It’s human nature that our generation loves to search the web for entertaining things when we’re bored, whether it’s news articles, memes or Youtube videos that spark our interest. There’s always something out there on the internet that catches our attention and leave us to procrastinate for hours.
However for me, I realized my choice in social media videos and posts took an odd turn this past winter break.
I recall looking over my Twitter feed for something to dive into when I first came across the famous video of the whispering lady on Youtube. Of course my first reaction was, “Who the hell has time to make hundreds of videos whispering in a microphone for a living?” I was outraged, not only because to me it was mentally disturbing to my ears, but because this woman has thousands of followers. Literally, people were into her making whisper noises and amplifying everyday sounds such as chewing and typing on a keyboard.
As I was laying in bed one day, with nothing to do of course, I began to search through my Instagram Explore page. After looking at a thousand selfies of people I totally didn’t know, I saw something that caught my eye. It was a video of what looked like a crushed bar of soap.
Now before you all get freaked out, let me just say that when I was a child, soap was my favorite bath toy. Obviously I loved the smell of soap, but also loved its texture. It was smooth and hard at the same time. I always wondered how soap was made until I discovered Pinterest in the 9th grade and found out how to DIY everything.
Moments later, I find myself on this popular Instagram page called @asmr_soap_princess. At first I was totally like, “Brianna, what the hell have you come across?” But before I knew it, I was trapped. There was numerous videos on the profile of what looked like a woman shaving and dicing different assortments of soaps. As I watched the first one, the satisfying sensation of ASMR begin to kick in.
Now if you are unsure of what ASMR is, it’s known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It’s basically when a person hears, sees, or feels something tangible and the sensation of satisfaction is felt throughout your body. Somewhat like when you correct a crooked picture on a wall because you can’t stand to see it lopsided.
The sound of the woman shaving the soap and crushing it into tiny pieces gave me the most calming feeling ever. I sat there for at least 3 hours watching videos and looking for other soap ASMR pages. I was in love.
Weeks later, I came across another page that had nothing to do with soap or ASMR. It was of a woman, Jessica Fedoroff, swatching different nail polishes and giving reviews about them. As most people know, I am obsessed with my nails. They have to be freshly manicured and sometimes flawlessly polished when they are professionally done. But when I saw her easily swatching polishes on her freshly manicured tips, I thought I may have fallen in love in again. It was so calming and addictive.
I think what I realized from this all is that AMSR actually is somewhat of a stress reliever for me. Usually when I’m bored, my mind begins to wander and I get anxious. But when I turn on either a nail polish or soap video, I’m at ease. I get so caught up in it, I forget what even got my heart racing in the first place. I’m obsessed and I’m proud to say that AMSR has basically saved me from a number of panic attacks.
So thank you AMSR Soap Princess for saving me from my boredom and anxiety. Without your soap shavings, I would have already gone crazy.