In an announcement posted on June 8th, China’s anti-pornography office cracked down on ASMR videos on video streaming platforms, telling services to “thoroughly clean up vulgar and pornographic ASMR content.” Since then, ASMR videos have disappeared from all major Chinese streaming platforms.
ASMR, which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, refers to the sounds of people whispering, tapping or stroking a microphone, or eating foods to create a sense of relaxation for their audiences. While some ASMR videos involve sexual content and dress by hosts, the community at large has often pushed back against that association. In a 2015 paper that studied ASMR media consumers in the United States and Western Europe, researchers found...
