Being Limitless: A Discursive Analysis of Online Accounts of Modafinil Use

Modafinil is a prescription-only substance in the UK for the treatment of disorders such as narcolepsy. Soldiers have also used this substance as an alternative to amphetamines in situations where they face long periods of sleep deprivation. More recently, the substance has become increasingly popular for enhancing cognitive performance, for example students taking exams. Modafinil is widely available on the Internet and is reported to carry a wide range of health risks and side effects if not taken with medical supervision. Given the tension between health risk and enhanced cognitive performance, how people talk about modafinil use becomes an important question. Drawing on discourse analysis, we focus in particular on how respondents work up accounts of their modafinil use as credible, authentic, and legitimate: a community of practice. Our analysis has clear implications for engaging (mis)use in health promotion interventions.