Though it’s not prevalent enough to be called a “trend,” a new type of substance abuse has made healdines in the last few months – the “digital” high. Sometimes called i-Dosing, the “digital drugs” are soun -bytes that their sellers claim simulate the effects of getting high. But do they?
Reports of digital drug abuse among U.S. youth maybe more hype than truth.
The technology behind digital drugs dates back to 1839. Prussian physicist Heinrich W. Dove discovered if two sounds are played at slightly different frequencies, one to each ear through a set of headphones, the brain would perceive a subsonic pulse called a binaural beat…
Sellers of digital drugs claim their binaural beats will produce the same effect as drugs of substance…
"Those claims are out there, but there is no science whatsoever that supports that the binaural beat, or this auditory phenomenon, will change the brain chemistry in the same way that drugs of abuse will change," says Dr. Glen Hanson. Source: KSL 5 News (Salt Lake City)
Though digital drugs themselves may not produce illicit-drug-like effects, doctors agree the primary concern is that kids are trying them. And if they’re curious enough to try digital drugs, trying the real things may be the next step.
Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton