I feel like the most basic bitch because I've been watching a ton of youtube shorts which are basically just glorified ads for slime shops
They are vids that are like "slime asmr" or "let's rate these slime scoops" (where they try to scoop the slime with an ice cream scoop)
Idk why but I find these... calming??? When I'm super stressed I watch a few of these and I feel a little bit calmer. I actually like the look of some of these fancy slimes (snowfizz in particular just looks so soft!) but I would never consider buying any of these myself because I don't like the wetness of how slimes feel.
Ooooo- I've never actually made slime before- and yay!! I'll gladly come with you!!
(I also fully relate to the tags since my brain does the exact same thing-)
:O really??? NICO. LETS GO. I will make slime with you !!! It's so fun and I know all the textures !!! Crunchy, Water, Jiggly, Glossy, Thick, Normal/basic, Metallic, Jelly, Snowfizz, Butter, Snow, Icee, glitter, AND THEN SOME :D I've been passionate about slime since I was likeee... 7-ish ^^ ALSO.. AWH :O DONT WORRY CLEM IM ON THE WAY RN !!! NOT ACTUALLY BECAUSE I HAVE NO TRANSPORTATION AND MY SISTER WOULD KILL ME (/j) IF I TRIED TO TRAVEL ALONE BUT ITS FINE !!! ON THE WAY DONT EVEN WORRY ABOUT IT
(SNEJJE Thank god- It's actually so hard for my brain to remember stuff and I can't explain it to anyone, you quite literally have to hammer it into my head unless it's something I'm 100% interested in- I'm pretty sure all the dsmp lore took up most of my brain space -'-)
Slime is such an interesting microcosm of abundance. The first play slime that I know of is play dough, which is made using flour and water and salt and sometimes food dye to simulate dough. This lets kids play with dough without jeopardizing the bread for a meal. It's a good texture!
Next, there's oobleck, which is a cornstarch and water slurry. It has interesting properties, acting as a solid when struck and a liquid when held. This toy exists not only as a simulacra of dough, but as a substance in its own right.
Next up we have school glue slimes, which are texturally in between those two substances. They are not made of edible substances, and are used in sensory play. They became more popular with the rise of parenting blogs offering after school "life-hack" style content, but existed much earlier.
Then we have school glue slimes (originally another semi-educational, do-it-yourself home craft) as popularized online, targeted not at young children but at older kids and to some extent adults: enter themed and scented slimes.
Slimes made by professionals and companies now almost universally include some kind of theme, scent, or textural gimmick to differentiate them. These gimmicks are usually the ones that work visually and to some extent on an audio level because "slime asmr" is another way slimes are marketed. Slime videos have their own lingo to describe sounds and textures (clear slime, snowfizz slime, butter slime, bingsu bead slime, it goes on). I would hazard that slime is a subculture.
What a simple concept (kids like playing with goopy dough, possibly because they like the texture and modeling adults) which has spiralled out into a visual phenomenon of the Fabuloso-scented, and Spongebob themed wonder of modern TikTok and short form video slime.
Addendums:
1. I think slime is neat. No beef with slime or slime enjoyers.
2. I didn't cover Nickelodeons Gak or Floam, as these pre-date 2023 slime culture, and are not as influential on it, at least in my experience.
3. Slime TikTok cannot be easily separated from "small business" TikTok. Most slime content creators are trying to sell their products, or are reviewing other creators products. It's not just a subculture, it's a market. It's arguably all-ages content, and not strictly child-directed content. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be examined critically for fueling disposability consumer culture in children. I'm just not writing that right now.
4. Feel free to link slime videos you enjoy, I just don't feel compelled to do so.
So sad having a shit day with gf in hospital I just wanted to buy sliiiiime. I legit keep completely missing slime drops. I want a new snowfizz because i totally destroyed my minecraft lava slime. Also, I wanna clay kittttt. Pleaseeee it looks so satisfied
In other news. Not related to work I got my peachybbies slime in the other day. The scent isn't that great in my opinion. But what could compare to the strawberry milk scented slime. It stretches like taffy or gum. It doesn't seem to want to stretch but it won't tear as quickly as a bingsu or snowfizz slime. When I started playing with it, the cube plopped right out and fell on the floor and it definitely doesn't wanna stay in the slime. This texture doesn't hold the slime charms in place that well.