Vytautas: What is ASMR? I decided to ask an actual ASMRtist what’s it like being apart of a community, where users can listen to soft sounds with the intention to escape the demands of daily life, if only for a drief 10-15 mins. One such creator of ASMR on YouTube has her own channel and goes by the moniker Puffin, who does not show the upper part of her face for some reason. O Puffin, why is it that you do not reveal your face on any of your YouTube videos?
Puffin: I hide my face for both employment reasons and potential harassment. I am in the phase of my life where job searching and finding a career is extremely important, and I wouldn't want my channel to get in the way of that. Unfortunately, to people who are unfamiliar with ASMR, it can come off as a fetish or sexual, which is not my intention in the slightest. I imagine that employers and hiring managers would be among those that are unfamiliar. And if my real name or identity were to be attached to my channel, then I’d fear that it would have negative consequences. Additionally, with Jellybean's harassment story (as well as many other ASMRtists, who have faced the same thing), it just adds to the list of reasons to try and remain as private as possible.
Vytautas: That’s understandable. I, for instance, have my own nickname that I use for an online identity. I guess, if you are famous in the ‘real life’, you wouldn’t have to worry about leaking your identity to the public, since then everyone would respect you. But for those of us trying to get a handle on finding a career, these ‘fake names’ can be a life saver. So, I first got into ASMR by watching Jellybean, but when I watched Frivvi, I was like, Wow!. So, I was wondering, have you had the chance to watch her?
Puffin: I started watching Frivvi quite a while ago. And I remember the first video that I saw of her was one of her Tascam "Tingle Party" assortments, which I immediately fell in love with! She has a great presence and I feel that she comes off as very genuine. She was one of the main ASMRtists whose videos helped me, when my anxiety skyrocketed in college. Now that I have begun my own channel, I often look to her as an inspiration. I am not a big fan of fancy sets and role-plays. So, I love that her videos are very straightforward and that she sticks to creating things that she enjoys.
Vytautas: Yes, the first video that made me ‘tingle’, which could be described as the funny feeling you have in the back of your head, when you feel that you have accomplished something, was when Frivvi was listing to Bilile Eilish, who reminds me of Meg Myers for some reason, and just being silly which kept me glued to my iPhone. So, is there a reason that you chose the name Puffin?
Puffin: I chose the name Puffin because I honestly just like the word. :) It has a comforting sound like the word pillow. Other than that, I find puffins to be adorable! I would categorize birds in general as my favorite ‘animal’, as I've owned and raised many of them throughout my life. Puffins just stuck out to me because they're cute, quite unique, as well as having a great name.
Vytautas: Great! I also happen to follow you on Twitter, since it is only natural to find you there. I noticed a few posts concerning World of Warcraft (WoW), which, I guess, is still all the rage these days. Care to elaborate on that?
Puffin: I do love WoW! I play the game casually these days. However, I used to raid quite a lot about a year ago. Currently, I play the game to collect items and just prepare for the upcoming expansion. I guess you could say that I used to be a power gamer, but now I became a role-player. I have every class at max level, but I mostly enjoy playing melee classes and healers, my current favorite being the Paladin. I can heal, melee dps, or tank depending on my mood. The versatility is great!
Vytautas: I believe it has about 15 years ago when I played Ultima Online (UO), where I was a similar type of character but not as noble as a Paladin, since I became a part of the Chaotic Clan on the Catskills shard, where Tronage and his wife would hold tournaments and monster hunts every few weeks or so. And eventually, I have shared a house with the murderous brigand, Xenox, or a name like that. So, I was a Paladin-like but I did not wander the streets of Trinsic seeking to feed the hungry, you know? Anyways, how’s life without Frivvi putting out regular ASMR videos?
Puffin: Frivvi's absence is very unfortunate, but I'd glad she's taking time to grieve rather than just continue pumping out videos when her heart isn't into it. Since the person she lost was involved in the ASMR community, I can see why she needed to take her mind off from her videos for a while. If things ever go south in my real life (assuming they aren't related to ASMR or my channel), I would try to continue as best as I could, as I find filming therapeutic.
Vytautas: Well, thanks for taking the time to interview with me. Hope all goes well with your own ASMR output.
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