Silent Vloggers: Making Noise in this New Era

I cannot speak for everyone, but I think it is safe to say that we all are obsessed with watching people have jet-setting lifestyles on Youtube or any other social media app. We sit with our phones in our hands, scrolling seemingly endlessly, watching people’s life unfold before our eyes, as we sit on our couch or bed hoping for life to be the same as theirs.

Then the pandemic hit.

All of a sudden, we are stuck in our homes with almost nothing to do, but to do the same, this time – watching people who film their home life and hobbies. Along with the rise of the term ‘cottage-core’, silent vloggers seem to have started to take center stage.

What is a ‘Silent Vlog’?

I have recently been so obsessed with these types of vlogs on Youtube where the person barely – or not at all – talks and preferably just shows us what he/she is doing with natural sound and light background music. The video activities range from household chores to hobbies like painting, sewing, knitting, and even tech hauls. Apparently, these videos which are now dubbed as ‘silent vlogs’ are not new to South East Asian countries, mainly from Japan and Korea. Without showing their faces or talking to the camera, people in these areas have been doing this for at least a decade already- and now, it’s all over the world.

These differ from videos dubbed as “ASMR” where people touch and fiddle with things close to the mic with no background music. Silent vlogs seemed to have the same effect, though, as viewership of these kinds of videos increased during the pandemic presumably due to the urge to escape from the anxiety-ridden reality and to identify oneself with an online stranger showcasing their aesthetic and comforting life in isolation. ¹

Silent Vloggers

Here are some of my favorite silent vloggers, who surprisingly only started a couple (or three) years ago and have already gathered millions of subscribers.

Choki – https://www.youtube.com/@Choki/

Her 86m2 – https://www.youtube.com/@Her86m2/

냥숲nyangsoop – https://www.youtube.com/@nyangsoop

해그린달 haegreendal – https://www.youtube.com/@haegreendal/

miku / 未来 – https://www.youtube.com/@vlogbymiku

sueddu – https://www.youtube.com/@sueddu

NIKO LIFE – https://www.youtube.com/@nikolifework/

em iffy – https://www.youtube.com/@emiffy64

하루그린harugreen – https://www.youtube.com/@harugreen

nekoniwa – https://www.youtube.com/@nekoniwa3

Gayyam Ben – https://www.youtube.com/@gayyembenph

YR Studio – https://www.youtube.com/@AdrianaYRstudio