ASMR YouTube videos are calming and gentle. The comments under them are even better …

YouTube comments are frequently not very nice (or, to use another Guardian writer’s words, are “an infamously troll-ridden wild west of abuse, ignorance and spam”). Something about a cursor blinking in a blank comment box just brings out a certain side of human nature (the bad one). Except, for some reason, if it’s below an ASMR video, where it appears to invite a more or less pure stream of all that is tender in the human heart.These are videos made to provoke one’s autonomous sensory meridian response – AKA “a tingly feeling” – through soothing sounds and visuals that range from the banal to the extremely obscure. There’s a lot of roleplay, and a strong focus on being taken care of (and, increasingly, colourful slime). “ASMRtists” might (pretend to) cut your hair; measure you for a suit; give you a medical check-up; help you find a library book; welcome you, a new Santa Claus, to the Christmas Village (I don’t know either); or just potter around, making peaceful noises by opening things and pouring tea.People come to these videos to feel calm and good. So maybe it makes sense that everyone watching them is primed to gently compliment each other.“Who…
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