The phenomenon of ASMR is a subculture that has attracted the attention of millions of people in the Home of Esports

The term ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. It’s the experience people have when they watch these types of videos. Many describe it as a tingling sensation that starts at the top of the head and travels down the spine. Others describe this experience as particularly relaxing and helps you fall asleep. In principle, watching ASMR can be considered a relaxation session, a kind of cybertherapy. in 2015 a peer-reviewed scientific study suggested that ASMR can improve mood or even reduce pain. The end of this activity in 2010 was introduced by Jennifer Allen, who first created a group on the Facebook platform to bring together a community around this subculture.

The experience of ASMR varies greatly from person to person. This feeling can be caused by various aspects: some like role-playing, when characters are created and «guests» whisper fantastic stories during the broadcast. Others are attracted to this type of video, in which everyday household tasks are performed: stirring a pot, ironing paper. For others it is nice to experience a simulation of ordinary services: a visit to the hairdresser or the doctor.

It may immediately seem to the reader that this experience is tied to a fetish, but while there are individual creators who specialize in that field, viewers are mostly interested in relaxation, not sexual satisfaction. It’s true, as Marija, the founder of the YouTube channel «Gentle Whispering», which has over one and a half million subscribers, commented, it is necessary to be able to quickly adapt your content to the ever-renewing demand of viewers. It seems that listening to the same pan can quickly become boring for the viewer, so it is the responsibility of the creators to think of something new that can catch their attention.

The topic of content in this subculture changes rapidly: one month the public space is flooded with videos of people cutting soap, the next month it is dominated by videos of people eating chicken. It’s no secret that comical parodies of this phenomenon have also spread on the Internet: ASMR videos made in Lithuania in which people eat mixed white plates or servelat. These changes seem to have no clear direction: the entire content is covered in the search for the strangest pleasures yet to be discovered.

It is true that this sensation hunting can be explained from the point of view of evolutionary biology. Craig Richard, a professor of physiology at Shenandoah University, believes that the tingling produced by ASMR is designed to aid reproduction and survival. She identifies grooming, whispering, and constant eye contact as essential features of the ASMR experience, symbolizing human care for children or the adult’s search for a reproductive partner. Scientifically speaking, this interpretation does not answer a serious question: if ASMR has (or has had) an important influence on survival, why can only some experience this sensation? Why has this issue only become relevant now?

Another answer that would explain such a great interest in this phenomenon could be the following: people avoid loneliness during seances. This is especially applicable in Asia, where the most popular ASMR videos or live streams show girls having lunch individually. This allows the viewer to dispel the feeling of loneliness, as he «gains» a partner with whom he can «share food.» Of course, in this case, it shouldn’t even be surprising that most of the creators of ASMR are young girls: thousands of single men who can’t find partners can simulate that feeling at least for a moment in cyberspace.

On the one hand, if in these cases we do not associate ASMR with the expression of sexuality, it can evoke feelings of safety, care, interpersonal connection or trust. For much of human history, women have had a caretaking role. This may suggest that our brain is accustomed to seeking comfort, peace and solace in a woman’s eyes. On the other hand, the huge disproportion among creators of ASMR content remains suspicious. Is it just pleasure seeking in cyberspace or an indecent form of sexual expression?

The reader will have to make his own assessment of such a subculture, but one thing is clear: the growing popularity of the ASMR phenomenon in times of social isolation forces us to ask broader questions: how should one deal with loneliness and what are the limits of decency in interpersonal relationships?