In recent years, ASMR has since taken on a new form: kitchen/bathroom product restock videos. The videos are formulaic in nature and often possess the same patterns. Set up the camera on a tripod. Open up the paper towel roll. Scratch it for some reason. Open up the laundry detergent. Pour it out of its plastic container and into a glass jar for some reason. Open up the gallon of milk. Also, pour it into a glass jar for some reason. All the while ensuring the camera’s microphone stays as close as physically possible to each splish and splash sound the products make to give viewers the “satisfying” ear-brooming euphoria that they crave. You get the gist.
Nowadays, the concept of ASMR is synonymous with the concept of satisfying videos that provide a sense of comfort, contentment, and pleasure. ASMR content bloomed with whispering videos. Yup. Instead of going to your nearest library and eavesdropping on quiet conversations, you can listen to a stranger on YouTube whisper things into your ear (computer speakers). Some of these whispering videos have themes to them, such as someone pretending to be your boyfriend/girlfriend, your hair stylist, or your parent. Yes, these specific videos can act as a friend to those who might feel alone—but like anything else, they can also foster harmful relationships with those who become reliant on a fantasy. Most folks online don’t watch this type of ASMR content for fantastical reasons, however, and usually just keep them on in the background as a sleep aid… but you never know.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with ASMR itself, beyond being a little strange and downright triggering to those with misophonia, the issue with this new format is that without fail, each of these videos includes at least five products that are sold in single-use packaging. ASMR creators, especially in the last few years, have been increasingly overconsuming for the sake of views. Some creators have resorted to “themes” and “aesthetics” for each of their videos, many posted only 2-3 days after one another. The frequency of this type of content suggests that these creators are not consuming nearly enough of what they’re purchasing to record these videos, making it very likely that they are tossing their pink laundry detergent beads straight in the trash on top of a pile of single-use packaging right after their TikTok goes viral…
The upsetting reality is that this type of mindless entertainment is not only harmful to social media users but also to the planet. Luckily, the #ProjectPan movement has been gaining traction to combat consumption overdrive in pop culture and imploring others to join the anti-consumption movement. Who doesn’t love a good challenge?
You stockin’ to me?
The amount of products shown in this type of “restock” video prompts viewers to think they might need that amount of products, too, though many of the products presented to viewers are often redundant or useless. The sheer quantity of products on display here might lead viewers to think it’s the end of the world, sending them running to the grocery store to stockpile bathroom products and toilet paper like it’s 2020.
Now, nobody should need to go back to fourth-grade science class to know that single-use plastics are objectively terrible for the environment. What’s worse, though, is that single-use packaging is now completely entwined with the negative social and economic aspects of overconsumption, as well as the physical effects on the planet.
You don’t need to have a particularly green thumb to consider that no one needs to purchase multiple packs of pink laundry detergent per week just so they can record themselves spilling it out into a glass container for money, only to buy a different color detergent and continue the cycle. While baiting engagement by getting users to comment on what colors they’d like to see next.
A different strain of content generates even more waste, and that’s guest bathroom restock videos. The content has a “grab-and-go” feel to it, stocking their bathroom drawers with travel-size products for their guests. Expecting guests to share a regular-sized bottle of shampoo would be sacrilegious, apparently—so each guest receives their own little plastic bottles of toiletries instead. A guest bathroom, in general, is economically unrealistic these days—bathroom cabinets filled with $300+ worth of products maybe two people will use are teetering the brink of insanity.
That’s the thing about this kind of ASMR: from the outside, it’s seemingly harmless. Our minds enjoy the satisfying sounds and visuals. There is, however, a certain level of consumption programming that is done the more folks watch this type of content. TikTok is already an e-commerce abyss, and the existence of this ASMR sets an urgent “BUY NOW” precedent that encourages more waste and overconsumption. Not to mention that with this type of entertainment growing increasingly popular, the world is moving further into a capitalism-centric entertainment industry… Everything is an opportunity to sell a product or even, in some ways, sell oneself as a product, too.
Some See Through It
Many users are beginning to see the light and are opening up a discourse on the problem with “restock influencers.” It’s not just one or two content creators running the restock show—there are hundreds, likely thousands, of ASMR creators on TikTok alone who focus primarily on restock videos. It’s gotten out of hand. When TikTok was facing a ban in the U.S. last month, some ASMR content creators even confessed that they don’t use half of the products shown in their content. Unsurprisingly.
Restock videos are becoming something of a satire, unintentionally. That might be a good thing.
Many folks see the error of capitalizing on capitalism, and it’s even funnier now that the restock influencers are being put in the hot seat. No one needs a “gum drawer” and 25 packs of gum. Buy as needed—that pack of Trident and the container of Tide Pods aren’t going anywhere. This excess consumption is not normal, nor is it necessary… Users online continue to either love or hate ASMR restock videos.
Upside: Project Pan
Some have been anti-consumption since the beginning of restock videos and made sure to let others know it’s okay to finish a bottle of shampoo before buying a new one. (What happened to the good ol’ days when we’d put water in the shampoo bottle so we could get the last bits of product out?) Now, we have gallons of shampoo from Costco and no closet storage to fit it in!
The subreddit r/ProjectPan got its name from the makeup concept of “hitting pan” on a powdered product. When you’ve used enough blush or eyeshadow, you begin to see the tin pan the powdered product was put in, signifying that you’ve finally got your money’s worth. The “project” is to finish up all of the products you have in your possession before purchasing new ones in that same category. If you’ve got a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap, you don’t have to buy another cleaning product for almost a year (highly recommend). Project Pan is just one of the many methods folks are attempting to subdue overconsumption with. By the time most folks care, single-use plastics and other materials will litter a good portion of the planet. Project Pan is taking things in a different direction while also preserving entertainment for the sake of entertainment, not for the sake of commerce.