about trying ASMR to help me sleep. I hadn't thought about it since the React video I saw, and it hadn't crossed my mind in three years. I even surprised myself that I remembered what it was, and opted to try it out to see if it could help me sleep. To my surprise, I was asleep in less than five minutes. Then the next morning, I scoured YouTube for different videos to listen to in the event I needed that same soothing sounds to help me drift off to sleep on restless nights.

Now I listen to ASMR daily for the exact reasons I'm supposed to. It was supposed to be therapudic for situations that I needed to be quelled for relaxing my mind to ruminate or to sleep.

I remember reading a comment on a ASMR video of what I just stated. Someone had said that they used to make fun of ASMR, but now they can't sleep without it, it changed their life. It was interesting as I had began my own investment into it as I had experienced what this online user stated. I gave it a spontaneous chance, it changed my sleep routine, and I recanted my original judgement of what I thought of ASMR.

In my searches, it was interesting to see a unique concept that was made for this hearing therapy. A whole community to be involved in, and for once this is a community that would be more of a positive influence then a negative one.

A community that can blend creative stories to entertain with relaxation. That's a first to have something that serves a positive purpose to help others while entertaining.

Since this outlet has become made a placement in my routines for my mental health, I thought about a couple things about ASMR's placement in social media.

it's one of the first non-toxic trends

When it comes to any kind of community to come from a trend, this is something that I can't find anything toxic from. I'm sure there might be a few negative responses, but it's probably buried because it's not talked about. The positivity is the main priority to keep this clean and as a calm as ASMR is supposed to be.

it's helpful to those with anxiety

That's been the sole purpose of ASMR, but it wasn't originally believed to be that since it was a outlet that not a lot of certain people gave it a fair shot to believe it was for anxiety. ASMR has defiantly changed to what scenarios can be created for the calming experience. The main point of it is to relax and the ones that have benefited the most are the ones that struggle the most with anxiety. There have been many that suffer from PTSD, Depression, or any kind of anxiety that have mentioned that it has helped during those times with a battle in the mind. Something to help calm those thunderous thoughts down by concentrating on a voice.

I get terrible anxiety, whenever I am writing a chapter for my series of books. I get overwhelmed from the stress I put on myself by overthinking everything. Now I've been able to channel my thoughts differently from ASMR. The quiet whispers and noises calms my mind and I'm able to process the mess of my mind easier to access what I have to do for my plot points of my stories I'm writing. I may have not been able to shut my mind of from my thoughts, but another calm voice was able to make me re-direct my thoughts all while concentrating on the calm voice.

it's creative to make any scenario

Seeing how ASMR has evolved from making therapudic sounds to making a whole individual, unique scenario for someone to be self-inserted into an interesting story to help ease the mind by going somewhere else entirely. Sounds are one thing, but to hear sounds associated with a story that's automatically interesting and offers a great distraction to concentrate on the sounds with the story. Especially now that role-playing has expanded to alternative characters either from fiction or their own fictional characters the ASMRist's create.

There's a wide plethora and concept that some of the ASMR creators have done-

• -being placed in a scenario where your getting your haircut and hear all the quiet noises of scissors snipping and light spritz of hair products as the hairdresser talks to you
• -being placed in a scenario in a futuristic world where a mechanic is fixing a robotic version of you
• -being placed in a scenario where the creator is cosplaying a certain character from a TV show, anime, movie, video game and creates a scenario where this character is talking to you.

There's more that I could name, but honestly, there are more created scenarios that I don't know of that I have yet to find.

it's an alternative form of therapy

I would say ASMR is it's own form of therapy, I've said it throughout the entire topic of this article. Some of the ASMRists on YouTube are certified reiki therapists, so they give advice and insight to relax with various items of essential oils and what certain massage techniques that can help out. So in a stretch of a making this point, if you watch a ASMR video, you are technically getting help from a therapist or someone doing a form of therapy with these sounds. Certified or not, if someone is doing something that can help anxiety, they are doing a form of therapy.

Who to Follow

As I scoured around to find channels with a plethora of interesting content listen to or watch, these are the ones that have made an impact in my perspective. I will name them solely on their internet username because that is their designated business name.

@itsblitzzz - Usually ASMR Youtubers that I see either go for the story or make a video about noises, but its rare have I seen one like the set up she has on her channel. She has a plethora of videos that explains the triggers; she shows a specific massage technique and explains the internal impact for relaxation. If there is an essential oil that she uses in the video, she explains how the specific smell can be used to relax. She's an amazing person with a wonderful aura, it's awesome to watch and listen to. She's one of my favorite ASMR YouTubers that I frequently listen to when I'm having a bad anxiety episode. I immediately feel relaxed and have the center of my psyche under my control again after one of her videos.

@Gibi ASMR - This influencer was the one that first got me into ASMR, to see the plethora of how ASMR works for the variety. She cosplays as certain anime or video game characters, even creates her own regular characters to show how creative she is for story-telling. She's the creator that I credit for going the extra mile to do any kind of ASMR to teach people what they might be into for their calming time.

@Jimち ASMR - This creator is a newcomer and has shown different types of videos just like Gibi to make something for casual viewing to be intrigued while relaxing. He makes a unique perspective of making visually striking stories through his own characters that he creates for ongoing chronicles of story telling, or cosplaying from various underrated TV Shows and Movies. Whenever I close my eyes and listen to him, I automatically feel engaged and relaxed to the story. The dialogue he makes for all of the videos, are very attentive and it's interesting to see a creator make a self-inserted story to provide to make the viewer feel comforted and focused. The way he conducts the soothing sounds with unique tools to do for trigger sensors is amazing.

ASMR has changed to be respected as the therapudic outlet it is intended to be. It's changed my life to be able to deal with bad bouts of anxiety to help me quell my mind. It'll be rare to find an outlet like this that can be story-driven and also relaxing at the same time.

Maybe this article changed the way you thought about how ASMR is in the online world, I gave it a second change and maybe you will too with a different spectrum focus.

Just thinking about ASMR as I'm writing this article automatically has me at ease. That's how much of an impact that ASMR can do, to make the automatic notion in the brain to relax. The thing we all needed is peace, to have something that makes the brain stop running around in circles. If I can be at peace just thinking about ASMR without listening to a video, then it's doing something right.