Digital drugs: Real threat or implied danger?
Coined i-dosing, the latest Internet craze is the use of MP3 files to get a drug-like high. Using a binaural (two-tone) audio file, listening to a droning sound for 10 minutes in a sleep-like state will supposedly "trick" the brain into a state of ecstasy. A free sample, Gates of Hades, is available on YouTube and there are different files to replicate the feeling of using marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote.
Binaural MP3s are nothing new. In fact, you can get several iPhone applications that promise a better sex drive simply by listening to an audio file daily. But does i-dosing really work? While there are YouTube videos "proving" that it does (see below), when I tried it all I ended up with was irritation that I'd wasted a good 10 minutes of my life. During a News 9 interview, Mark Woodward (video above), spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, also said that it does not work with everyone (unlike real drugs). The may concern is that this might be the channel for impressionable teens to try illegal substances.
Could it be that i-dosing affects just a small population, much like how those susceptible to epilepsy cannot play games with flashing lights? If that is the case, then for some people it might result in real physical harm. We've intentionally left out the link to the free trial as we do not wish to encourage i-dosing.
Via Wired
About the author
Tracking laptop and PC trends since 2005, Darius Chang may have been knee deep in bits and bytes but is certainly not a binary person. Under that big and soft exterior holds a marshmallow core which dotes on his god-daughters and nephew. Suspected of ADD, his interests span disparate fields such as sustainability studies, diving, sports, politics, etc. A true jack of all trades, but master of one (maybe two).
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