Mediated Affect in Production Value and ASMR
Since circa 2008, ASMR has evolved into an Internet phenomenon that has piqued the interest of various blogs, news outlets, and entertainment industries—who are claiming that ASMR is having its “pop culture moment”—but the core community itself is subdued and diligent in its admiration of the performers who are also known as ASMRtists. As an acronym for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response”, ASMR specifically refers to the pleasant tingling sensation that can be triggered by specific sights or sounds. This haptic vision or audio is known to cause reactions in different places throughout the body and at varying intensities, if at all; sometimes, all that one can get from ASMR videos is an intense state of "flow" or focus. The authenticity of an ASMR video also plays a big role in the viewer’s tendency to be triggered by it; the illusion of immediacy facilitated by the technologies of performance (specifically 3D binaural microphones) means that ASMR falls under the umbrella of mediated affect, alongside similar phenomena such as synesthesia and misophonia. The creation of an affective state in those who self-identify as “having” or “experiencing” ASMR has been linked to a new form of intimacy.
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(0:10) "Today I decided to have some one-on-one time with you"
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(1:30) "I hope that you trust me...you're very safe with me, I promise"
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(2:45) "Our existence as humans is a constant struggle [...] we all go through it, you're never alone in this world. I know that you do your best"
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(3:33) "Thank you for always being so supportive of me. It is such a pleasure"
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(5:38) "You deserve to be pampered, comforted and relaxed"
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(8:30) "Hairbrushing is such a primal type of bonding, it can bring us closer together"
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(36:50) "I appreciate you being here for me and with me"
Headphones recommended!
GentleWhispering Maria moves from ear to ear as the extremely sensitive microphones pick up every syllable and whisper of fabric. She is constantly validating the viewer with broad affirmations and caring glances, and mesmerizes with fluid hand movements and steam from an oil diffuser.
The neoliberal approach to ASMR taken by researchers such as Rob Gallagher attributes the success of the genre to policies oriented towards the individualization of care and self-medicating for stress at home (Gallagher 2016). Others such as Joceline Andersen go as far as to suggest that ASMR creates an “affective charge” that transcends language (Andersen 2015). People across the world can physically connect with the performer via media infrastructures such as YouTube; the sounds, sights, and gestures made by the performer are amplified and transmitted through the site, allowing for a new form of "nonstandard" or "distant" intimacy that is fundamentally intertwined with the medium that allows it to exist, cultivated between listener and whisperer, and unique to the digital age.
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Here, the affective labor is being performed on both ends of the producer-consumer relationship. Even though millions of viewers are receiving the same "personal attention" from Maria, it does not feel any less genuine: the manipulation of the visual and aural components of her performance (whispering, articulate voice, slow and intentional movements) in an effort to simulate touch creates an affect that induces a physical (and sometimes emotional) affect in the viewer. Both work to bring subscribers and first-time viewers back to her videos, which in turn brings her economic capital—to the tune of roughly $130,000 a year—from the advertisements that play before and after the video, as well as a PayPal donate button.
