The mosquito is not just an annoying insect anymore. It is actually an electronic device that emits a high pitched sound, called the "teen buzz," that can usually only be heard by people under 25. Why you ask? Well, as you age your ability to hear high frequencies deteriorates. The "teen buzz" is a sound with very high frequency therefore allowing only young people to detect it. Due to the fact that only young people can hear, it is used in many situations to deter teenagers from negative activities.
Since its discovery in 2005 by Howard Stapleton, the mosquito has been used in various scenarios. It is used to deter loitering and reduce stealing, vandalism, drug use and violence. It is used as a safety and security device because when the teenagers hear it, it becomes very annoying and encourages them to leave the area they were at. Besides its use for safety concerns, the "teen buzz" is popular among teens who think they can outsmart their teacher. Many set it as their cell phone ring tone so that only they can hear it, and not the teacher.
While doing research on the topic, I was curious to see if it actually worked. I decided to test it out on some friends under the age of 25 and some adults over the age of 40. The information I found was completely right. The adults were totally un-phased by the sound while my friends were very annoyed!
Click here to learn more or try it out for yourself!
This was a very interesting blog! I defiantly went to the link given to find out the highest frequency that I could hear. However, I found that some of my friends who are 20, couldn't hear the pitches they are supposed to hear. This is probably due to the validity of the test or maybe they have been listening to too much music. I am also wondering if you can improve hearing when you are older in some way-other than a hearing aid-knowing that our brains are plastic, could we potentially make it so 40-50 year olds could hear the same pitches?