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bunnymousekitt rabbity mousey cat-like thing
Great Old One Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Total posts: 218 Location: hiding under the kitchen sink Age: 36 Gender: Female |
 Posted: 14-05-2013 09:12 Post subject: The "Unnamed Feeling", ASMR |
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Interesting article by Tom Stafford for BBC Future:
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Millions of people say they are thrilled by watching long, dull videos of folding towels or running hair dryers. Why? It could be a curious condition that didn’t officially exist until 2010.
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It's a tightening at the back of the throat, or a tingling around your scalp, a chill that comes over you when you pay close attention to something, such as a person whispering instructions. It's called the autonomous sensory meridian response, and until 2010 it didn't exist.
I first heard about the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) from British journalist Rhodri Marsden. He had become mesmerised by intentionally boring videos he found on YouTube, things like people explaining how to fold towels, running hair dryers or role-playing interactions with dentists. Millions of people were watching the videos, reportedly for the pleasurable sensations they generated.
Rhodri asked my opinion as a psychologist. Could this be a real thing? "Sure," I said. If people say they feel it, it has to be real – in some form or another. The question is what kind of real is it? Are all these people experiencing the same thing? Is it learnt, or something we are born with? How common is it? Those are the kind of questions we'd ask as psychologists. But perhaps the most interesting thing about the ASMR is what happened to it before psychologists put their minds to it.
Presumably the feeling has existed for all of human history. Each person discovered the experience, treasured it or ignored it, and kept the feeling to themselves. That there wasn't a name for it until 2010 suggests that most people who had this feeling hadn't talked about it. It's amazing that it got this far without getting a name. In scientific terms, it didn't exist.
But then, of course, along came the 21st Century and, like they say, even if you're one in a million there's thousands of you on the internet. Now there's websites, discussion forums, even a Wikipedia page. And a name. In fact, many names – “Attention Induced Euphoria”, “braingasm”, or “the unnamed feeling” are all competing labels that haven't caught on in the same way as ASMR.
Myth becomes fact
This points to something curious about the way we create knowledge, illustrated by a wonderful story about the scientific history of meteorites. Rocks falling from the sky were considered myths in Europe for centuries, even though stories of their fiery trails across the sky, and actual rocks, were widely, if irregularly reported. The problem was that the kind of people who saw meteorites and subsequently collected them tended to be the kind of people who worked outdoors – that is, farmers and other country folk. You can imagine the scholarly minds of the Renaissance didn't weigh too heavily on their testimonies. Then in 1794 a meteorite shower fell on the town of Siena in Italy. Not only was Siena a town, it was a town with a university. The testimony of the townsfolk, including well-to-do church ministers and tourists, was impossible to deny and the reports written up in scholarly publications. Siena played a crucial part in the process of myth becoming fact.
Where early science required authorities and written evidence to turn myth into fact, ASRM shows that something more democratic can achieve the same result. Discussion among ordinary people on the internet provided validation that the unnamed feeling was a shared one. Suddenly many individuals who might have thought of themselves as unusual were able to recognise that they were a single group, with a common experience.
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More at link:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130507-does-boredom-give-you-pleasure |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 14-05-2013 18:08 Post subject: |
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| Sounds like Andy Warhol was onto something after all. Deliberately boring films, i.e. shown in a cinema, have been known to appear every once in a while, so maybe this is the start of a new movement of soothing by boredom, no surprises, nothing to shock, just safe and predictable yawnfests. |
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| TangletwigsDeux Yeti Joined: 06 May 2009 Total posts: 62 Location: The Shire Age: 50 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 15-05-2013 16:44 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com. |
Wow. Another reason not to play them anything then. |
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| Mythopoeika Boring petty conservative
Joined: 18 Sep 2001 Total posts: 9109 Location: Not far from Bedford Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 15-05-2013 20:26 Post subject: |
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| TangletwigsDeux wrote: | | Quote: | | We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com. |
Wow. Another reason not to play them anything then. |
Not funded by the licence fees - wonder how they fund it? Crap that UK citizens don't get to see it. Hmph. |
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| Monstrosa Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Total posts: 506 |
| Posted: 16-05-2013 07:24 Post subject: |
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| They fund it from sales, of programmes to other countries and the retail sales of programmes on dvd and tie-in products. |
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| bunnymousekitt rabbity mousey cat-like thing
Great Old One Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Total posts: 218 Location: hiding under the kitchen sink Age: 36 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 24-05-2013 13:49 Post subject: |
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| Mythopoeika wrote: | | TangletwigsDeux wrote: | | Quote: | | We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com. |
Wow. Another reason not to play them anything then. |
Not funded by the licence fees - wonder how they fund it? Crap that UK citizens don't get to see it. Hmph. |
Wow, I had no idea that link couldn't be accessed from the UK. There are things I can't see on BBC websites, not being a British taxpayer and all, which is understandable - but that seems nuts! 
Anyway, here is another link to the same article from Mindhacks, Tom Stafford's own website:
http://mindhacks.com/2013/05/13/the-unnamed-feeling-named-asmr/ |
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| Spookdaddy Cuckoo Joined: 24 May 2006 Total posts: 3923 Location: Midwich Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 24-05-2013 14:05 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | Sounds like Andy Warhol was onto something after all. Deliberately boring films, i.e. shown in a cinema, have been known to appear every once in a while, so maybe this is the start of a new movement of soothing by boredom, no surprises, nothing to shock, just safe and predictable yawnfests. |
That, and the whole thread actually, have reminded me of something someone once said about porn movies (unfortunately it's not reminded me quite enough to say what it was or who said it).
Anyway, it was basically something to do with the popularity of porn being because it was so utterly boring and unbelievably predictable, rather than anything to do with its content. I wonder if someone's going to be able to prove that watching someone fold a towel for ages pushes exactly the same buttons as watching some Essex bird with a spotty backside drop her contact lenses in the shower.
I wouldn't be particularly surprised - I'm one of those blokes who finds porn incredibly tedious; don't get me wrong, I've tried it - but I've tried cigarettes and pop-tarts and don't see the point in them either. |
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| cherrybomb Skating the thin crust
Great Old One Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Total posts: 1005 Location: Sitting on the roof at dusk Gender: Female |
| Posted: 24-05-2013 14:56 Post subject: |
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| I think the wonderful Joan Bakewell said something along those lines when she did a doc about porn a few years ago. That, after a time, porn is rather boring & mechanical. |
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| special_farces Great Old One Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Total posts: 167 Location: Leeds Age: 48 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-05-2013 16:26 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | I've tried cigarettes and pop-tarts and don't see the point in them either. |
Porn, fags and pop tarts - that's one hell of a breakfast.
I wonder if ASMR is related to the pretty left field hobbies some people have - such as electricity pylon recording and 'spotting' Co-Operative supermarket branches. |
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| Spookdaddy Cuckoo Joined: 24 May 2006 Total posts: 3923 Location: Midwich Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-05-2013 16:26 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | Sounds like Andy Warhol was onto something after all. Deliberately boring films, i.e. shown in a cinema, have been known to appear every once in a while, so maybe this is the start of a new movement of soothing by boredom, no surprises, nothing to shock, just safe and predictable yawnfests. |
Maybe not such a new movement.
I started rereading William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade in the garden this afternoon. And what does he mention in the first page of chapter one (during a very potted history of the earliest years of the movie industry)?:
| Quote: | | ...one early hit consisted in it's entirety of nothing but a horse eating hay. |
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| labyrinth Grey Joined: 03 Nov 2011 Total posts: 1 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-05-2013 21:30 Post subject: |
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| special_farces wrote: |
I wonder if ASMR is related to the pretty left field hobbies some people have - such as electricity pylon recording and 'spotting' Co-Operative supermarket branches. |
The sensation of ASMR is the weird, creeping, tingling feeling you get in your scalp and spine when someone gives you a headrub. You can induce the sensation but it's a bit like trying to tickle yourself. The videos are an attempt to find a substitute for human touch.
Lots of people find they are triggered by watching someone describe how to do something in a slow and deliberate manner. The towel folding is an example of this.
There is no intention to 'appreciate' boring videos. The thing that is being sought is the deliberate instruction, the hushed voice, the focus on a very specific action. |
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| special_farces Great Old One Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Total posts: 167 Location: Leeds Age: 48 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-05-2013 12:20 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Millions of people say they are thrilled by watching long, dull videos of folding towels or running hair dryers. |
I was idly wondering if the thrill of observing dull videos might be related to positive feelings experienced while pursuing dull hobbies.
And not just videos or films. I knew someone who became a bit obsessed with a Christmas themed screensaver. The screensaver showed a cartoon living room with Christmas decorations and a roaring fire. Nothing would happen for many minutes, then some random little animation would pop up such as Santas feet appearing briefly in the fireplace. My friend would watch intently for some time, only closing it if a manager came in. Working for the civil service has some perks... |
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| Simon Grey Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Total posts: 23 Location: Jersey, Channel Islands Age: 44 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 28-09-2013 15:10 Post subject: |
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[quote="labyrinth"] | special_farces wrote: |
The sensation of ASMR is the weird, creeping, tingling feeling you get in your scalp and spine when someone gives you a headrub. You can induce the sensation but it's a bit like trying to tickle yourself. The videos are an attempt to find a substitute for human touch.
Lots of people find they are triggered by watching someone describe how to do something in a slow and deliberate manner. The towel folding is an example of this.
There is no intention to 'appreciate' boring videos. The thing that is being sought is the deliberate instruction, the hushed voice, the focus on a very specific action. |
I would agree with this statement, given one exception;
I wouldn't describe the sensation as weird. For me, it is a very relaxing feeling, similar to feeling how heavy your eyes feel just before a Sunday afternoon snooze. The main trigger for me is softly-spoken foriegn accents, but everyone who experiences ASMR will say their triggers are different.
I only discovered that there was a community and actually a name for this last October!
There are well over 100 ASMR-tists on Youtube, and I've subscribed to quite a few, and have got to know a few as well. The ASMR community is very supportive of each other, and a lot of them are friends on Facebook with their (I suppose our, as I feel part of this), own pages.
One thing that ASMR-tists agree on, is that it is difficult to explain the feelings ASMR produces to those who don't experience it.
My advice to anyone reading this, and maybe be curious about ASMR, and who may have felt they have had tingles themselves, is to type ASMR into Youtube and explore some of the channels. |
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| Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1527 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
| Posted: 28-09-2013 23:25 Post subject: |
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Ok, while I knew the sensation, I never knew there was a word for it.
I am just wondering - is this a male thing or do women get it too? Most of the YT videos seem to be of nice looking young ladies - though it is a distinctively non sexual experience. Thoughts anyone?
Later edit - judging by some of the comments on YT - it seems to be rather sexual for some. Not for my though - whatever. |
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| AtomicBadger Yeti Joined: 06 Apr 2011 Total posts: 32 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 29-09-2013 19:14 Post subject: |
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The sensation is strongly related to the 'frisson' some (most?) people experience occasionally while listening to a certain piece of music or reading a certain literary passage. Have you ever heard someone say something like 'I love this song/poem so much it gives me chills'? It's like that. The description above re: that pleasantly relaxed and sleepy feeling just before a nap is also accurate in my experience.
The phenomenon of ASMR also seems to be related to synesthesia, since people who report experiencing one are somewhat more likely to report experiencing the other, and like most neurological and/or sensory qualia, there seems to be a spectrum: almost everyone has experienced mild or isolated incidents of it at some point in their lives, and personal experience runs the gamut from 'very slight and almost never' to 'extremely strong and very frequent'.
I personally find ASMR videos to be a fantastic sleep aid, since I suffer from insomnia, and I don't always want to deal with the 'hangover' effects of taking a sleeping pill- also I've always found white noise machines annoying. But the 'white noise' of someone talking about oil painting techniques or whatnot is boring enough not to distract while being calming enough to fall asleep to. |
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