Losing your focus during you study time or feeling exhausted or just wanting to have that extra edge above the rest. Then al you need is smart drugs a new trend that started to raise in 2015. Where once you had to go to illegal ways. Now you can simply order them on the internet on site’s like Onnit and OptiMind.
Using drugs to improve your concentration or keeping you awake. Has been happening for along time already. It isn’t unknown to know a student using drugs for an all-nighter. [1] Most of these drugs are used to cure metal illnesses like ADHD or Parkinson. And most people have heard about Wall Street bankers/investors using cocaine to crack those numbers in the night. But all in all this are illegal ways.
But suddenly somewhere in 2015 smart drugs (nootropics) started flooding the market and the strange thing is you can order these on the Internet. Just as easily as you would order a movie or a book.
Smart drugs is a recent Micro Trend. [2] That comes from the increase pressure on students. In the recent years the expections for students to do well on their examinations as well as academically has been increasing. Because of this students are looking for different ways to improve their performance and lighten the pressure that’s resting on their shoulders. Ritalin and Provigil are popular and have been around for a long time. But now company’s are trying to fill the gaps whit their “mind enhancing ” drugs.
What is the life cycle of this Micro trend. Its hard to pinpoint where this trend came from. On one hand drugs as been used to enhance yourself for a long time but only in the recent years it started to become mainstream. Things like Alpha Brain and Optimind. Drugs you can simply buy on the internet even famous youtubers are promoting it. Trough one of these youtubers I came to know of the existence of smart drugs and I was quite shocked to hear them manage it so casually. It surprised me even more that you could buy it whit a single click on the internet.
I don’t know how long this trend will last. Maybe it just the pressure students are in these days and as soon as the dies down the demand for smart drugs diminish as well. Or I could continue to grow as humans are always looking for ways to improve themselves and that the people who don’t use are weird ones. [3] But one thing is clear Smart drugs are right now a trend among us. And when the students are going to work they can very well bring the trend whit them to office.
It a trend for people to improve themselves these days. Eating healthy food exercise Is increasing in popular. So why not use drugs to improve the mind as well can you agree whit this trend or do you think this is going to far. I mean we are all looking down on people who use doping in top sport so why should we allow people to do it in thier everyday lives.
Hidde Pluim
Zand, B. (n.d.). My ‘smart drugs’ nightmare. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35091574
[1] Nootropic. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic
[2] Tomorrow’s Pharmacist22 JUL 2010By Sadia Naeem Sadia NaeemCorresponding AuthorBlogger. (n.d.). Enhanced intelligence: The rising use of. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/comment/enhanced-intelligence-the-rising-use-of-smart-drugs-among-students/11017908.article
@. (2016). De 5 Most Popular Smart Drugs – Which One is Best? Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://nootriment.com/nl/smart-drugs
[3] @. (2016). Like It or Not,. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://hbr.org/2016/05/like-it-or-not-smart-drugs-are-coming-to-the-office
Trends and Brands block A 16-17 
Reaction Evaline Vlaanderen
Question: So why not use drugs to improve the mind as well can you agree whit this trend or do you think this is going to far.
I think smart drugs or drugs at all will always be controversial. The way we look at doping in sports already shows us that the use of drugs is not seen as something accepted. Using drugs can give you an advantage during work, school, sport or other things.
There are reports of Modafinil being popular in Silicon Valley, with technical workers using it to work twenty-hour days. Drugs are also popular among gamers in gaming competitions, but organizers are now instituting anti-doping measures.(Big Think, september 2016)
The fact that this trend causes that organizers of sport / gaming events are banning drugs says that the smart drug trend is getting bigger and that people are not accepting it all togehter. I think in the future even schools may form their opinion about smart drugs.
I think the use of (smart) drugs has to do with morals, is it fair to use them? What if it is making you a better person, or if you can help people by taking them. But if you have more money than others and thus can afford to enhance your performances by using drugs is it still fair? A significant percentage of professionals use them already and many more could in the future, when the drugs are improved.
Intern devices that can enhance your hearing or sight are also an upcoming trend. Would implanting devices in your body be considered cheating too or would that be considered different?
Reference list:
Paul Ratner, Big Think, (September 2016) Should You Take “Smart Drugs” to Boost Brain Functions?
Found on:
http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/should-you-take-smart-drugs-to-boost-brain-functions
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I agree with Evaline words about smart drugs always will be seen as controversial, and doping in sports is a good example of that.
But the acceptance of smart drugs is still a difficult question. If you think about it we already have substances like caffein and nicotin which can be compared to smart drugs in the way they improve brain’s ability. And neither would ever be seen as a way of cheating or a controvercial way of improving your abilities at work/ in school. In one way smart drugs could be seen as the same thing right? Only that it gives a long lasting effect compared to caffein and nicotin. But on the other hand I myself have a hard time accepting the trend of smart drugs.. and maybe that’s because I’m not familiar with it. In Sweden it’s not common and I wouldn’t consider it a trend there.
If this trend will rise I think there have to be alot of improvement of the drugs before the use of them can be more accepted. It also has to be better controlled, as the purchase over internet could be risky. But I guess I will always feel sceptical to chemical drugs and the fact of using a substance to improve my cognitive ability with a long lasting effect. I would rather use natural substances that can be found in food; for example supplements as Omega 3, Vitamin D and Reservatrol. I guess those aren’t éven seen as smart drugs.. but they have all shown to be successful for sharpen the cognitive ability. And if your body lacks any of these it’s possible to feel tired, with a hard time to concentrate and memorize information (Elixir, 2016).
It is interesting to compare smart drugs to implanted devices of the future. But I don’t see that as cheating in the way it is used today, as it’s just common for those who have for example hearing or seeing difficulties. But who knows what can be implanted, and how those devices can be used in future..? I guess even in this case it can become a question of money, as Evaline mentioned about the smart drugs in her comment above.
Another question I got while reading this was: how much of the effect in smart drugs is really placebo?
Reference list:
Elixir. (2016) Smart drugs. Retrieved 2016-09-19, from
http://www.elixir.nu/nootroper/
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So why not use drugs to improve the mind as well can you agree whit this trend or do you think this is going to far.
I think about dopping in sports when i think about smart drugs. But I also think, if that is what works for you it is your choice. But I think if there are people using these kind of drugs it really needs some developing. I don’t think it has a good effect on the health of the people using the smart drugs.
I think Emma is right on the thing about vitameines and omega3. Using this isn’t harmfull and way more healthy. I think this will by another even better way to study better.
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It scared me at first when I found out friends of mine used these ‘Smart drugs’ to increase their focus during studying. People even personally offered me these kind of drugs. But now that I have been aware of the use of it, I automatically became more tolerant. I think that this was formed by the thought “If so many people I know use it, it can’t be that bad right?” I do however think that using any kind of drugs won’t get normalised in our society in the near future. This state is formed by reactions of my friends when they found out another friend used smart drugs frequently. They were all very worried and concerned, and tried to talk her out of using them again.
I think that in order for smart drugs to get accepted, a lot of research would have to be done. There isn’t a lot certified information available on the long term effects of using these drugs when they’re not prescribed to you. And that is why I think it is very alarming that more and more students started to use these drugs. They sell them to each other without being aware of it’s side effects and dangers. These effects can very from nervousness to headaches and insomnia. (Prins, S. 2015)
I do indeed think this trend is part of the self improvement trend. But I personally don’t feel like using these drugs is the way to go at all. Substances in these drugs could trigger addiction because they intervenes in the reward center of the brains and especially in higher doses can cause an euphoric feeling. And by habitation you’ll soon need more to achieve the same effect. (Olivier, B. 2015) I do feel like this is a micro trend that will continue to grow for now, and be a subject that will receive more public attention in the future. Then it will indeed be necessary to discuss if students using them is fair because these students will have an advantage on the other students. Maybe then students will even be forced to take drugs tests at the start of their exams, in the same way that sporters are tested on the use of doping.
Prins, S. (2016) Ritalin als concentratie booster: ‘Drink liever een espresso’. Retrieved from: http://www.parool.nl/binnenland/ritalin-als-concentratiebooster-drink-liever-een-espresso~a4011469/
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