Within the past year, ASMR has exploded in popularity. Many celebrities and non-ASMR YouTubers have been attempting to make ASMR which is crazy because it seemed like it all happened overnight. Even though more people are starting to open their minds to the concept of ASMR, there are still plenty of people that hate on ASMR without even giving it a chance.

In case you have never heard of the term ASMR before, it stands for Autonomous Meridian Sensory Response. Basically, ASMR is a tingly sensation you feel on your body (like on your scalp, arms, back, etc) when you hear a pleasant sound or see some sort of relaxing movement. Despite what many people believe about ASMR, it is not a sexual thing (unless you make it sexual.) I would say that the grand majority of ASMR on YouTube is non-sexual, but yes, there are some people that make sexual ASMR. I am not judging you if sexual ASMR is what you like to watch or what you like to create. I just wanted to clear up the misconception that ASMR is inherently sexual.

I have also seen that when some people decide to try to watch ASMR videos, they complain about how it did not work because they did not experience any tingles. One possibility is that the trigger being used in the video does not personally work for them. Each person has their ASMR triggered by different sounds. The amount of different types of triggers is endless, but a few examples are tapping, scratching, hand sounds, and tongue clicking.

Another possibility as to why someone may not experience tingles from ASMR is because they simply cannot get tingles. There are actually many people that regularly watch ASMR that have never felt tingles. Not all people can actually feel ASMR, but that does not mean you still can't feel relaxed while watching it. The soft, repetitive sounds in ASMR videos makes it feel like your brain is being pampered at a spa. There are even ASMR videos that are specifically spa role plays.

ASMR is notorious for people listening to it at night to help them fell asleep, but ASMR actually has several functions. A YouTube channel by the name of 'Gibi ASMR' actually made a great video that lists some of the reasons why people watch ASMR. She explained,

"Some of the common uses include: sleep aid, daily relaxation, study aid, alternative to music, calming down from anxiety, helping with depression or loneliness, and simply...entertainment!"

I personally use ASMR for a sleep aid, daily relaxation, study aid, and entertainment. I actually listen to ASMR while I write all of my Odyssey articles! It is easier for me to focus on writing when I have the ambient noise of the ASMR playing in the background. I honestly have ASMR playing while doing almost anything. My love for it is so strong that I have a YouTube playlist with almost 200 ASMR videos in it and I have been listening to ASMR on Spotify. I highly recommend popping on some headphones and playing ASMR on Spotify while on a long road trip because it will lull you to sleep and make the time pass faster.

ASMR has been a part of my daily life for over two years now and I am surprised that I have managed to write so many articles for Odyssey without having ever brought it up. I don't think people give ASMRtists enough credit for the amount of work that goes into their videos. Some people think all it takes is just turning on a camera and tapping on an object, but ASMR is much more than that. I believe it is a form of art, hence the name ASMRtist, because it requires creativity to come up with a concept for a video and then decide how to create a visually pleasing image and an aurally pleasing sound for that concept. Not only that but if an ASMRtist is making a role play video, many of them will write a script of what they will be saying to the camera and then put together a costume to match the role they are playing. There are even ASMR role play videos that have visual effects in them, such as role plays where the viewer is a broken robot that needs to be fixed. The camera becomes a display of the robot's interface that the ASMRtist then interacts with in order to "fix" the robot.

If you have never listened to ASMR and are willing to give it a try, I recommend these ASMRtists: Gibi ASMR, Rapunzel ASMR, FrivolousFox ASMR, Soy ASMR, Latte ASMR, Dana ASMR, Batala's ASMR, Bright Grey ASMR, and ASMR Darling. There are an infinite amount of ASMRtists out there, so you just have to search until you find the person that is the right fit for you!