Tingles, sparkles, shivers: Language of affect in online discussions on autonomous sensory meridian response

Abstract

The audiovisual phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), which has been present on the Internet for several years in the form of relaxing videos posted on YouTube, is enjoying growing popularity. One of the interesting elements of this phenomenon is the affectivity visible in the language used by the members of the community. In this article, I focus on the language used by the ASMR community in online spaces, putting forward the thesis that it corresponds with the language of affect present in the affective turn theories that appreciate bodily sensations as a way of experiencing the world. The article suggests that ASMR is a product of the culture of affect and that the success of this phenomenon is associated with a shift toward the importance of the body and its sensations in Western culture as key elements of the individual’s experience of the surrounding reality.