The Bizarre Psychology of Medical ASMR Videos
Medical role-play is one of the most popular forms of ASMR videos. Why?
A woman’s serene face fills the screen. A pink stethoscope hangs from her neck, and her big, blue eyes offer a calming, sympathetic smile.
“Hey hun,” she says softly, looking straight into a camera that’s positioned in a way to give the impression that you, the viewer, are gently reclining. Off-camera, the shuffling and snapping sound of latex gloves can be heard beneath her reassuring whisper. “How are you feeling?”
This is Ashley Hornbaker, the creator and face of Yvette ASMR, a YouTube channel with 61,300 followers that’s dedicated to triggering an elusive sensation for her viewers: autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), otherwise known as “brain tingles.”
ASMR is a little-understood phenomenon experienced by an untold number of people for whom certain sounds (often whispering), movements, and circumstances generate a tingly feeling at the crown of their head, sometimes accompanied by a sense of euphoria. ASMR videos — where creators talk quietly and make noises thought to trigger sensations — have exploded across YouTube, some with millions of views. Many of these videos involve role-playing, with the content creator — or ASMRtists, as they’ve been deemed —…
