Abstract Submission for UMD In Play: A Conference Title:
“Quicken Trees into Life”: ASMRtists, Play, and Embodied Response in the Digital World
Name:
LaRonika Thomas
Affiliation:
Doctoral Candidate, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, University of Maryland
Contact Information:
Proposal Abstract:
What do unboxing videos, getting a scalp massage, getting directions from point A to B, and Bob Ross all have in common? The answer is that, for some people, some or all of these experiences can cause a pleasant but strange physical sensation. Something that, as Joceline Andersen notes, “like the sneeze or the hiccup, ... is difficult to explain physiologically.”
Since 2007, on a variety of social media forums, people have increasingly spoken about experiencing a strange phenomenon that felt good in response various stimuli – a tingling and warmth centered at the top of the head but often encompassing the shoulders or arms as well. Often, people thought they were alone or weird for experiencing such a sensation, or assumed that everyone experienced it. However, thanks to these online conversations, this sensation was eventually given a name: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).
While not an officially recognized medical condition, those in science and medicine have begun to research ASMR in order to understand more about its biological mechanics – who is prone to experience it, what are the biological causes, etc. In the meantime, a growing online community has allowed people to give a name to the experience that so many have felt since childhood. I can vouch for this personally, as I discovered the term ASMR in 2011, and was astonished to find not only a name for this sensation that I had experience since childhood, but also that others experience it too.
One focus of conversation about ASMR surrounds what “triggers” the sensation in individuals: whispering, personal attention, tapping or crinkling or making other gentle noises with objects, gentle instruction, etc. For many (including myself), Bob Ross, the public television instructional painter, was an early trigger (he has become, in some
ways, the patron saint of ASMR triggers). While triggers often occur in everyday interactions, such as hair brushing, ASMR can also be experienced from simulated circumstances. To this end, and growing out of the sharing of videos that
unintentionally trigger ASMR, many YouTube channels have been started by “ASMRtists” who create videos to purposefully induce ASMR in their viewers.
These videos have become more sophisticated over time, including venturing into the world of storytelling, science fiction, and fantasy. This development is significant, indicating that performance and play are central to the ASMR experience. These videos are centerpieces to a growing community and indicate the interplay between play, identity formation, digital storytelling, presence, and embodied experience. My presentation focuses on the unique role social media has played in the formation of the ASMR community, the use of language and physical representation common in the ASMRtist videos, and the role of performance in both the creation of these videos and the experience of ASMR itself. I propose to explore these ideas in a more formal presentation and “guided tour” of ASMR, as well as the creation during the conference of an ASMR “station,” where attendees may play with these videos and explore this community on their own terms.