On Digital Drugs

I recently became aware of the trend of people (generally young and, let's face it - gullible, people) who have become entranced with the concept of using digital drugs. Digital drugs are themselves really just audio tracks which use binaural audio to attempt to influence the brain of the listener to generate brainwaves which approximate various states of being intoxicated by different chemicals.

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First I would like to say that after some research into the matter that there may be some genuine influence on the brain by binaural audio frequencies and they have given birth to an efflorescence of meditation and self-help audio production companies who are making a lot of money out of it. There does appear to be some solid research behind the science here but the general use of such audio is as a relaxation tool through influencing the listener's brain waves to adopt certain frequencies. The testimonials on the websites marketing these audio CDs are sparkling and complimentary but I guess who would really want to include a bad review when trying to sell a product. I find the concept and the explanation of the science if not compelling, at least plausible. I don't want to advertise for these companies but if you simply Google search for brainwave entrainment or binaural audio you should find plenty of information.

I find it quite entertaining to read of the shock and horror that parents and teachers develop when they discover that their children have been "using" digital drugs.

I gave the digital drugs a whirl, expecting (actually - I really wished it would work) all manner of hallucination, altered states of consciousness and anaesthesia but all I got was a headache from the noise. It turns out that many of the sounds for different "drugs" are duplicated such that your digital high "crack" may be the same as both "caffeine" and "marijuana" - the thin facade of credibility begins to crack at this point. Larger cracks appear when the commercial basis for the i-Doser product is based on a use-once principle where digital drugs need to be bought again and again to work in the supplied software although it is a simple audio file which is exactly the same in each instance. The final sledgehammer which knocks over the crumbling masonry of i-Doser credibility is that if you go to their website you will see that as well as selling a legal, digital solution to your drug-taking requirements, they are also displaying links and images advertising online proprietors of cannabis, hashish and anonymous but suspicious-looking pills.

The software and audio used to generate these audio experiences is in fact a bodgy copy of the freeware software sbagen. Nothing says "successful commercial enterprise" quite like "I stole the idea and the implementation from someone else."

It seems that this is not the first (nor the last) ever devised commercial method to fleece adolescents and children through selling them dreams and emptiness. So many fads and trends are completely commercial entities that youngsters so often become involved with through their need to belong and express themselves and perhaps a nascent or wishful rebelliousness. The whole concept of getting high and taking drugs without actually taking the drugs means that these kids feel they can participate in the risky chemical counter-culture without actually risking anything. The effects of binaural audio may be in some respect genuine but I suspect that the dramatic accounts of so many digitally drug-addled teenagers are the sum total of some very deep and prolonged wishful thinking. If I were to listen to the digitally recorded and binaurally altered sounds of a large overweight man snoring after having been told by my peers and scientifically-proven website specifications that this would induce and LSD-like trip, then it is within the power of the human mind to create just such a trip.

I would first have said that as an alternative to having your child experimenting with real chemicals and drugs that digital drugs would make a safer alternative. However, other than that these youngsters are obviously being easily fleeced of their money - I suspect that as a social entity, digital drugs will cause some problems akin to real drugs due to teenager's deep desires to mimic their knowledge of real-world drug experiences and lifestyles. This itself may lead the gullible to investigate the real-life methamphetamine that they have only previously listened to and let me tell you, I think the consequences could be tragic. Attempting to outlaw digital drugs would be a legal nightmare perhaps not entirely beyond the puritan social control of elements of some countries but it would, ironically, lead to a black market in these audio placebos.

Ultimately, if you want to have a genuine drug experience you will need to take genuine drugs. If you want a safe non-medicated way to alter your consciousness I suggest meditation. I once heard a story about someone who had cut a small pattern off the back of playing cards and sold it to someone else as an LSD trip. A fine act of deceptive scamming if you ask me but the punchline is that the person who had bought this consciousness-altering placebo then came back later attempting to purchase more of these fake trips. If you really believe something will change your experience it will and the moral of this fact is that you don't need the drugs in the first place, digital or otherwise.