Anny Sam
ENG 2150
Professor Seth Graves
4/3/2019
ASMR: Coping in Newer Times
I remember not being able to sleep growing up; even now it’s still hard to sleep at home. I feel all this pressure and anxiety all the time from school, friends, or family and it just stresses me out. I was wandering on YouTube and I guess I was on it for too long because I hit the weird side of YouTube. I found a video that did scratching and tapping ASMR and I was hooked. It felt like a drug that relaxed me, it helped me cope with a lot of things and provided me an escape or help with sleep when I couldn’t. Personal health is affected by social media. Many social media trends that have began to gain popularity recently, in example, ASMR and mukbang. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. With ASMR, there are so many different kinds of sounds people like to listen to. Some people like tapping or scratching on different surfaces while others may enjoy whispering and role playing. There is a specific kind of ASMR that is basically “eating ASMR.” People eat specific kinds of food to create unique chewing sounds and that’s something I personally enjoy a lot. With mukbangs, they try to ask questions about the viewer’s day or tell stories about their lives as they eat large amounts of food. People even use mukbangs for help with dieting and eating disorders. Thus, these social trends pair well to society today, it helps people cope with anxiety, stress, depression, dieting, eating disorders and other illnesses.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
To begin with, ASMR is a current trend online through video forms. According to The New York Times, in the article, “Rustle, Tingle, Relax: The Compelling World of A.S.M.R.” Fairyington states, “There were nearly 2.6 million videos depicting a phenomenon called autonomous sensory meridian response, or A.S.M.R., designed to evoke a tingling sensation that travels over the scalp or other parts of the body…” This quote demonstrates how popular ASMR is becoming and how this trend is made to create “tingles” or “sensations.” Now, ASMR is not for everyone or not every person gets tingles from the same ASMR trigger, which is why there are so many kinds of ASMR videos. Some examples of these ASMR triggers could range from tapping and scratching to role-playing and lighting matches. Therefore, for those who do enjoy these videos will all have their own sensations through triggers that may not be the same from other people.
Furthermore, there are many kinds of ASMR triggers that ASMRtists produce in there videos for more content. ASMRtists are those who create videos of ASMR triggers. In the article, “Rustle, Tingle, Relax: The Compelling World of A.S.M.R.” Fairyington wrote that two very well known ASMRtists said that many of their followers sent them notes of gratitude and thanked them for relieving them of anxiety, insomnia, and melancholy that their videos provided. This shows how people do truly feel grateful for these videos because people experience first-hand the reliefs these triggers provide, it’s not all weird.
With the era of social media and excessive advertising, there is so much pressure from people to be “better” or become this “perfect person”. For example, with super models and idols, they create unrealistic beauty expectations for both genders as they mature. They are portrayed as “perfect looking people” and make the consumers want to be like them. That is why Photoshop exists and editing photos even became a profession, we live in a time where everyone expects people to be better than what is realistically achievable. These pressures cause stress and anxiety which many people suffer from today and ASMR happened to be a coping method during these times. According to Men’s Health, Shiffer writes, “The term ASMR was coined in 2010 by the founder of a Facebook group that documented the sensation.” This is the documentation of when ASMR came to be, it was given to at least try to remedy the stresses the society is in.
Since there are millions of videos out there for ASMR, there are millions more watching these kinds of videos. Those will full-time jobs and celebrities even watch ASMR to help with their issues. For example, a very well known artist named Cardi B listens to ASMR everyday to sleep. She mentions this when filming an ASMR interview video with W magazine. During this interview, she produces a very “triggering” ASMR video which creates tingles for many of the viewers. Many comments of the video even mention how they watched the interview video multiple times because Cardi created so many tingles for them. Sarah Silverman also watches ASMR and finds it “relaxing” according to her own ASMR interview video with W magazine. This shows how many people including celebrities listen to ASMR to help them relax from their own problems. It has become a very popular trend online since a lot of people have their own reasons to stress whether it is deadlines for projects, exams, or personal issues. Therefore, ASMR was made to adapt to how current generations feel, regardless of who the person is.
Today, everyone experiences stress, whether you’re a teenager, an adult, or even a senior citizen, everyone goes through something that causes some kind of anxiety. ASMR videos can help cope with stress. In the article, “What Exactly Is ASMR?” by Cory Stieg, Dr. Richard says, how feelings of calmness and relaxation release many neurotransmitters such as endorphins, ocytocin, and serotonin and it’s likely that when experiencing ASMR, there is a release of these transmitters in the brain.” This means that when people experience ASMR, they feel calm and relaxed which helps people when they go through periods of stress and anxiety. Also, in the article, “More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology” they state, “After watching a range of ASMR videos, ASMR participants reported more frequent tingling, increased levels of excitement and calmness, and decreased levels of stress and sadness” (Poerio, et al 8). This quote is another example of how experiencing these sensations provide positive feelings towards people, and thus, helps one with feeling stress.
Along with stress and anxiety, ASMR media also helps people with depression and chronic illness. In the article, “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state” Barratt and Davis writes, “Sixty-nine percent of those who scored moderate to severe on the BDI reported using ASMR to ease their symptoms of depression” (8). This study result demonstrates how ASMR is used to provide some kind of relief to its viewers. In the same article, they state, “Those suffering from symptoms of chronic pain also benefitted from ASMR, seeing a significant reduction in their discomfort for several hours following an ASMR session” (11). This also shows how ASMR can be used in multiple cases to help those who suffer through depression or chronic illness on top of other mental illness. In summary, this media trend provides natural relief without medication to those suffering from various forms of illness.
“Mukbang”
Mukbang, Microsoft Word is saying that it’s spelled incorrectly but actually, Mukbang is a Korean word that stands for “eating broadcast” in South Korea. Many people pronounce it wrong and the correct pronunciation for it is “mook-bong”. According to the article, “Inside ‘mukbang’: How some professional binge-eaters earn thousands” by Katie Jackson, Stawski says, “[In Korea] Dining is a social activity, and you don’t sit and eat alone. For those that can’t eat with others, they’ll more than likely stay home to eat alone, but they’ll still have the urge to socialize while eating, which is what I think mukbangers replicate.” This quote illustrates how people don’t want to be alone when they eat and they want to socialize, thus, watching a mukbang video will take care of that. This gives the viewer the replication of eating out with someone. The “mukbang experience” can be quite similar to a form of ASMR called eating ASMR, where a person eats various types of food and feel sensations through chewing sounds. What separates the two is that the eating ASMR typically has little to no talking and focuses on chewing noises while mukbang is like an eating show where stories are told or questions are asked as they eat large quantities of food.
Today, a lot of people feel alone especially when they have to eat alone. Having someone there to talk with and for them to just be nice feels like a great time. This is what mukbangs are about, socializing at a time of your convenience. Many people watch Mukbangs for that specific reason, to feel less lonely. On social media, there are a lot of “fake” or “two-faced” people, for example “catfishers” and just liars in general. According to the article by the Huffington Post, psychologist Robert Feldman says how sixty percent of people lie during a normal ten minute conversation and when averaged out, two or three lies during those ten minutes occur (Bradberry). This shows how often people today lie to one another. Because of this, it is hard to find someone who is truly honest with others and people will feel lonely without genuine connections. Mukbangs help with people feeling alone and they provide authentic connection to their viewers even though it is just through a screen.
In addition, people who watch mukbangs could use these videos to cope with dieting. Many people go to gym and along with working out come dieting. Dieting is a difficult thing to stick by for most people since diets normally cut out most of the unhealthy cravings they have. By watching a mukbang, the person dieting can “live vicariously” through the mukbanger as they watch the mukbanger eat their biggest craving and give them the satisfaction of eating it themselves. That way, the person could still be satisfied and stick to their diet at the same time. In another scenario, people could watch mukbangs to stop their cravings. In an article by Spinter News, DeFabio says how in the comments of a video of a mukbanger named Trisha, people comment how it is a completely disgusting thing to watch which helps the viewers avoid the foods Trisha eats. In summary, mukbangs can help the viewers stay on track to their diets by satisfying their craving or eliminating the craving completely.
Along with loneliness and dieting, people use mukbangs for coping with eating disorders. An eating disorder people face today is anorexia. This is where people are extremely thin with a desire to be skinny to the point where it’s unhealthy. They lose appetite because they tell themselves that they are “fat” so they stay away from food. Some people could get appetite by watching others eat or crave food and thus, watching Mukbangs are just the thing to help people cope with eating disorders. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, they state, “approximately eight million people in the U.S. have anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and related eating disorders.” This statistic demonstrates how millions of people suffer through eating disorders associated to anorexia. In fact, a large portion of the mukbanger’s viewers suffer from eating disorders like anorexia. According to the news article, “Inside ‘mukbang’: How some professional binge-eaters earn thousands” Erin Palinski-Wade, RD says, “Although some viewers report they watch these videos as a way to satisfy their own food cravings to help them stay on track with their weight loss plans, the nature of mukbang videos can trigger disordered eating patterns in susceptible viewers” (Jackson). This quote shows how while viewers can use mukbangs for dieting plans, mukbangs can also help those with eating disorders. To some people, watching others eat food could be disgusting but to others it could make them gain appetite. Those with anorexia suffer from too much weight loss to an unhealthy point, and therefore, watching mukbangs could help them gain appetite to eat more and get to a healthy weight again.
Works Cited
Barratt, L. Emma and Nick J. Davis. “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state.” PeerJ (2015). Web.
Bradberry, Travis. “Sixty Percent of Your Colleagues Are Lying to You.” HuffPost, 14 February 2017.
DeFabio, R. Cara. “Why millions of people watch videos of strangers eating huge amounts of food.” Splinter, 25 August 2016.
Fairyington, Stephanie. “Rustle, Tingle, Relax: The Compelling World of A.S.M.R.” The New York Times, 28 July 2014.
Jackson, Katie. “Inside ‘mukbang’: How some professional binge-eaters earn thousands.” TODAY, 23 February 2018.
Poerio, L. Giulia, et al.”More than a Feeling: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) Is Characterized by Reliable Changes in Affect and Physiology.” PLoS ONE 13.6 (2018): E0196645. Web.
Shiffer, Emily. “What Is ASMR? How YouTube “Whisper Videos” May Be Able to Help Treat Insomnia.” Men’s Health, 27 September 2018.
“Statistics: How many people have eating disorders?” ANRED, https://www.anred.com/stats.htm l. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Stieg, Cory. “What Exactly Is ASMR?” Refinery29, 7 February 2017.