Students in the UK have created a ringtone only audible to humans under the age of 20, allowing them to hear their phones ringing without their teachers knowing. The sound was originally created for a device called the Mosquito, which retailers used to discourage teens from loitering. Now teens are fighting back with a ringtone version of that sound, which adults over 20 can’t hear due to age-related hearing loss. The tone is circulating via SMS messaging and Bluetooth exchanges under the name “Teen Buzz.”
Here’s what the people are saying:
“This is either a magnificent hoax or just plain magnificent.” — Boing Boing
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“Why school kids can’t be content with silent/vibrate mode, we will never know.” — Gadgetspy
Quoting a secondary school teacher: “‘All the kids were laughing about something, but I didn’t know what. They know phones must be turned off during school. They could all hear somebody’s phone ringing but I couldn’t hear a thing.'” — Metro.co.uk
“It works like the dog whistle to keep loitering teenagers away from stores and other property (classical music works, too).” — MIT Advertising Lab
Talk: How long until “Teen Buzz” becomes the most-downloaded ringtone since “Crazy Frog”? COMMENT
