I-Dosing: Are Miami Kids Getting High on Their iPods? (Answer: No They Aren't)

​Can specially designed ambient music trick high-chasing teens into a drug-like zen state? Probably not.

Can this Miami Herald article trick you into think you're reading about something fascinating until you realize it's ultimately about nothing? Probably.

Today the Herald gets to the bottom of I-Doser, a website that sells "binaural brainwave audio doses that powerfully alter your mood." Basically, drugs in MP3 format.

"Some parents -- and at least one Oklahoma school system -- worry that downloading these sounds could be a teen's first step toward physical drugs," writes the Herald. Uh oh!

I-Doser claims to use binaural beats to alter you mood while mixing them with ambient music. Tons of kids have posted videos on YouTube of them purporting to get "high" off the music.

Let's remember though, teens can find a bottle of Smirnoff Ice in their mom's fridge, split it between two of them, and think they're, "like, oh my god, sooooo drunk." There's basically nothing to be alarmed about.

Parents interviewed by the Herald can't even seem to muster much outrage about the trend.

"It may not do any harm; it's just one more thing to worry about," is all the panic one anonymous mom can muster.

Meanwhile, scientists say there's little evidence the music actually gets you high, but some warn that it may be a red-flag that your kid is desperate enough to get high.

Honestly kids, if you want to get high with ambient music do it right: wait until college, steal some Brian Eno albums from the campus radio station, and buy some weed from that shady RA three floors down. Jeez, kids today....


[Herald: Can digital I-Doser sounds mimic the effect of drugs? via Gawker]