London, July 21 (IANS) They put on their headphones, drape a hood over their head and drift off into the world of ‘digital highs’.
Videos posted on YouTube show a young girl freaking out and leaping up in fear, a teenager shaking violently and a young boy in extreme distress.
This is the world of ‘I-Dosing’, the new craze sweeping the Internet in which teenagers use so-called ‘digital drugs’ to change their brains in the same way as real-life narcotics, reports the Daily Mail.
They believe the repetitive drone-like music will give them a ‘high’ that takes them out of reality, only legally available and downloadable on the internet.
The craze has so far been popular among teenagers in the US but given how easily available the videos are, it is just a matter of time before it catches on in Britain.
Those who come up with the ‘doses’ claim different tracks mimic different sensations you can feel by taking drugs such as Ecstasy or smoking cannabis.
The reactions have been partially sceptical but some songs have become wildly popular, receiving nearly half a million hits on YouTube.
But there has been such alarm in the US that the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs has issued a warning to children not to do it.
‘Kids are going to flock to these sites just to see what it is about and it can lead them to other places,’ Oklahoma Bureau spokesman Mark Woodward said.
He added that parental awareness is key to preventing future problems, since I-dosing could indicate a willingness to experiment with drugs.
