To find ASMR really disgusting

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And find it really off-putting when otherwise interesting and entertaining youtube videos are tagged with this. Makes me not want to watch/listen to them.

I love asmr!

My favourite are hair brushing or Reiki.

I had no idea too until 2022, when I went to university as a mature student...I have no children, so I am really not "up" on a lot of what's going on in the world with the younger crowds.

Anyway, in one of the modules we had to review a case-study (totally fictitious but based on facts) of a boy whose many interests included ASMR.

ASMR as I now know is listening to everyday noises on a loop, such as fingernails tapping, or someone whispering. You name it, some people can't get enough of it, and I cannot understand it at all. It's like listening to nails down a blackboard - literally in some cases.

I struggle as it is when it comes to hearing certain people speaking, and whispering can cause a red-mist to descend instantly - there are no words to describe how irrationally angry it makes me (it's the same feeling I get when I hear or see the words "cringe" and "judgy" and "chill" being used in place of "cringe-worthy", "judgmental" and "chilled", ditto any sentence written down and ending with a question mark where no question is being asked at all).

Anyway, at uni, luckily for me the tutor was around my age and offered up a disclaimer before showing a Youtube clip that ASMR is really not for everyone, and I am so glad she did, because I could cheerfully have punched a wall. I didn't of course, I simply left the room wanting to scream and slam the door loudly behind me.

Agree. I used to be able to orgasm from ASMRr. I've not tried for a year or two. But I avoid it for that reason

What is asmr?

I have no idea what it is. I will google.

Same here . I still don’t understand what it is 🤷‍♀️

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and you either experience it or you don't. Like synaesthesia or colour blindness. It's impossible to fully describe to someone who doesn't experience it.

I've felt it since I was little. Nothing remotely sexual or pervy about it; the "tingles" aren't those kind of tingles. They start from the top of my head and travel across my scalp and down my neck in waves, and I go into a trance. It's lovely; so hypnotic, relaxing and soothing. I don't know what purpose it serves in our brains, but I have a theory it's something to do with our monkey ancestors grooming each other, a way to strengthen social bonds.

Saying that, I only watch a couple of ASMR channels - GentleWhispering and LatteASMR. I don't like fast tapping or mouth sounds and do find lots of content creators utterly cringe-inducing.

I love ASMR. It helps me sleep, and calms me when I’m anxious.

I started watching your linked video out of curiousity and had quite a strong negative response of stress and anger. Interesting that it did trigger something though!

I get the same reaction if someone is talking miked up and you can hear the dry mouth click thing.

I might offer an opinion if I knew what ASMR stood for

What the hell are people talking about?!?! I have read the thread and googled it and I am still clueless 😭

ASMR doesn’t actually mean anything though it’s just an invented term.

I explained what it is - it's everyday noises which some people find incredibly soothing. As someone who struggles to hear and despises background noise, you can be sure it's not something I subscribe to.

There's lots of different types of it. I generally like relaxation/massage type ASMR, but I don't like ones where people make lots of mouth noises or artificially repeat words, those I just find weird and distracting. Eating or unboxing does nothing for me.

I can definitely see why some people would be icked out by it if it's not their thing though.

Is this those god awful videos where people whisper and taps their nails on things?

It makes me want to heave

Thank you for explaining @Thevinegardiaries and @GameOfJones. I get shivers (non sexual! In case anyone thinks i'm being a perv 😂) from hubby massaging my head/neck. I've never had relaxing shivers just from listening to something, so I must not have the ASMR thing! I've watched the soap cutting vids before, I find those quite relaxing.

I love it, watch it every night to fall asleep to.

I think the problem is that people have started using ASMR to describe the noise, when it's actually the reaction to the noise.
As such the noise that triggers the response can be anything, although some things are more common than others.

So any video with sound could potentially be ASMR.

I love the sound of embroidery silk coming through the hole in aida fabric. Or a decent fountain pen on decent paper

The nail tapping can get in the bin though.

It's an interesting phenomenon, triggers vary a lot. I don't often get it from watching/listening to things, more from stuff like having my hair played with, and also sometimes from the written word, though I gather that's quite rare. It's very idiosyncratic.

My MIL used to tap her fingers inside the wash basin after washing her hands. Every. Time. I know, because I had to help oversee her self-care.

My reaction to it could probably get me sectioned if not arrested if I was to tell you how it made me feel...I'd be building up to her doing it as she washed her hands, because I knew it was coming.

I love ASMR but not really the whispered ones. But some voices/movements are just so comforting or mesmerising. First time I ever really noticed it was an interview with David O'Leary and it felt like being snuggled up in a quilt. The actual words were totally irrelevant he could have been reading War and Peace or the dictionary - he was in fact giving a post match football analysis, but the feeling of calm and contentment was amazing

When did you find out about ASMR?

I ask because pre 2015 - 2016, it was mainly cozy, often lofi- videos of women whispering, crinkling paper and magazines & similar. There was nothing sexual about most videos as the whole point of ASMR, the reason why people are drawn to it, is because it's soporific, comforting & relaxing. It was strange to some people, but not in an unsettling way.

Then around 10 years ago, I noticed a large increase in very done-up women with cleave showing making videos of all sorts of things that would otherwise be banned in some places. Things like sucking bananas up & down, doing ASMR 'dates', videos of twins massaging each other & all sorts. In many cases I believe these new videos were simply a front to drive traffic to OnlyFans and other porn sites. They had discovered a popular new genre and were pushing the limits on what was allowed on Youtube.

If you discovered ASMR at this time or after, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was all like this, but it's really not.

There are so many different kinds of ASMR - some are nice! Like rain drops on umbrella, for example.

Nail tapping and whispering are horrible though, does nothing for me. Whispering especially.

The really strange ones are the towel folding ones, I want to shout “It’s a towel, fold it, put it in the linen cupboard then go and get a life you weird person.”

ASMR and sexual arousal are completely opposite - ASMR relaxes rather than arouses, even to the point of falling asleep. The "sexy" ASMR videos are just people trying to get more views by covering more bases. The triggers tend to be completely personal, but at least those of us lucky enough to experience the buzz understand that and don't harass people with different triggers. Interesting how intolerant the non-ASMR people on this thread are.

Nothing wrong with that. My personal theory is that the reason why so many find it relaxing, is because it might tap into very early memories of being safe in a cot, whilst hearing far off or gentle ambient noises around us.