Amber Neely
Apple has released four Apple ASMR videos that were shot on the iPhone to its Apple YouTube channel, each focusing on different popular triggers.
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Often described by those who experience it as "the tingles," ASMR has become wildly popular on YouTube in recent years. Those who experience ASMR describe it as a tingling sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and spine.
Each video focuses on popular ASMR "triggers," or things that elicit that tingly feeling. All four videos feature high quality audio and video and are the newest installment in the Shot on iPhone series, following other recent features such as their recent short films about soccer and mother nature.
The first video focuses on whispering, a popular, though somewhat divisive, ASMR trigger. The video showcases Ghost Forest, a location on the beach of Neskowin, Oregon. The narrator whispers the history of Ghost Forest.
The second video features the sounds of woodworking. In the video, a woodworker planes, chisels, and stains a sheet of wood. Maker YouTube has seen an increase in audience growth alongside of the ASMR boom, especially channels that feature "shop sounds," so it's not surprising that Apple chose to highlight the sounds of woodworking.
The third video focuses on trail noises, or the sounds that hikers make while walking on different surfaces. The video showcases hikers walking on dirt trails in forests, on dry grass in fields, across sand dunes, and gravel trails.
Lastly, there's a video that focuses on one of the most popular ASMR genres — rainfall. Rainfall noise generators have been popular much longer than ASMR, and they're still a main cornerstone of the ASMR and white-noise genres. The video focuses on the sound of rain hitting a few different surfaces. First, the roof of a tent, then a mud puddle, an inflatable mattress, camp cookware, and finally a simple environmental shot where the rain falls upon the ground.
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10 Comments
I watched the first one for like 3 minutes and got bored...
Sometimes when I'm watching a small child color in a coloring book or a grandmother quietly knitting a sweater or a barber giving a shave using a straight razor, I become transfixed on the activity and am overcome with a relaxed, highly pleasurable feeling that is difficult to describe exactly. It gives me goosebumps and makes my hair stand on end.
I've never been able to duplicate this experience on demand - it's just something that happens once every several years. Most people just look at me funny when I describe the sensation - except for my mother. She experiences this, too. Small children playing seem to be triggers for both of us. I'm also triggered by watching someone performing very delicate work in a quiet environment.
A few years ago, I stumbled across a YouTube video of a man whispering into a microphone and gently tapping on various objects. While reading the comments, I learned that what I had been experiencing was called "ASMR". It's interesting that ASMR has gone from some inexplicable feeling I occasionally experience to something that has gone viral.
Unfortunately, I've not yet been able to induce this feeling by watching/listening to videos, although I've come close. I've also noticed that there are a lot of "junk" ASMR videos being produced in the interest of making money or getting views.
I also have synesthesia. As far back as I can remember, when I think of numbers and letters, each always appears in my mind's eye in a particular color. The color of each letter and number has remained consistent all my life.
Note: if you have misophonia, ASMR may be like knitting needles in your ears. It baffles me how this has caught on at all. Then again, if you have synesthesia too, then your perceptions are already altered compared to most. (I have both, and I like em.)
Please Apple, as I know you are reading this, consider doing a "ASMR girlfriend Elsa from Frozen want to borrow your Lighting charger".
Very excited 😊. Loved the first one .