Teens Now Getting High Off "Digital Drugs"

Originally posted by tonypazzo
interesting... was wondering how long until this affected teens. must say i have tried them, and for the most part they did nothing. it was more of a psychosomatic affect, if you convince yourself type thing. nothing to be alarmed about. i don't see this becoming an epidemic amongst teens.

Binaural beats most certainly do affect electrical activity in the brains. If you can minimc the electrical activity that a 'real' drug produces, you can simulate it to a certain degree. That said, there is no way you can compare this technology to actual drug use. The news article is extremely misleading.

Oh, for the love of...

Seriously. There are no words for how stupid this is, so I'll skip to the solution:

STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT "THE CHILDREN."

They will be fine.

"Digital drugs" would be roughly equal to meditation. Shall we ban Hinduism, Buddhism and any meditation whatsoever?

Hell, people at church get worked up and supposedly "speak in tongues" and jump around against their will...can we ban that while we're at it? That's some mind-altering activity, after all.

Originally posted by Gorman91
It helps keep most of my mind occupied, so that I can take only the parts of my mind that I need and have no distractions. That noise distracts all my mind from looking at distractions elsewhere, and keeps it occupied, while I run on a kind of "minimum consciousness" to get the job done good.

I understand this perfectly. I had to use a similar technique when working on calculus problems, which I found incredibly tedious and rather boring. I didnt use songs, or music, but I did have to find a method by which I could "dumb down" or occupy the curious parts of my brain so that the methodical plodding portion could just plod aimlessly along.

I didnt find the music disturbing, but it also didnt produce the calm of the binaurals. It was just interesting. Curious.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


I know what you are saying. When I took calculus I had to shut down the part of my brain that in nonlinear and teach myself to go forward along the rules. I'd sometimes do really dumb things and get it wrong. Ended with a great grade in that class so It worked at least.

Yea, this music has a tendency to distract in and of myself, that is why the other one I posted was the one I posted first because it did affect my thoughts and thought patterns.

Originally posted by cheddartoes
Actually, those are pretty bunk.
I tried about 10 of em.
Just another way to scam the masses, even if they are the drug induced masses.

Granted, it clearly states that binuaral beats dont effect everybody, but Im entirely positive on the fact that you'll get higher offa the "incense" that have been in the news lately than you will offa the white noise of binuaral beats.

They are definitely bunk, the kids are probably experiencing a placebo like effect...all in their heads. I'd love for kids to start doing this than snuffing, etc. This is not dangerous at all.

Originally posted by Melen


Or, just as likely, the tests for determining IQ have been made easier. There is some precedence out there of schools "dumbing down" their tests so more kids will pass.

That is possible, and the way we test IQ is suspect, to say the least. My own varies 10 points or so depending on the test. However, IQ tests do not test exactly the same thing that SATs do, or other "acquired knowledge" curriculum tests do, so I dont know if the fact that there is some "foolery" going on in schools to keep funding can be taken as a direct link to the increase in IQ.

It certainly could be methodology though.

I just personally dont think that the fact that the younger think "different" (in the sense that they have that very quick, sort of scattered and unfocused thinking is of necessity a negative. It just seems to me it is different. I can see the drawbacks to it, in some cases, but then I can see the drawbacks to the way some older people think too. Which is "better" really seems to me to be a matter of what the circumstances you find yourself in may be.

Originally posted by Gorman91

I know what you are saying. When I took calculus I had to shut down the part of my brain that in nonlinear and teach myself to go forward along the rules.

Agreed. Calculus isnt about thinking, its about plodding through the rules almost mindlessly. Which as I see it is the opposite of thinking, really. I got the best grade in my class, but I found it incredibly difficult to make myself sit there are just "rule follow" for the period of time necessary to do the work. So boring.

Im glad I am not the only one. I always thought that perhaps if I progressed in maths further there would be something beyond the mind numbing boredom that would make it all worthwhile, and allow thinking to re-engage, but I didnt need to for my program, and while I still get tempted now and then, its hard to want to get back into the boring to find out.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


Yea. I mean that's one of the reason I went into architecture. Sure there's math involved, and you can use calculus to create beautiful structures, but you actually have to think about it. Rather than mindless rule following for a problem, you think up a shape or form, then think about what equations most simulate it, then combine it into so many forms.

About a month ago, for example, I wanted to make a space ship design (I know, what is an architect studier doing in sci fi?). I took the SSV Normandy from Mass effect and I drew 2 lines. Literally just 2 lines. One along the top of the ship, the other along a bottom part. I expanded it into maybe 6 or 5 lines or something. Then I took the shape as a cross section, and designed from just those lines, this:

img199.imageshack.us...

img685.imageshack.us...

This is probably now going off topic. Dude, look into architecture maybe. I think you'd like it. PM me if you'd like some examples of how you actually think with math in architecture.



[edit on 13-7-2010 by Gorman91]

I tried this awhile ago and it doesnt work at all. I think if you are easy manipulated you feel something, but as for me, nothing. Its a waste of time and money in my opinion.

And I had to give the Monroe Institute like 700 bucks for a few cassette tapes back in the day.

No fair

Oh puh-lease... that has to be the dumbest news story I've ever read!

If all the kids are getting off on is binaural beats, leave them to it - far far far less damaging than real drugs, I'd be over the moon if my kids got hooked on that instead!

It reminds me of one of the British tabloid newspapers' headlines when Viagra came out, and showed how little they knew about the subject - it was along the lines of "Viagra will replace Ecstasy as the new party drug!". If you've experienced both of them, you'll know what a ridiculous comparison that is to make.

And if you're tried them both together, aiyeeeee ;o)

Wow, if kids want to listen to sounds then let them. I've been listening to binaural beats for a few months now and I am more focused and a lot calmer than I used to be. I don't get any sort of high. The article is as misleading and sensationalist as it gets.

It is in no way a bad thing, nor is it about whether it works or not. While it doesn't induce any notable effects on myself and many others, it certainly does something helpful and just feels beneficial, not superficial like other methods of entrainment that the media are allowed to use while no one complains.

Worry about how much nonsense kids are watching on TV, or what they get up to when they're out of your sight, not about which musical frequencies are entering their ears.

I tried it, nothing happened except for the fact that I got ten minutes to myself when I told everyone in the house to leave me alone so I could get high.

Sounds like it was a slow news day and they want to create more paranoia for parents.

Interesting, I wonder what the world will look like......

In the year 2525 ! ..............

Originally posted by cheddartoes
Unity, I hate to say it, but people arent going to use this as an enlightenment method.
Its gonna be used by hardcore junkies lookin to get a permenant, semi-free, always accessible fix.
Or.

Oh please.... Hardcore junkies use real drugs and aren't going to waste time with this stuff. You can't curb a heroin addiction by listening to binaural recordings.

reply to post by silo13

any of you out there who've 'tried' the 'digital high'?

Yes, but equating binaural beats or chakra meditative aids with "drugs" and "getting high" seems peculiar to me. Granted, they all involve altered states of consciousness, but so does sleeping. When you sleep the state of your consciousness is altered from its waking state, yes? But would you say you're "getting high" when you sleep?

Let's remember the T&C (concerning drug related issues)

These are not drugs. Drugs are chemicals. These are not chemicals. Therefore they are not drugs.

Give up some personal experience information.

What do you want to know? How can it be explained? Try explaining what it's like to be awake and alert. That's a state of consciousness. There are others. Each state has its own character.

Look...try this:
Slouch in your chair and breath very slowly. Relax your eyes and imagine a bunny rabbit nuzzling your neck. How do you feel? Now sit up in your chair and focus on the keyboard in front of you. You weren't really thinking about the keyboard a moment ago, were you? You may have been typiong on it for hours, but you weren't really paying any attention to it. Pay attention to it now. Look at it. Examine it closely. Contemplate how intimitely you use the keyboard without paying any attention to it.

Do you feel different? Is your focus different? Is the general state of your consciousness different? Conrgatulations, you abe just engaged in mind altering actions. Does this mean you've "done drugs?" Does this mean you're a bad person now?

Simply shift of mental focus can be changed by internal focus, meditation, or external stimuli. For example, if a stranger with an axe burst through your door and starting screaming at you...I assure you your mental state would change considerably.

Listening to binaural tones and watching blinky lights is just yet one more way to change your mental state.

Can these digital 'highs' be harmful? Beneficial? If so - how?

Can meditating be helpful or harmful? Can sleep be helpful or harmful? Can zoning out while driving be helpful or harmful? If you fall asleep while driving, yeah, it could kill you. Is sleep therefore "harmful?"

State of consciousness is what it is.

I'm just here to be another one to say "tried it, epic fail". Even if people managed to somehow get high off this, I doubt the effect would reach chronic levels.

All I want to know is...since when did being "high" become illegal...is it illegal now to feel happy and blissful? What is the active chemical in a "sound trip"? You people are just pissed teens are getting "high"...


EDIT:
reply to post by LordBucket

Ah...I see you made the point I was getting at quite nicely...this method of getting "high" does not involve drug use...

[edit on 13/7/10 by CHA0S]

Originally posted by GoldenChild
Oh puh-lease... that has to be the dumbest news story I've ever read!

I really have to agree with you, and I wonder where the reporters are getting this news from. There's ZERO fact checking -- that's for sure.

I've tried binaural beats. They're interesting and I use them sometimes when I'm working on creative stuff. I can see how they'd be dj'ed into some trance dances (I also listen to that.)

But it doesn't have the same effect (or as strong an effect) as the saki I drank with dinner.

reply to post by silo13


I listened to a binaural song once, its supposed to induce a meditative state, all I got was a headache.

But I do think the panic in this article is a huge overreaction, how they can compare what is essentially a form of music to something potentially dangerous like a drug? Unless these audio files are making kids bleed from the ears or stab people I really don't see how people can object. Music, after all, is designed to alter mood and is proven to alter the pathways of the brain.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said parental awareness is key to preventing future problems, since I-dosing could indicate a willingness to experiment with drugs.

Stupid panicking parents, what's next they try to outlaw masturbation (is this a no-no word on ATS, idk)?

reply to post by cheddartoes


The white noise is cool. You are correct about unplugging the cable. But what you really need to do is look hard into the snow. An old analog black and white tv is the best for this. Turn out all the lights in the room and make sure you are on an unused channel, then gaze into the snow and after a while shapes will start to emerge.