bers. Real-life cranial nerve exams
involve checking a patient’s hear-
ing, vision and eye movement, and
a ton of other sensory stimuli that
makes the test perfect for ASMR
videos. Just maybe don’t take any of
their medical advice too seriously.
They’re artists, not medical profes-
sionals. (Most of the time, anyway.)
YES, I DO MEAN ARTISTS
ASMR YouTube is the most artistic
art form on the site. The amount
of creativity that goes into some of
these roleplay videos is unbeliev-
ably cool and fascinating. Sure, you
have plenty of generic haircuts and
doctor visits to choose from if that’s
your thing, but then some artists
take it to the next level with humor,
personality, and worldbuilding.
Gibi ASMR makes fun videos
cosplaying as different cartoon and
anime characters. FredsVoice ASMR
occasionally plays a character called
the Rude English Gentleman who
aggressively and hilariously insults
the viewer. Goodnight Moon cre-
ates a stunning visual aesthetic for
a series of ASMR videos that take
place in her enchanted world of
Babblebrook. Ephemeral Rift creates
ASMR videos set in a dark, surreal-
ist nightmare world of unusual
monsters, eccentric salespeople, and
other strange characters that pop up
in and around a fictional asylum.
It’s fitting that these ASMR
YouTubers are referred to as
ASMRtists to reflect their creativ-
ity. They saw an opportunity to not
only help others using sound and
SUPER-NICHE
ASMR is the Best Artform on YouTube That You’re Not Watchingvisuals that soothe the stress and anxieties people ex-
perience, but they also claimed that space as an outlet
to express themselves artistically.
So as I sit here drowning in boxes, futilely packing
up all of my belongings in preparation for an intense,
cross-country move, I’ll pop on yet another ASMR video
to calm my nerves and explore the creative characters
and worlds crafted by YouTube’s best art form.Scott Niswander sometimes yells about superheroes on NerdSync.Goodnight MoonEphemeral Rift