Borax, glue, and water. Mix all of these ingredients together and you have the new obsession. These synthetic materials create a thick putty-like substance that is getting thousands of views on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
Aside from the recent popularity of these videos, parents are beginning to worry for their children’s health as kids begin to create homemade putty themselves. A mother whose 12-year-old daughter became very ill after making and playing with homemade slime and is warning other parents about the dangers of this popular activity.
Borax is one of the main ingredients that gives the mile its squishy texture. “I don’t think it will make children sick unless they eat it,” Maggie May (’19) said.
In 2007 a user named “Okaywhatever” posted a thread titled “Weird sensation feels good,” on YouTube and it immediately attracted hundreds. The content of these videos displayed a clear and consistent description of autonomous sensory meridian response accounts (ASMR) which still accurately describes ASMR today.
Over the past months more and more people are creating ASMR videos of hands playing with putty and mixing different things into the putty.
Although most don’t know who is behind the camera, the purpose of these relaxing sensations is simply to please the eyes and ears. “It’s pretty satisfying seeing all the decorations that people put into them,” Caroline Gutberlet (’18) said. It’s very interesting and fun.”
For those who watch these videos on a daily basis, they know there isn’t just one kind of slime. “There’s fluffy slime, there’s butter slime, there’s glossy slime, and you can mix slime with clay.” Mackenzie Martin (’18) said. “It’s really relaxing and it relieves stress.”
For some these videos or more than just something to scroll past on Instagram. “I haven’t bought any of the slime that has been trending on Instagram, but I can easily see how stressed students would find it useful to relieve some of their stress,” Ben Reott (’17) said.
“It sounds like someone sticking their finger in mac & cheese,” Anna Nash (’18) said. As one person spends half of a day with their eyes glued to these videos, another is gagging at the thought of it. “They’re gross!” Nash said.
While some can not wrap their minds around the fact that people are getting thousands of followers for these videos, people are beginning to make profit off of selling slime. “I don’t think they should make money for the videos, but if they have their own Etsy shop, they should be able to sell online,” Gutberlet said. If all you need are three simple and cheap ingredients then “you can make it yourself,” Nash (’18) said.
Maggie May (’19) makes and sells slime through her Etsy account and promotes her slime through social media. “I use Etsy and I put the link in my bio and I post videos of the slime I make,” she said.