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Oh No! Run And Hide! Kids Getting High With MP3s! Moral Panic! Moral Panic!
from the not-this-again dept
Two years ago we mocked a silly USA Today report "warning" parents about "digital drugs." It was really about binaural beats, which are nothing new, and aren't digital drugs at all. But it has all the typical elements of a moral panic. And what's the best way to fan the flames of a moral panic? Concerned local news broadcasters. Enter Kansas Oklahoma News 9, reporting on the new fear: "i-dosing." I bet many of you can predict much of the script of this news report before watching it:
Will future presidential candidates defend their i-dosing past by saying, "But I had it on mute"? Are we supposed to declare a war on cyberdrugs or a cyberwar on cyberdrugs? How will police know if a teen is with headphones on is i-dosing or just listening to Justin Bieber? Is the iPod the bong of the future? What would happen if some ne'er-do-well took over the console of the Super Bowl and dosed the entire country? What if kids smoked dried banana peels and listened to these trippy tunes at the same time -- could they OD? What happens if someone sells a tainted MP3?Of course, it appears that the TV news report first came out of a local newspaper report, where it quotes concerned anti-drug folks who say that it's a bad, bad thing even if the bogus "digital drugs" don't work. You see, if they don't work, that only gives more reasons for kids to try real drugs. Or something.
Perhaps most importantly, what will happen if the kids move onto harder stuff like Steve Reich, Philip Glass or even Janet Cardiff's installation, "The Killing Machine"?
Kids disappointed in their digital experience might try huffing paint or another chemical, or smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol, Forrest-Perkins said.But, of course, all it takes is one moral panic to set off other moral panics in other places. A blogger for another newspaper points out that the lack of evidence that binaural beats do anything should make you worried. Seriously.
I'd say what's more worrying is having reporters claim that a lack of evidence on something is reason to fear it.
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Reader Comments (rss)
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Binaural beats
(A moral panic about smoking beetroot actually makes more sense than "i-dosing".)
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Excuses
Seriously, this is transparent. It's an aside to ACTA. It'll be "we didn't find any 'drug' mp3s but you don't have a license for 75 of these songs, here's a fine for $1,125,000; and you'll need to pay it to the Recording Industry not the courts. Have a nice day.
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degenerate jungle beats
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ACTA will never pass
as to panic ya ok this affects the morons that listen to it
let them panic there kids are prolly the worst drugs addicts of all anyways
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Re: Excuses
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http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/07/15/166220/Sound-As-the-New-Illegal-Narcotic
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Media
They're idiots that don't have the necessary grey matter to not publish crap like this.
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Anyone else noticed...
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Speechless
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Dead Milkmen
Smokin' banana peels, see how it feels
Living is easy with ice cubes
The world is swimmin' with electric eels
Talk seriously to me brother
Smokin' banana peels, savin' the seals
There are four me's living all together
Got to keep an even keel
You've got to take life serially
Smokin' banana peels in between meals
I was all pumped up about the iron
Let's all pray get down and kneel
Smokin' banana peels sound like this
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Oh, for cryin' out loud
I bet Neil Stephenson is regretting Snow Crash at this point.
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Re: Binaural beats
*Puts on sunglasses*
....beets all the others.
YYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! We won't get fooled again!
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blog
"There is documentation of just how influencial and potentially dangerous certain musical tones can be. Infact, some ancient cultures used similar types of tones and music to reach similar trance-like altered states of hypnosis inorder to hallucinate... In many of those cases actual drugs were used... Coincidentally, promoters of i-dosing encourage the use of drugs in addition to the music to enhance it's effect. Since I know that such dangers are possible through certain types of music, I am careful with my choice of music inorder to avoid them."
In other words, certain kinds of music plus hallucinogens can make you hallucinate, so watch out for that music!
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but but but
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Re:
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Welcome to the 'party' Kansas
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Re: Binaural beats
See this is why I read the comments here. Now I know I can feel good and reduce the risk of heart disease at the same time. A long lived moral panic is the very best kind.
Now just how do I prep this smoked beetroot, chorizo and liver salad...
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Re: Re: Binaural beats
We need to get to the ...root of the problem
*ba dum psh!*
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Re: Dead Milkmen
Now I can go sit down with my Methodist Coloring Book and relax.
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Fffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu
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Re:
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"i support cracking down on digital drugs!!!"
while i am commenting, i am also taking a hit on my bong.
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Re: Re:
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Re: Re: Re:
Did you have to phrase it like that?
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Re: blog (Nasch)
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Re: Welcome to the 'party' Kansas
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Re: Re: Welcome to the 'party' Kansas
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Re: Re:
Oh wait, I have a better one "President Obama elected to do Corporate Americas bidding" ... wait that ones true never mind .. ;)
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Re: blog
Like the brown note?
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I tried out multiple audio files and its just high pitched noise. Of course I didn't actually pay for anything which kind of invalidates my testing because I could have been listening to low quality stuff.
The real story here is that these kids are getting ripped off. Google I-Dose and go to their shop. Some of their "doses" go for $200 bucks! Yeah... beyond ridiculous
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Re: Re:
It used to be that people would complain that too many articles were about copyright.
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Copyright?
Protect out intellectual property! Save the child...DIV/0#ERROR...
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Genius marketing
2. Put up a cheap web site, mark as 18+ only.
3. Pay some kids in pizza and beer to make some vids for youtube.
4. Get some ignorant folks to put it on the news.
5. Make money out the wazzo!
These folks are making money without a record company contract or the RIAA! All the rest of this article is just marketing BS.
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Did anyone notice...
But as for this video, this reminds me of the South Park episode about "cheesing" off cat urine.
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Psychology Today
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