PHOTOGRAPHY ALAINA WALLER
WORDS EMILY ALGAR

grazia seven senses

They say it starts slowly. A tiny spark; a subtle warmth; a little zap of electricity. Maybe even the unassuming glow of a soon-to explode firework. And then it spreads – from the crown of the head to the base of the skull, through the neck and all the way down the length of the spine. The final feeling is one of gratitude, peace, fuzziness, contentment or even euphoria. Some who experience it call it a brain orgasm, others just a ‘weird sensation that feels good’.

For years it existed as a niche, and sometimes taboo sub-section of anonymous internet forums. But now Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (or ASMR) is recognised as a somewhat quantifiable physiological response to certain auditory, tactile or visual triggers.

The term itself was coined in 2010 by Jennifer Allen, who spent years Googling her own experience with little to no avail. She eventually found an internet post called “WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD” that struck a chord. Allen input her own thoughts, and a group of equally-confused, albeit awkward internet strangers rallied around her. Eventually, she created a Facebook group and gave the “weird sensation” a name so that people could discuss it without fear, embarrassment or ridicule. Allen says she actually landed on a “clinical” sounding name because she thought it would take away some of the stigma, and enable people to discuss the topic without weird, unusual or subverted connotations.

grazia seven senses

THE RELAXATION REVOLUTION
Scholar, author and ASMR University website founder Dr. Craig Richard tells GRAZIA that ASMR can be categorised as a physical or psychological sensation – sometimes both – triggered by certain stimuli. It’s also very dependent on context. He explains that there generally needs to be “calm, focused attention from a person deemed as ‘safe’”. The stimuli comes from their action, be it the hushed tones of their voice, slow movements or tiny gestures like tapping, sweeping, clicking and brushing.

ASMR-led content initially planted roots in mainstream internet by way of whisper channels, but has since burgeoned across every social platform and content category. In 2015, Google reported that they had seen 200 percent YoY growth in YouTube searches for ASMR between 2014 and 2015. In 2019, Michelob Ultra Beer even leaned on the phenomenon for a Super Bowl commercial featuring none other than Zoë Kravitz, whispering softly on a mountainside as she slowly poured a glass of organic beer.

And today, a quick YouTube search serves up millions of results. And it’s not just meditative whispers or anonymous tapping – it’s Margot Robbie pouring a glass of Champagne; it’s Gigi Hadid slowly zippering a baby onesie; it’s Paris Hilton shucking corn and it’s Cardi B stroking a furry cushion. It’s ballooned way beyond that initial nervous few – it’s now a format everyone has tried their hand at. ASMR is even one of the leading content pillars on TikTok.

For influencer and creator Crystal Zeledon, who is known online as CrysASMR, her journey into ASMR creation was born out of a personal investment. “I discovered ASMR myself back in 2015 and I would watch it every night.” She started sharing it on her socials, but then when the pandemic picked up, the timing was ripe to lean into it more heavily.

As far as the creative process is concerned, Zeledon explains that it depends on the content specifically, but mostly the process is fluid and intuitive. “I literally just grab my lights, microphone, camera and I set up the background, I make sure I have the props needed, but usually I don’t script anything I say or the noises I make,” she says.

And the reception tells her she’s doing something right: “My followers are really amazing… they share how my content helps them get a handle on their stress levels. Honestly it just feels good to help them while ASMR helps me.”

grazia seven senses

MIND-TINGLING BEAUTY FOR THE NEW INFLUENCER

Another community ASMR has captured is beauty. On a psychological level, Dr. Richard explains that most beauty content, especially tutorials and how-tos, are primed to serve as the perfect contextual environment for those ever-elusive brain tingles: “ASMR beauty content has the core attributes of most content that stimulates ASMR: positive, personal attention from an expert who is trying to help you. That person may be a YouTuber showing you how to apply mascara, or Bob Ross showing you how to paint – both are kind people with expertise who are trying to help you out.”

Not one to miss a beat, Fenty Beauty shared an ASMR tutorial featuring Amandla Stenberg back in December 2019 that has since amassed 3.5 million views.

It starts with Stenberg softly whispering into the microphone: “I will be giving you a Fenty Beauty tutorial that hopefully makes you tiiiiingle…” There’s the sweeping of makeup brushes, the clicking of stick highlighters, the soft snapping of palettes andgentle fluffing of brow combs. It’s manufactured in the way that you can almost audibly register every single individual pigment particle moving across her eyelid. Sweep, swoosh, dust… Magic.

It’s mesmerising, it’s meditative… and for some, it’s quite literally electric. There’s also something intimate about it. Beauty content is personal by nature: bathroom habits, trade secrets, imagery that’s zoomed-in, pores and all. Sometimes it’s filtered, but often it’s raw, vulnerable and honest. So when you factor in the mind-melting properties of soft whispers, brushes bristling and lipgloss gently smacking – it’s about as intimate as you can get.

It’s this closeness that was tied to the initial perceived oddness of ASMR – the fact it almost had a secretive, sexual aspect to it. Is it kinky? Would you scramble for your phone if it accidentally started playing on the train?

But Dr. Richard, who looks at ASMR through a physiological and analytical lens, explains that ASMR is no different to any other form of recreation or relaxation: “Sexualised ASMR content is just a sub-genre of ASMR, it is the combination of sexual visuals, sounds and behaviours with non sexual ASMR triggers. The unfortunate part is that some people see that content and assume that ASMR is a sexual thing. That would be like seeing one sexualised yoga video and assuming all yoga is about sex… when it’s not.”

But such is the power of the internet; what was once a little kooky is now mainstream. Although like all trends, ASMR also has the potential to be corrupted or twisted to serve hits, views and clicks without any consideration for its therapeutic power. For Dr. Richard this is a normal, and somewhat beneficial thing to an extent: “Celebrities often reflect back the popular culture of the people, so it makes sense,” Dr. Richards explains, while adding that, “many celebrities find ASMR genuinely beneficial, so they are just getting involved in a content movement that has helped them in some way.”

IS ASMR A TREND BECAUSE WE ARE… LONELY?

So yes, for some ASMR is a bit of fun – a brain massage amongst the chaos and doom-scrolling. But it also shows incredible promise when it comes to relaxation and mental softness. Dr Richards has even published MRI’s obtained by Dartmouth University that show changed activity in the brand when ASMR is triggered. The medical imagery essentially shows that ASMR-focused content can trigger both reward and emotional arousal responses. The associated study actually likened it to “patterns previously observed in musical frisson as well as affiliative behaviors.” Is it a new frontier in wellness? I guess we’ll soon find out. Plus, Harry Styles on the Calm app can’t be too far off.

So we wonder then, are we tuning in for the product recommendations, or is there something more to it? Many experts and media outlets have chalked ASMR’s popularity up to loneliness – a desperate and innate longing for digital content that feels nice… connected, even. Like something that’s designed for us, and only us.

Of course for some, it’s strange… even irritating. But that’s the thing with ASMR. Not everyone is lucky enough to experience the weird sensation that feels good.