Device drives teens away with high-pitched screeching sound
Mosquito uses noise that only teens, young adults can hear in effort to prevent loitering, crime
Erin Conroy
The Associated Press
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News
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The sound was coming from a wall-mounted box, but not everyone can hear it. The device, called the Mosquito, is audible only to teens and young adults and was installed outside the building to drive away loiterers.
The gadget made its debut in the United States last year after infuriating civil liberties groups when it was first sold overseas. Already, almost 1,000 units have been sold in the U.S. and Canada, according to Daniel Santell, the North America importer of the device under the company name Kids Be Gone.
To Eddie, it's tormenting.
"It's horrible, loud and irritating," he said. "I have to hurry out of the building because it's so annoying. It's this screeching sound that you have to get away from, or it will drive you crazy."
The high-frequency sound has been likened to fingernails dragged across a chalkboard or a pesky mosquito buzzing in your ear. It can be heard by most people in their teens and early 20s who still have sensitive hair cells in their inner ears. Whether you can hear the noise depends on how much your hearing has deteriorated - how loud you blast your iPod, for example, could potentially affect your ability to detect it.
Civil liberties groups in England, Australia and Scotland have expressed outrage over the device. They describe it as a weapon that infringes on the rights of young people, and claim it could even have unknown long-term health effects.
The $1,500 device has also been challenged in some American cities and towns that have proposed installing it, with some criticizing the tactic as needlessly cruel.
Santell said the noise can be heard by animals and babies, but is bothersome only to children older than 12 and becomes unbearable after several minutes, making it a perfect teen-repellent. The same sound is also used as a cell phone ring tone meant to fall on the deaf ears of adults, and is a popular download on the Internet.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
J
posted 4/24/08 @ 11:06 AM EST
I think this is nothing short of ridiculous. Sure, we don't want loiterers and fights breaking out, but this seems cruel. Adults wouldn't want to hear a screeching sound everytime they went into a parking garage, and they wouldn't stand for it even if it did something useful (like cut down on the number of muggings. (Continued…)
teen
posted 4/24/08 @ 3:22 PM EST
How many adults complain about teens blasting noise - this is ridiculous plus lets emit sharp noises that target the "sensitive hairs" in an ear - but of course there is no possibility of damage at all
and I question the fact that only teenagers can hear this = do we have super hearing? I think not. (Continued…)
A Concerned Citizen
posted 4/25/08 @ 4:20 PM EST
This is a serious problem. We don't know what the health problems might be, and yet this is *actively employed* without studying the potential problems. (Continued…)
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