What is 'i-dosing'?

Is it possible to get high... on noise? According to Oklahoma authorities, internet-savvy teenagers have been doing exactly that with the use of a specially-engineered droning "music" that, when listened to with headphones, can allegedly alter the brain to produce a "state of ecstasy" similar to the high from marijuana or even LSD. The audio tracks — knowns as "i-doses" — can be purchased online as Mp3 files or downloaded through a custom iPhone application. Do parents and authorities have legitimate cause for concern? "I-dosing sounds like a load of bologna to me," says Annika Harris in The Frisky. After listening to one of the tracks, "the only feeling I felt was annoyance." Don't discount the phenomenon just yet, says Ryan Singel in Wired. After watching some of the dozens of YouTube videos of people i-dosing, I am "stunned and have hundreds of questions." For starters: "Is the iPod the bong of the future?" Listen to a short sample of an "i-dose" track:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up