Admittedly it is a fad, or was, as is the nature of such things, but for however long it will grace the the timelines of Instagram, or Snapchat feeds, it has developed into a niche community for some dedicated followers. Autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, is something that triggers a sensory experience along the length of the spine and the scalp according to Psychology Today. Many things can be qualified as something that falls under this umbrella term, but one of the most common, and most popular triggers for ASMR is sound.

Within the past few years, YouTube channels has sprung up, chalk-full of ASMR content, with the most popular channel, SAS-ASMR, having well over 6 million subscribers. Channels eat food, crush honeycomb, play with slime and and do anything else with the highest resolution microphone they can get their hands on. The want to viewers to become a YouTuber as a career has risen recently, with 75 percent of children wanting to become YouTubers when they grow up according to Daily Mail. They aren’t wrong to want to be one, with the net worth of SAS-ASMR creator estimated to be $3.5 million according  to NailBuzz, they’ll be in good company.

Personally, I think that they are great, they make me laugh, not every style is for every person, but who doesn’t love the sound of sizzling bacon and the sound of orange juice falling into the resonating glass chasms of a cup. Many sights, and smells evoke memories, but we had all overlooked the power of sound. The feeling of dread when a phone hits the bleachers during Mass, the sound of the gun to start the race, or a whistle during a game, sounds were under appreciated for all the images and experiences that can resurface because of them, and I for one and happy that their power is becoming more mainstream. Anything that makes you look at the world differently is worth seeing, or in this case, hearing.