Teens Rebel, Mosquito Repels

I recently read an article that made me think of my rhetoric studies. Apparently Howard Stapleton invented a device that emits a high frequency noise that is supposed to be inaudible to most people over 25. The purpose of this device is to repel teenagers and young people from being "unruly" in areas where they are not welcome. Many different outlets covered the story, but I liked the NPR story because it captured the reactions of the callers and had some intelligent comments in the comments sections. The main reason I share the NPR story, though, is that Stapleton mentioned that he has been attempting unsuccessfully to stop teens from using a Mosquito ringtone while they are in class so the teacher can't hear when they are texting their friends.*



This is such a compelling story of restricted and de-agentified (loving that word) teens and young people confronting ageism with the natural advantage they have over older generations. It's an effective rhetorical move, and has likely spread further than the mosquito itself, because the Mosquito has unintended victims. (Such as myself and Andrew. At 25 and 26, we can hear it LOUD and CLEAR). The interesting thing to me is that due to the ineffectiveness of the education system, and the fact these kids would likely be texting anyway, they are probably not even doing themselves a disservice by fighting back.

Although Stapleton (and the majority of the callers) feels this is a normal way to respond to "unruly" teens (whatever that means), I disagree. This is appalling. It is discrimination, plain and simple. It is actually illegal to discriminate against someone based on age, but as is usual with prejudice, it happens to those in our society who are disenfranchised. If we as a society set up a world in which teens (and young adults, apparently) are unwelcome, are we shocked that they make their own places to congregate, and that the olds don't like it? If we don't allow them to fully participate in society, are we shocked that they find underground, illegal, disruptive, and harmful ways to pass the time? If we are, then we are as naive as the young people we despise so much. And, this does nothing to solve the problem and will simply move the teens elsewhere, perhaps further underground. Keeping teens from doing what they want to do will not force them to do what we want them to do.

*In my search for the NPR link to this story, I found another NPR story from 2006 about the Mosquito ringtone.