Soothing

The internet has also made us all acutely aware of crises in the world. We're bombarded with a firehose of information every day as algorithms amplify the most inflammatory and disturbing content. There is no going back to the pre-2016 state of ignorance that many people, especially upper middle class white people, were immersed in.

Now, it feels like anything bad that happens anywhere in the world is somehow relevant to me and my responsibility. It’s like, I’m not allowed to be happy as long as someone, somewhere, is having a bad time.

Especially with global problems, it’s like, how are you allowed to smile when there’s climate change? These problems are really bad, but you

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Either way, what has been lost since the era of the human search engine is the joy of a distinct voice—while we can now find out almost anything automatically, the answer won’t be delivered with warmth or flair.

But Dr. Richard, the host of the podcast “Calm History,” said that watching a transformation that leads to a satisfying result is what can keep viewers staring at their screens.

Many commenters have said they found the videos “therapeutic,” he said. “Even though I presented in an educational format, they were using it as more of an entertainment source.”

There’s a story in The Times today about how A.S.M.R., the pleasant, brain-tingling feeling we get when hearing certain sounds or watching certain comforting scenes, has become a feature of all viral internet content, not just specialized videos devoted to inducing the sensation. You can still put on a very specific video of someone whispering into... See more