What's in the News?

Article: High Pitched Teen Repellent
"High Pitched Teen Repellent." CNNVideo. CNN.com/Tech. ITN. 12 Feb. 2008. <http://www.cnn.com/video/#/tech>


Summary: This video discussed a new technology that is becoming all the rage for small shop and business owners in England. The Mosquito, a device that can be placed outside stores, projects a high pitched squeal that is meant to be annoying to young people and, therefore, prevent loitering. In the video, various people are interviewed on their opinion of the device. All of the young people interviewed found the device's sound to be extremely annoying, if not downright painful to their ears, and some noted that the placement of the mosquito in public places was an infringment upon their rights. The adults who were spoken to noted that teenagers tend to hang around constantly and cause trouble, and so they supported the placement of the mosquito outside stores. The reporter, ITN's John Sparks, noted each of the interviewed's opinions, but, at the end of his piece wondered allowed whether a device like the mosquito is fair when every young person is subjected to its noise.


Response: The creation of a device like the mosquito is one that seems to have been in the works for a while. Various types of anti-loitering measures that are commonly taken by store owners seem to do nothing to stem the flow of teens and young adults from lingering outside of their businesses. From simple signs posted by convenience stores to the playing of loud classical music outside of malls, many businesses find that the amount of noise, trash, and disturbance created by loitering young people is not worth the amount of business that these groups may provide between their boisterous hanging around. I find it slightly humorous that the same technology that produces the "silent ringtone" for students with cell phones in school (a buzzing ringtone that usually cannot be heard by adults over the age of ~25), is likely the same basic technology that has produced this mosquito sound for adults to use against teenagers. It seems that so called "Digital Immigrants" are taking some matters into their own hands. While they may be new to the field of technology, these technological-newbies are using the products of the "Digital Natives" to ward the internet generation off (physically, that is).


My View: Personally, my ears just about bled while watching this video. I could hear the sound that the mosquito produces very well, and found it annoying and almost painful. I can definitely see how this device would be effective in preventing loitering. However, I also agree with the boy who noted that the makers and buyers of the mosquito are assuming that young people are the only people who cause trouble - are there not people over the age of ~25 who cause social problems? What is being done to stop them? Implicity, the device's popularity also assumes that all young people are there to cause trouble. Those young people who linger outside a store for 5 minutes are likely not there to cause any problems at all. Furthermore, the video also notes that the devices are being installed outside parks and other public spaces - any place where young people might gather, in fact. I understand why business owners do not want people to loiter outside of their stores; however, installing the mosquito in so many public areas seems ridiculous to me. Where are young people supposed to gather at all? Are they only safe indoors? It seems that the mosquito could be useful in moderation, but already this news broadcast implies that it is being taken too far, to quite unfair proportions. In addition, Sparks notes that because the sound targets an entire age group, any passerbys of the mosquito are also subjected to its noise and forced to suffer. Is it really fair to punish a group en masse for the crimes of a few? I don't think so. I believe that a better way to stem problems of loitering should be found. Technology, I am sure, can provide a less biased, less painful solution.


Questions: Are there many places for these digital natives to gather and use their modern, technology-driven lifestyles freely? Or do they feel suffocated by the world of the digital immigrant, their natural technology not welcome? Is there a less destructive way to use technology to ward off loitering? Would providing more common, technologically advanced places for teens and young people to gather help to stem the loitering problem?