
Image via YouTube (GentleWhisperings).
To outsiders, they’re just everyday sounds – a gentle whisper, a quick brush stroke or a mindless tap, but for those who experience Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, it’s so much more.
Referred to as ASMR, the term is used to describe that relaxing tingly feeling you get that starts at the back of your neck and scalp and can quickly spread throughout the rest of your body.
It might sound bizarre but it’s a phenomenon that has a cult following: The ASMR reddit thread has over 100,000 subscribers and the largest Facebook group has almost 10,000 members.
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But the mecca of ASMR obsession can be found on YouTube, with some of the most popular videos recording over 10 million views.
In one of the few studies done on ASMR, psychologists Emma Barratt and Nick Davies from Swansea University looked into the online preferences of ASMR users.
“The advent of online video communities has facilitated a gathering of those who experience ASMR, and as a result hundreds of videos have been produced, viewed and shared with the goal of inducing this sensation, which is said to be paired with a feeling of intense relaxation,” say the researchers.
They found that while the majority of people use the videos for relaxation, around five percent admitted to using them for sexual stimulation (known as ASMRotica), which has proven to be a controversial divide amongst ASMR communities.(Post continues after video.)