ASMR is a very pleasurable, non-sexual sensation which is experienced by a minority of at least somewhat neuroatypical people. The way most people tend to come across the world of ASMR is through youtube videos of ASMRtists producing specific sounds known as triggers, which can quite reliably produce the sensation.
However, in my experience, I have felt ASMR all throughout my life from a very wide range of stimuli. This could be a breeze brushing over me, a change in temperatures like hopping into a hot bath, or a light tickling sensation on your skin. People would notice me shivering with pleasure for the few seconds that the phenomenon lasted, and be somewhat confused as to what was happening. It became quite clear to me that whilst this was a very pleasurable and desirable feeling, other people simply didn’t have any field of reference.
It was only once the youtube ASMR phenomenon got started that I decided to watch one of these very weird videos of people whispering into microphones, with a sort of tentative curiosity as to why people could be bothered to listen to such a thing for hours on end. As it turned out, nearly the moment I clicked on the video with my headphones on, I felt a very strong wave of that all too familiar feeling washing over me. That was about 4 years ago, and since then I have grown a lot more familiar with the various peculiarities of ASMR, what different triggers are, what different aspects can affect whether I experience ASMR at all, how strong it is, or what flavour it comes in.
I am so sensitive to ASMR now that sometimes even putting my headphones on, and listening to anything(like music, a clip from a talk show, or an educational video) provides a certain level of anticipatory ‘tingles’.
Now I feel like ASMR is an aspect of the human experience that is uniquely enjoyable, whilst being entirely free. For those that cannot experience it, I feel for you as I would someone who could only eat white bread and only drink plain water.
As for the ongoing debate over the sexual nature of ASMR, I feel like the disconnect between the various perspectives comes from a lack of nuance in the understanding of the human need for intimacy. Whilst the majority of relationships follow a somewhat conventional pattern of intimacy and sex, I think that it is entirely possible to have a meaningful relationship(as a partner, not simply a friend) without it needing to be sexual, simply off the fulfilment of the need for intimacy. In addition to the body’s physiological responses to sexual stimuli, it similarly rewards you with physiological pleasure from simply being close to someone, being intimate.
This is why the sexual orgasm is entirely centred on the groin and sexual organs, radiating from there, whilst the ASMR orgasm is centred on the scalp, radiating down your neck and shoulders. The other difference is that one’s ability to experience ASMR is not affected whatsoever by the gender of the ASMRtist. Women seem to be more likely to experience ASMR, and therefore more likely to work as an ASMRtist, but there are plenty of men also, who do just as good a job, and are, in many cases, just as popular.
My hypothesis aside, I look forward to hearing much more developed hypotheses and explanations regarding the purpose and mechanism of ASMR from a formal scientific setting, as it is a very clearly definable and reproducible physiological experience.
This is a hard one. I have lots of videos that I really enjoy and go back to.
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