Some examples of ASMR triggers.
Top: Writing on a chalkboard.
Middle: Stirring salt with a mortar and pestle.
Bottom: Crinkling heavy fabric.
ASMR videos are a popular, if rather niche, genre of online content. They're specifically designed to provoke the ASMR responsenote in the viewer by incorporating a wide variety of what are referred to as trigger sounds, with some of the most popular being sounds of crinkling, tapping, scratching, sizzling, or even eating, as well as whispering or speaking softly. Videos can be as simple as the creator simply making the sounds, or be as involved as roleplay scenarios featuring costuming, props, and sets or greenscreen backgrounds.
Top: Writing on a chalkboard.
Middle: Stirring salt with a mortar and pestle.
Bottom: Crinkling heavy fabric.
Creators from across the world post videos covering a wide variety of topics while featuring tons of ASMR triggers, and many channels exist specifically to cater to ASMR fans. Some people have also discovered that media outside the ASMR community can give the same reaction and have made videos documenting this. The Joy of Painting is one well-known example due to Bob Ross' baritone voice and soft, soothing manner of speech. There are also YouTube channels dedicated to "unintentional ASMR", featuring videos where someone is doing something completely non-ASMR-related, but still produces the response due to the way they're speaking or the sounds made by what they're doing.
Often used interchangeably with ASMR is "mukbang." Mukbang is a form of video where someone films themselves eating food (usually in large quantities) while talking to their viewers, either in a live-stream format or Fake Interactivity format. The trend began in South Korea but spread to other parts of the internet as well. Mukbang is not the same as ASMR, but many people find that it produces a similar effect as it involves similar triggers as ASMR videos. While mukbang does have a fanbase, it has been criticized for encouraging unhealthy binge eating, and along with being turned off by the sound of eating, people who aren't accustomed to East Asian cultures' acceptance of slurping may be turned off by that sound in particular. The ASMR video genre itself also has its detractors, with common criticisms being simply finding the concept creepy, weird, or silly. Also, many people have strongly negative reactions to the ASMR response or certain trigger sounds, especially misophonia sufferers.
While ASMR content really got its start on YouTube, it's seen growth on Twitch and TikTok as well. Several VTubers (including members of hololive and NIJISANJI) do ASMR-focused streams, and some TikTok creators do live shoots producing ASMR content.
ASMR video creators with pages on the wiki:
- Amara's Audios
- Babblebrook by YouTube user Goodnight Moon
- Ephemeral Rift
- Fake ASMR
- Hollow VA
- Iris Audio
- Virtual Barber Shop by Listening Point
- Miss Shadow Lovely
- Cyberpunk ASMR by YouTube user EpicASMR
- Sweet as Honey
- Alien Abduction Role Play by YouTube user Macalda Reye
- Seafoam Kitten's ASMR
- Sibylline Sounds
- Test Subject Series ASMR by Taylor ASMR
- Tucker Budzyn
- vividlyASMR
- Wholesome Girlfriend ASMR
ASMR videos provide examples of:
- Afraid of Doctors: Inverted. Doctors' visits for things such as eye exams, cranial nerve tests, and even checks for hair lice are very common topics for ASMR videos, and are intentionally made to be as inviting and comforting as possible to enhance the feeling of relaxation.
- Bob Ross Rib: Due to Bob Ross's popularity within the community, homages by videomakers who dress up as him are common.
- Brown Note: Some ASMR videos have effects that could hurt someone. For example, candlelight can trigger seizures for some due to the way it flickers when it's filmed as it's a natural form of Epileptic Flashing Lights. Any video that could provoke the wrong triggers will come with a warning.
- Ear Cleaning: Both the traditional Japanese manner and more modern versions have been fodder for ASMR videos, with the tools being brushed across the mic to create the desired sounds.
- Cool Big Sis: Some videos roleplay scenarios in which an older sibling does something caring for the viewer, such as "Big Sister Does Your Makeup".
- Cosplay: Artists may dress up and act as a character from an existing work or their own character for roleplays.
- Darker and Edgier: Some videos are horror themed, putting the viewer in dangerous or frightening situations, Up Close with the Monster being the defining trope in such videos. The best example being Alien Abduction Role Play.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The original Virtual Barbershop recording could be considered an originator of the concept, however it's notable for having NONE of the usual features- there is no video, no one whispers, the listener is expected to close their eyes for the full effect and they refer to the effect as "cetera". Newcomers discovering it may be quite surprised at how different it is from modern ASMR.
- Extreme Close-Up: Many videos use camera angles that zoom in on the artist's hands or face, to simulate being close enough to be touched. The artist will also often lean in very close to the camera, sometimes as part of a roleplay, other times to whisper into the microphone(s).
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: ...and Russian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese, etc.
- Fake Interactivity: It is standard in the genre for the "performer" to ask questions of and/or speak to the viewer, to enhance the feeling of communicating with the "performer".
- Fanservice: This sometimes factors into the theme of a video. For instance, some ASMR videos revolve around the creator being on a beach or showing off a clothing haul, which will involve the creator wearing swimsuits, low-cut and/or midriff-baring shirts, and the like. Other times, an ASMRtist will create a video cosplaying as a character known for having a fanservicey costume, such as this cosplay
of Leeloo from The Fifth Element, or a scenario in which such dress would be the norm, such as cosplaying an attendant at a hot spring spa.
- Handy Feet: Some female ASMR Youtubers center their videos around picking up and manipulating small items with their bare feet and toes.
- Intimate Hair Brushing: Hair brushing is a popular theme due to its inherently soothing nature and the sound of the brush moving through the hair being a good trigger. Depending on the video, the ASMRtist may brush another person's hair, a wig on a mannequin head, or simulate brushing the viewer's hair by moving the brush around the camera and editing in the sound.
- Iyashikei: Many videos try to relax the viewer by providing roleplays in idyllic settings. However, increasing numbers of videos subvert this by combining the soft sounds with scary, dangerous, or annoying situations, usually for humour or storytelling purposes.
- Manipulative Editing: British ASMR creator Sophie Michelle fell victim to this. In late 2018 she gave an interview on Channel 4 talking about ASMR and her career making videos. The studio later edited the footage in a manner that was quite unflattering and showed said footage without her consent on Gogglebox, which led to the people on that show rudely criticizing her and her work.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Cooking, cleaning, folding towels...as long as the trigger is there, people will watch it.
- Nap-Inducing Speak: ASMR is often used as much as a sleep aid as for the tingle response, and some creators, such as Jojo's ASMR, intentionally style their output to this effect and/or mention it in video titles.
- Narrator: Some ASMR videos feature a scripted off-screen narration accompanying what the creator is doing on-screen. The aforementioned clothing haul videos are one particular instance, with the creator modeling the clothes while the narration describes how they were obtained, why they're liked, etc.
- Off-the-Shelf FX: Many ASMR performers are on a budget so they use household items, their personal property, and/or props that you could find at a "dollar store". Anything goes as long as it can provide the desired triggers. Some videos are just narration over Stock Footage or video the creator shot themselves. Jojo's ASMR has a parody in his "The Struggles Of An ASMRtist" video of how he can't go shopping without tapping random items around the store to see how they sound for a video.
- Pick a Card:
- JoJo's ASMR has several videos where he demonstrates magic tricks with playing cards, using both his whispered dialogue and the sounds of the cards moving as triggers.
- In a variant, ediyasmr does videos where she places single Tarot cards under stones or crystals, asking the viewer to choose the card based on the rock they're most drawn to. The viewer can then skip ahead in the video to the point where their card is chosen for a reading.
- Special Guest:
- It's quite common for ASMR creators to feature other creators in their videos, either in a scripted or roleplay situation or simply for them to do things with each other to produce triggers.
- Most of itsblitzzz's ASMR videos are based around her doing hairplay and light massage on a guest. In one such video, her guest was Melanie Martinez. Later videos featured singer/songwriters Devendra Banhart and Donna Missal.
- The Unintelligible:
- Some videos have the ASMRtist whispering or mumbling in incoherent nonsense speech to use the flow of the spoken sounds as the trigger.
- Some of them do this unintentionally. To quote a Youtube commenter:
There is a fine between 'soft spoken' and 'I literally cannot hear what you're saying.'
- Up Close with the Monster: Some horror-themed ASMR videos are based around very close interactions with a certain monster or creature. Vampires and aliens are especially prominent for this type.
- Behind the Moons provides one for each creature.
- Downplayed by Mori Calliope, whose videos are largely normal ASMR content although her character is an associate of the Grim Reaper and she plays with her fans being called "Deadbeats" by mentioning them being skeletons.
- Behind the Moons provides one for each
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Some ASMR videos build on their cozy appeal by being themed around encouraging words and messages of affirmation.
- You Taste Delicious:
- ASMR creators that emphasize what are generally called "wet mouth sounds" will do things such as making "ear eating" and kissing sounds into the microphone.
- Most horror ASMR videos where the ASMRtist is playing a vampire will have the "vampire" telling the listener how amazing their blood tastes after feeding.
In-Universe mentions of the trope:
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine: In "The Takeback", Jake pretends to be "Matt Daniel", a fictional Twitch ASMRist (though the show calls him an ASMR Performer), complaining about the noise in his hotel room he's supposedly streaming from, with Doug Judy acting as his agent. This is actually a ruse to get the concierge to leave her computer alone long enough for someone to hack into it.
- Joe Pera Talks With You: Joe Pera speaks in a quiet, soothing voice, but three particular episodes are specifically dedicated to lulling the viewer to sleep, as well as being funny: "Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep", the animated special that preceded the live-action series; the season one episode "Joe Pera Talks You Back To Sleep"; and a special called "Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera", released to calm people down during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- In an episode of Santa Clarita Diet, Abbie insists to her parents that college is not her only option if she wants future financial success by citing her classmate who dropped out and now makes ASMR videos, and makes enough money to pay her parents' mortgage. She describes it as a "Non-Sexual Fetish".
- One of the videos on a Saturday Night Live sketch depicting a TikTok scroll is of an ASMRtist (played by James Austin Johnson) doing a Homer Simpson impression.
- On an episode of Would I Lie to You? one of the "This is My..." mystery guests was ASMRtist ASMR Angel, invited onto the program by guest/comedian Joe Lycett as he finds relaxation through watching her videos.
- Will & Grace: In "Lies and Whispers", Will's surrogate (played by Demi Lovato) shoots ASMR videos, and invites Jack and Karen to join her in a live podcast, where they get into a whispered argument.
Podcasts
- On the Threshold: Mad Artist Zoey Evans is inspired by the sudden prevalence of ASMR to investigate what other mental phenomena remain largely undiscovered and seeks to stimulate those experiences through her VR art. Unfortunately the states she tries to induce like "the inversion of religious ecstasy" and "mnemonokyklosia" are infinitely less pleasant than ASMR.
- Fate/Grand Order: During the second Halloween event, you can answer to Ibaraki's pleas by teasing her using "Shuten Douji's ASMR voice".
- Paranatural: When Isabel snoops on a teacher's computer, one of the tabs on the open web browser is titled "10 Hour Goth Barber ASMR".
- Questionable Content: When Claire tries smoking marijuana for the first time with Tai, they get into what is, per Claire, a very stereotypical stoned conversation.
- Ellipsis Stephens, creator of Goblins, updated her blog on the comic's site with a long post about her experiences with ASMR, including revealing that she was involved in the original discussion that led to the name and acronym being created.
- Ennui GO!: A particularly naughty request from Sarah leads Hashim to ask if she's been watching balloon animal ASMR videos again.
- hololive: While many Virtual YouTubers do ASMR content, Oozora Subaru's initial attempts (animated here) were a hilarious failure as, between her speaking in a gravelly voice and not knowing what she was doing, she sounded more like a bad Donald Duck impression than anything. However, she's improved greatly since then, and has also wholeheartedly embraced the "Subaru is a duck" meme that sprang from her first tries.
- RWBY Chibi: In one of the shorts, Jaune tries to record an ASMR video (an Actor Allusion because his VA records them), only to be constantly interrupted by other Hunters loudly barging into his room.
- SMG4: Parodied in "Mario does Literally Anything for Views" where SMG4, chasing trends to break 5 million subscribers, gets Mario to do an ASMR video in spite of both of them being clueless about what they even are. Mario proceeds to make strange mouth noises into the microphone. Ironically, it proves to be one of their few successful efforts. SMG4 also attempt to get Mario to make a Mukbang video but Mario keeps eating everything too quickly to even see, let alone film.
- Brandon Rogers has an Easter Special ASMR with Sam.
- Game Grumps have an extended conversation about ASMR, and have a Ten Minute Power Hour episode dedicated to it.
- Auralnauts Star Wars's take on Kylo Ren has a video, which he provides various forms of relaxation for the listener.
- Rhett & Link have made a few videos where they try out different forms of ASMR (sometimes featuring a popular ASMRtist) and have a video where they discuss the phenomenon.
- React has several videos with YouTubers and other celebrities reacting to ASMR videos.
- Mental Floss has an article on Bob Ross and the ASMR Periphery Demographic: How Bob Ross Became an ASMR YouTube Star.
- In ZeRoyalViking's "I Bought an ASMR Microphone and Tested It on My Friends", he and fellow Derpers Tom Fawkes, John Page, and frequent collaborator RitzPlays mess around with a binaural microphone doing goofy takes on ASMR video dialogue.
- The Simpsons: Parodied in "My Life as a Vlog". Patty and Selma do an ASMR video, leaning into Fan Disservice with incredibly disgusting visuals.
