Do you hear that? Tapping, scratching, crinkling…are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs? On YouTube a girl whispers into a microphone telling you to relax. Are you revolted or pleasantly surprised? This internet phenomenon is called ASMR, and it’s been around for longer than you might think.

ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response, is the sensation of pleasure someone can feel from watching certain videos or hearing certain sounds.

“(ASMR videos are) audio recordings of certain sounds you can make with your mouth or just tapping sounds with a microphone. It’s really just to calm the mind and satisfy people,” said freshman Jake Santora.

Santora started his YouTube channel two years ago and has since begun uploading his own ASMR videos.

“Before I started my YouTube channel I had already been watching ASMR and I always found it interesting like ‘maybe I could do that at some point if I ever got a mic’, and eventually I did start doing it even without a mic because it was a growing trend, and it still is,” said Santora.  “It’s getting really popular. So I thought well maybe I could use it on my channel, and my videos benefit from it because they do get a lot of views, the ASMR. It’s really fun.”

While this all sounds (no pun intended) strange, it’s almost definitely something you’ve experienced. Think back to when you were little and someone would gently scratch your back or play with your hair. You might remember feeling a tingling down your spine or across your scalp. That’s what ASMR is!

ASMR videos have grown in popularity largely on YouTube, where creators upload videos specifically designed to trigger this tingling sensation. Tingles, as they are commonly referred to, can be triggered by sounds such as tapping, scratching, whispering, hair brushing, or crinkling.

Creators of these videos are called ASMRtists, and you can actually make a career out of being one. GentleWhispering, one of the most famous ASMRtists on YouTube, has 1.82 million subscribers to her channel. Maria Viktorovna, the lady behind GentleWhispering, has a net worth of $1.2 million as of March 2020 according to StatSmash.

Santora has strong opinions on his favorite ASMRtist: SAS-ASMR.

“She’s amazing. I love her so much. Everything she makes and everything she eats just looks so good,” said Santora.

However, although ASMR induces nostalgia for a lot of people, not everyone finds it so relaxing.

“It creeps me out just because of the way it’s done. I just don’t like the way it sounds. It sounds really realistic and like it’s right beside you so that’s why it creeps me out,” said senior Larry Leasure.

Others are grossed out by certain sounds.

“When people are like eating food and stuff next to a microphone that’s weird, but those videos where it’s something satisfying like pulling an attachable eraser off a pencil, that’s not as weird,” said Sophomore Nick Kristoff. “So, like a recording of that sound isn’t weird, to me at least.”

A lot of people seem to have a bone to pick with eating sounds or mukbang ASMR. Mr. Kamer also finds the idea of someone chewing into a microphone unsavory.

“You kids are so sensory deprived that that stuff is your focus. You need that stuff. It’s just weird. Like people eating or chewing? How weird is that?” said Kamer.

But, hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

“Eating ASMR. Everybody finds it disgusting but I think it’s so funny, and I actually do think it’s relaxing sometimes,” said Santora.

So whatever you’re into, check out the ASMR genre on YouTube, and remember to wear your headphones.