Schizophrenia Is The New Ad Gimmick - this is really scary stuff!

[BridgeTheGap]

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The Future: Schizophrenia Is The New Ad Gimmick
Walking westward on Prince St. between Mulberry and Mott Streets, I heard a woman's voice in my head whispering, "Who's there? Who's there?" Not like I "heard" a woman's voice like when I wear flared jeans with skinny shoes and I "hear" a woman's voice in my head say, "Wait, you've got to be kidding?" but like an actual woman's voice in my head. This usually means I've had a psychotic break.

But! Then I noticed that, above a billboard for some A&E show called Paranormal State were some speakers that looked like hypersonic sound beams, a device which uses your skull as a speaker—that is, it transmits soundwaves that resonate against whatever surface they hit.

So when they hit your head, it sounds like the call is coming from the inside the brain-house.

The billboard says 73% of Americans believe and I'm assuming that that means 73% of Americans believe in ghosts. So if that's true, why try to convert the skeptical/not crazy 27% by beaming voices into their heads? That's just greedy. Also it leads to a lingering sense of serious mental violation. How soon will it be until in addition to the Do Not Call list, we'll have a Do Not Beam Commercial Messages Into My Head list?

http://gawker.com/news/the-future/schizophrenia-is-the-new-ad-gimmick-329133.php

[DaveJ]

1. It's all about control

Big business will do whatever they can to control every moment of our lives. This type of thing needs to be legislated otherwise it won't stop there.

[nebenaube]

2. gee, I was called a tin-foiler when I first described that technology!

A bit more credence to electronic harrasement claims now perhaps?

[JuniperLea]

6. We may actually have to don tinfoil hats...

To remain free of this intrusion!

[groovedaddy]

3. Is this legal?

Way too invasive. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[JuniperLea]

5. I hope you are right...

I think it's a mean trick, and could cause someone serious harm... especially if they are a functioning schizophrenic! Very, very mean. This makes me sick I'm so angry!

[JuniperLea]

4. That's mean!

What if someone who is actually schizophrenic hears that?? So very, very mean.

[BridgeTheGap]

7. I wonder if any has contacted A&E on this?

I'm interested in how they are justifying this stuff.

[DaveJ]

8. It's really kind of neat -- but there needs to be warning

...before such ads like this are used, I believe there should be advertising free districts, the same as business vs residential districts, except even more restrictive. It's really just getting out of hand.

[groovedaddy]

9. If someone already has Schizophrenia, I can't imagine

what something like this would do to them. I'm sure that at a bare minimum, they'd be seeking an adjustment in their medication!

[Djinn]

10. the author of the piece

and a few responses to this demonstrate that there is still an enormous misunderstanding of Schizophrenia in the wider community - the whole "hearing voices in my head" view is incredibly narrow and in many many cases outright wrong.

Whilst hallucinations in some form effect 70 per cent of people who experience psychotic illnesses, auditory hallucinations only occur in roughly half the cases of Schizophrenia and in many of those it's not a case of "hearing another persons voice" per se.

On the actual topic though - this truly sucks. Surely you should be able to expect your thoughts not to be so intrusively assaulted.

[Quantess]

11. This is really bizarre.

And invasive.