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Peculiarly Immaterial

Digital Labor in the ASMR Roleplay Video

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2025

Emma Bennett
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Abstract

ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) names a mysteriously relaxing tingling sensation certain people experience in response to a range of stimuli, including the close, careful attention of others. Since 2010, a form of roleplay video has developed in which the performer addresses the camera/viewer in the guise of a medical or service professional. These relaxing enactments evoke fictional workplaces, raising questions about precarious and exploited labor in a globalized digital economy.

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TDR , Volume 69 , Issue 3: Performance, Possession, and Automation Brown University TDR Consortium Issue , September 2025 , pp. 139 - 159
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of New York University Tisch School of the Arts

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References

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TDReading

Todorut, Ilinca. 2024. “Mobilizing Workers Poetry: A Pedagogical Journal.” TDR 68, 1 (T261):170–84. doi.org/10.1017/S1054204323000539Google Scholar