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: We found out about this report via coverage in Wired, which somehow fails to mention that this isn't new and that the whole concept is ridiculous. It does take a mocking tone, thankfully, with this bit:

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?

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"?

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.

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.

Filed Under: binaural beats, i-dosing, moral panic