Working out, gardening, binge streaming shows and baking: the list of activities people are trying out to beat back cabin fever during the pandemic continues to grow.
And most people are adding another activity to their list – listening to autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) audio and videos.
Though the term has been in use since 2007, the pandemic has put it in the limelight as people look for novel new ways to relieve stress.
ASMR audio and videos tend to feature seemingly mundane sounds like the tapping of fingers, someone whispering or even sponges being squeezed.
Researchers from Swansea University’s Psychology Department in the United States, in a 2015 study, said it’s an “unstudied sensory phenomenon in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli”.
According to Google Trends, searches for ASMR surged around the time the first movement control order (MCO) was announced in March last year and peaked a month later.
Though interest dropped late last year during the more relaxed recovery MCO, it shot back up this March and continued to rise ahead of the lockdown that started in June.
Even Malaysia Airlines jumped on the bandwagon, posting a 30-minute clip that simulated being at an airport and catching a flight, complete with take off sounds and safety instructions.
The video, posted last month, had over 138,000 views as of press time, and Malaysia Airlines cheekily warned that “brain tingling and nostalgia side effects were to be expected – listen with caution and headphones are recommended for the ASMR effect”.
Ericksony Rudik, content maker of the Instagram channel @asmrsoapy.addiction, said he began watching ASMR videos on cleaning products in early 2020 and started making his own clips soon after.
“What probably prompted me to share my interest online is the lockdown, as it is more convenient to make videos at home.
“Before that I used to stay in a hostel in my campus, which made it a little difficult to record content,” said the 20-year-old visual arts student.
As the channel’s name suggests, his videos focus on soap, including mixing household products like detergents or fabric softeners, frothing the liquid with sponges and squeezing them dry.
“Whenever I squeeze the sponge, it helps me empty my mind and just forget about all the other things for awhile, it’s like therapy for me,” said Rudik.
Everything about the experience – the sight, sound, smell and texture – has a calming effect, he said, adding that he also enjoys watching videos made by others.
Music to their ears
Puteri Nursyuhada Nasution, who also makes soap-related ASMR content under the handle @asmrputeri, said the videos are helpful when she is feeling anxious.
She said fellow ASMRtists – the term the community uses for content makers – also sent her messages about how her videos have helped them relax and fall asleep.
This has encouraged her to make more videos, as helping others makes her happy.
A 2018 study on the subject by Sheffield University and Manchester Metropolitan University in UK found that ASMR videos had a relaxing effect, lowered the heart rate of participants to a degree comparable with results from clinical trials using music-based stress reduction and were even more impactful than trials using mindfulness techniques in addressing anxiety.
However, only those who were aware of the benefits of ASMR enjoyed the positive effects while the control group which had not heard of it didn’t experience any physiological changes.
Puteri Nursyuhada, a physiotherapy diploma holder in clinical placement, said she will continue producing the videos for free and is planning to study about ASMR in the future.
ASMRtist Sharae Ngooi said she always enjoyed the “sounds from daily life, like tearing open a packet of chips or tapping her fingers on the dashboard of a car”.
However, she never put much thought into it before discovering the ASMR community.
“I first discovered it when I was at the age of 16 or 17, and it helped me to relax while preparing for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
“At first, I found it hard to grasp that something as simple as whispering can bring about a feeling of satisfaction but I just kept watching the videos and they have become a big part of my life,” said the 21-year-old.
Asked how she would describe the feeling, she replied it was like being “wrapped in a soft blanket on a rainy day, which makes you feel safe and comforted”, adding laughingly that normal videos now sound too loud in comparison.
Unlike Rudik’s and Puteri Nursyuhada’s videos which stick to a single niche, Ngooi’s @thatasmrgal Instagram channel records a range of sounds.
“There is such a wide range of ‘ASMR triggers’ and everyone will have a unique preference.
“I love BTS, which is why I enjoy making unboxing videos of its merchandise and the Korean boyband’s army of fans enjoy watching them.
“Personally, I love makeup and skincare too and I always find myself watching unboxing videos of such products,” she said.
She felt that the local ASMR scene is slowly gaining traction, as more people now know about it compared to when she first discovered it years ago but it still remains largely unknown.
“My parents are still trying to figure out what I am doing,” she joked.
Puteri Nursyuhada’s circle of friends and family are also confused about what she does.
“Everyone, including my lecturers, seniors and friends, will ask me the same question when they discover my ASMR account – why am I so fascinated with squeezing sponges,” she said.
When she started her channel in Nov 2019, she said hardly anyone in the country was making or enjoying ASMR content.
However, by May last year, Malaysians and Indonesians had started taking an interest in her videos, especially as she used local cleaning products, and she too began discovering more ASMRtists in the region.
Crunch time
Popular sources of sound for AMSR include tapping or scratching a surface; crumpling or crushing materials; turning pages or writing; blowing, humming or whispering; and even chewing.
According to Puteri Nursyuhada, videos of mukbang – a portmanteau of the Korean words for eating and broadcasting – in which the hosts record themselves eating while interacting with their audience, is particularly popular among the ASMR community in Malaysia.
Muhammad Anuar Abd Ghoni, the man and mouth behind food YouTube channel Nulat, said his videos attracts both mukbang and ASMR fans.
The latter sees mukbang as a form of food review with ASMR elements, demanding high quality audio and video in order to enjoy how the food looks and sounds as it’s eaten.
The tagline for his channel – Diet Ker Tuuu... Aku Makan Korang Tengok (Are You Dieting? I’ll Eat, You Watch) – was partly inspired by viewers who said they liked watching him eat as they were on a diet.
“I like to speak to my viewers so they too can enjoy the experience of eating the food,” he said, adding that his penchant for talking differed from others who tended to eat in silence for their ASMR videos.
To achieve the quality his fans expect, Muhammad Anuar said he spent heavily for the setup, which includes a Canon EOS M50 mirrorless camera, Rode VideoMic condenser shotgun microphone and five lights positioned at various angles for even lighting.
Though it was a hefty investment, the 28-year-old said he was lucky enough to have saved up the money from winning various speed eating competitions he had participated in over the last few years.
He is, however, still saving to upgrade to a dedicated ASMR microphone.
His masters in IT and a background in multimedia also made it easy for Muhammad Anuar to edit the videos using Adobe Premiere Pro.
The sound of silence
To those interested in creating ASMR content, Muhammad Anuar recommended buying a directional microphone, as it helps greatly in cutting down background noise.
His other tip is to record ASMR videos past midnight when it’s quieter.
“Even if the noise is coming from 100m away, it can be very distracting in an ASMR video,” he said.
Microphone company Lewitt Audio posted in a blog that the three key factors to quality ASMR videos are the source, room and gear.
Its senior artist relations manager Valerie Frohlich explained that the source mentioned in the article referred to the content creator’s performance technique, emphasising the need to pay attention to minor details like the pronunciation of words and the type of materials chosen.
She said even the host’s clothing matters as certain types of fabric can cause unintentional and irritating noises due to friction.
To improve recordings at home, content makers are recommended to stay away from machines that generate passive noise like fans and fridges.
However, even an empty room is not ideal, she said, as it could cause echoes. The solution? Thick curtains or carpets for the floor.
Being a microphone company, Lewitt Audio, of course, recommends better equipment – not just a good microphone but also a decent camera and proper lighting for ASMR videos.
Meanwhile, Ngooi said she also makes the effort to make the background in her videos prettier with fairy lights, as she prefers video ASMR to audio.
“I would give visuals a seven out of 10 for importance. It’s not everything but adds to the overall relaxing effect,” she said.
In terms of recording equipment, she currently films with her iPhone XR with a Maono PM422 condenser microphone.
“I do plan to upgrade when the time is right. When I first started posting short clips on Instagram, I used my phone for capturing audio and video.
“There are many who enjoy lo-fi ASMR triggers so you don’t have to own a microphone to start creating ASMR content,” she said.
Rudik too filmed without a microphone, relying on a phone and a tripod and basic editing to produce his early videos.
“If you look at my first ASMR video, it was very unpleasant to watch or hear,” he admitted but said it was due to not putting much thought into background noise, recording angles or editing.
While he’s taken steps to improve production quality, he hasn’t bought “anything fancy” and hasn’t thought about upgrading his equipment.
He even stated on his Instagram bio that he is making the clips for personal stress relief, reminding potential ASMRtists that it’s best to start by making videos for themselves.
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