Kids love sneaky spy technology. OK, guys continue to love sneaky spy technology. But kids have one very specific advantage: As we age, we lose the top end of our hearing. Generally, kids can hear pitches up to 17 kilohertz, while adults are limited by the ear decay known as presbycusis to 15 kilohertz or less (for comparison, the highest note on a piano is 4 kilohertz).
Here’s the spy gadgetry angle:
Originally, the device known as the Mosquito was meant to clear loitering teens from street corners by loudly broadcasting an annoying pitch only the young loiterers could hear. But sneaky, sneaky teens co-opted the device for their own dark-hat purposes: a ring tone audible to only teen ears. Imagine it: text message alerts during class, secret signals via cell, the eventual return to the fluid use of Morse code.
iDread
Ephebiphobia: fear of teenagers.
The ring tone, called Teen Buzz, can be downloaded everywhere. The New York Times piece describing this sneaky audio table-turning calls it techno-jujitsu. The balance of power has shifted.