Parasocial Relationships Part 1: From ASMR to AoE2
For the past 3 years, I’ve been using ASMR to help me get to sleep every night. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the tingly skin-orgasm that you’re supposed to get when consuming ASMR. For me it’s just something generally relaxing that I’ve now gotten used to and can’t imagine doing without. It’s kinda like white noise, the same way certain people find it easier to sleep if there’s a nearby fan making a constant whirring sound. Total silence can be distracting. Therefore, the brand of ASMR I listen to is very specific; I don’t like ones where the ASMRtist is speaking in coherent sentences, or worse when they’re acting out a character in a scene. The role play videos are a big no-go for me. If someone is talking, then I’m listening to what they are saying, my brain follows the train of thought, becomes active, and I can’t sleep.
The ASMR videos I watch are exclusively ones where the ASMRtist makes repetitious, pleasant sounds, such as unintelligible whispers (the closer to the mic the better), brushing the mic, scratching the mic, applying lip gloss or chapstick, blowing on the mic, crinkling noises (newspapers, book pages, etc), bubble-wrap, finger-fluttering, nails tapping on various hard surfaces (my favorite being teeth), or the wet mouth-sounds they make with their lips (popping, tongue-clicking, et cetera). I particularly like it when…
