People come to these videos to feel peaceful and good. It makes sense that they would then take turns to sweetly compliment each other
- Internet Wormhole is a new column where Guardian Australia writers take you on a tour of their online obsession. Click here for more
YouTube comments are frequently not very nice (or, to use another Guardian writer’s words, are “an infamously troll-ridden wild west of abuse, ignorance and spam”). Something about a cursor blinking in a blank comment box just brings out a certain side of human nature (the bad one). Except, for some reason, if it’s below an ASMR video, where it appears to invite a more or less pure stream of all that is tender in the human heart.
These are videos made to provoke one’s autonomous sensory meridian response – AKA “a tingly feeling” – through soothing sounds and visuals that range from the banal to the extremely obscure. There’s a lot of roleplay, and a strong focus on being taken care of (and, increasingly, colourful slime). “ASMRtists” might (pretend to) cut your hair; measure you for a suit; give you a medical check-up; help you find a library book; welcome you, a new Santa Claus, to the Christmas Village (I don’t know either); or just potter around, making peaceful noises by opening things and pouring tea.
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People come to these videos to feel peaceful and good. It makes sense that they would then take turns to sweetly compliment each other
Internet Wormhole is a new column where Guardian Australia writers take you on a tour of their online obsession. Click here for more
YouTube comments are frequently not very nice (or, to use another Guardian writer’s words, are “an infamously troll-ridden wild west of abuse, ignorance and spam”). Something about a cursor blinking in a blank comment box just brings out a certain side of human nature (the bad one). Except, for some reason, if it’s below an ASMR video, where it appears to invite a more or less pure stream of all that is tender in the human heart.
These are videos made to provoke one’s autonomous sensory meridian response – AKA “a tingly feeling” – through soothing sounds and visuals that range from the banal to the extremely obscure. There’s a lot of roleplay, and a strong focus on being taken care of (and, increasingly, colourful slime). “ASMRtists” might (pretend to) cut your hair; measure you for a suit; give you a medical check-up; help you find a library book; welcome you, a new Santa Claus, to the Christmas Village (I don’t know either); or just potter around, making peaceful noises by opening things and pouring tea. Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian