How I make £75k a year LICKING microphones to give YouTube viewers ‘brain orgasms’
We spoke to ASMR "artists" and a top British psychologist about YouTube's bizarre new trend
SOME describe the feeling as a gentle tingling that starts from the head and runs quickly down the spine.
It's triggered by any number of sights and sounds, from watching someone brush their hair, to hearing a lick or kissing sound in your ear.
But ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is far more than just a feeling.
An online community of millions has sprung up on YouTube, with fans chasing their next ASMR rush turning to a small group of stars who post new videos every week.
In the clips, ASMR "artists" – often women wearing skimpy clothes – make sensual sounds into a microphone in a bid to give bated viewers that coveted tingle, described by some as a "brain orgasm".
Some make videos full time, racking up hundreds of thousands of views per clip and even selling branded T-shirts for £30 a pop.
Fans find the scene through various avenues, but Sarah got into it while watching online porn.
"The videos I do aren't weird to me, simply because I don't make them that way. It can be seen as sexual depending on how the creator is doing it."
Whatever you think of their intentions, it seems ASMR artists truly believe that their videos simply help people unwind.
According to Sarah, her recordings give people a feeling of closeness that reminds them of their younger days.
"People are whispering, getting up close and personal. It's intimate," she said.
"A lot of it reverts back to childhood – things that made your relaxed as a kid can trigger that feeling now.
"We mean no harm, we want to help people and nothing more."
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