MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

In 2007, on a variety of forums on the internet, people began to talk about experiencing a phenomena that felt good but also strange. Often, people thought they were alone or weird for experiencing such a sensation, or assumed that everyone experienced it. Thanks to these online conversations, this sensation was eventually given a name: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. While not an officially recognized medical condition, those in the medical field have begun to research the phenomena of ASMR in order to understand more about its biological mechanics. In the meantime, a large and growing internet community has allowed people to give a name to the experience many have felt since childhood. I can vouch for this personally, as I discovered the term ASMR in 2011, and was astonished to find not only a name for this sensation that I had experience since childhood, but that others experienced it too.

For many (including myself), Bob Ross, the public television instructional painter, was an early “trigger” for this sensation. One of the main sets of conversations about ASMR currently surrounds what “triggers” the sensation in individuals: whispering, personal attention, tapping or crinkling or making other gentle noises with objects, gentle instruction, etc. To this end, many YouTube channels have been started by “ASMRtists” who create videos to try and induce ASMR in their viewers. These videos have become more sophisticated over time, including venturing into the world of virtual reality.

While the medical field examines the biological basis for this phenomena, my presentation focuses on the unique role the internet has played in the formation of the ASMR community, the use of language common in the ASMRtist videos, and the role of performance in both the creation of these videos and the experience of the sensation of ASMR itself.