Time For Another Technology Moral Panic? Digital Drugs! Be Afraid!

from the thank-you-USA-Today dept

USA Today got us talking about the concept of technology moral panics with their fear mongering article about predators using game consoles -- and now it's back with a big warning about "digital drugs" in a column by Kim Komando. It's actually just an article about binaural beats, which are hardly new. And, yes, there are those who believe that there are certain binaural beats that can have an effect like drugs, though there are many who believe the impact is mostly self-created.

However, while the article briefly points out that some are skeptical, it immediately moves on to suggest that even so, binaural beats are somehow dangerous as a sort of gateway drug, claiming that they "encourage drug use." Of course, the article doesn't present any evidence of that -- and you could just as easily argue the opposite: that they offer a non-chemical way for people to experience other states of consciousness (if it works, that is). If Komando believes that this somehow encourages drug use, then does she also believe that meditation is encouraging drug use? After all, doesn't that also push people to experience other states of consciousness?

But, of course, when it comes to creating a technology moral panic, all you need is a bunch of scary sounding claims in a major newspaper... and then you just wait for politicians to take over. How long until someone somewhere proposes banning these dangerous sounds?

Filed Under: binaural audio, digital drugs, moral panic, technopanic