Child Security Experts Ask Twitch To Take Firm Action Against Disturbing ASMR Content

A lot of ASMR content is teasing users on Twitch. (photo: dock. Twitch)

Twitch, a popular gaming platform, has been advised by online child safety experts to eradicate a new wave of content involving porn stars whovert their microphones and tease with a bra.

Twitch, which is mostly used to watch videos of other people playing games, where 31 million Americans enter every month, a quarter of whom are 16 to 24 years old.

But now, content creators are increasingly appearing on this platform in the hope of getting viewers for alternative and more explicit content. Instead of playing video games and e-sports, a disexualized 'ear-clicking' live-stream, where women dress up minimally

This content is categorized as an 'ASMR' (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) or an autonomous meridian sensory response, a sensation of tingling throughout the body is usually triggered by sounds such as whispers, tapping, or brushing. Videos marked as ASMR attract millions of viewers, with hundreds of streams available on the platform.

Critics, such as child and parent safety organizations, say that Twitch is endangering children by exposing them to 'inappropriate' and'sexual' content at an early age.

Explicit videos posted on this platform with titles like 'Patuhi Your Queen!' and 'comfortable girlfriend middles' show women dressed in minimal clothes while performing tempting moves on the microphone, some of which are in the form of human ears.

Their profiles connect to OnlyFans and Patreon accounts a well-known website for adult content with subscription fees ranging from just US$3.50 (Rp55 thousand) per month. The video there has a title like 'I'M going to HIT YOU.ILL' and 'let the waiter satisfy you'.

Encouraging Twitch to clean up their platform, a spokesman from online childsecurity organization Bark US which gives Twitch two out of five stars for child safety to say they are 'not fans' of this platform content.

"Overall, the potential for toxic interactions on Twitch is too high and not comparable to the benefits of watching video games, no matter how much fun it is," they said, quoted by MailOnline.

Apart from the violent video games that may streamers play on Twitch (many), the main danger to children is inappropriate content.

They added, 'Sad words, sexual content, demeaning words, and more can appear both in text chats on screen and verbally by streamers'.

Bark US also offers paid platforms to help parents stop their children from visiting potentially harmful websites online.

The NSPCC 'childsecurity organization in the UK' is also concerned about Twitch, warning that no security arrangements stop children and adolescents from accessing certain channels or chats.

ASMR is a term created by cybersecurity expert Jennifer Allen in 2010 and has since spread rapidly online.

ASMR users claim the sensation of susceptibility associated with the trigger can stimulate relaxation, reduce stress, and increase focus despite little scientific evidence in favor of the claim. In 2019, only ten studies of this practice have been carried out.

But on Twitch, this term appears to have been adopted to mean women eat the ear-shaped microphone while wearing very minimal clothing.

One of the top creators, who uses SharonQueen's username and has more than 500,000 followers, posts daily videos with titles such as 'compliance with your Queen!' and 'look into my eyes!'.

Clicking the link on his profile reveals another link link connecting to his OnlyFans and Patreon accounts with a title surrounded by a streamy water emoji to show explicit content.

Transferring from Twitch to his Patreon profile via the third website reveal a video with a title like 'already all?', 'Give you the sexiest kiss you can give, wait' and 'I'll HIT YOU.ILL'.

Another maker named AkuASMR who has the same number of followers, posted a video in which he only wears a sports bra and shorts and dresses up as a character including Asuna, a gym leader in Pokemon, and minimally cladows.

Visits to his profile also reveal links to websites that direct users to two OnlyFans accounts, one of which is free and Patreon accounts where users can pay as much as 3.50 US dollars per month to subscribe to their content.

The third user, who goes by the name FozenKin, also posted an explicit video showing his boss and bra rend. The video is entitled 'come and enjoy your love for your heart' and 'time for a goosebumps braingasm'.

Comments on explicit videos include 'it feels great, friends', 'cheat like you' and 'enjoy your stupid rest'.

On its website, Twitch which is owned by Amazon says users should be at least 13 years old to use its platform. They also say that those aged 13 to 18 may only use their website under the supervision of their parents or guardians.