Curious to hear what everyone think of this new "Teen Repellent". Started out in Britain to keep teens from loitering in front of businesses, and has now been turned into a ringtone for teens to use during school to receive text messages and calls that the teachers can't hear.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061301557.html

Oh, and for a serious reply, who cares? Like the article says, they already have vibrate mode, so it's nothing new really.

Kevin

I have this image of a bunch of high school kids all hearing the "Repellent" ringtone and reaching for their pockets at the same time to figure out which phone is actually ringing! LOL

As for repelling teens - well I don't need a sound for that. Once my daughter hit teen years, she was repelled by pretty much everything we say and/or do - such a joy she is! LOL

A friend actually had me listen to the ringtone...unfortunately, I could hear it....and it is very irritating! I wonder if the stores are concerned about their adult clients that actually can hear it?

Okay, hmm, a deeper answer...

Cell phones in class. Personally, I think cell phones should be turned off in class. Kids are there to learn, and being distracted by phone calls or text messages disrupts that. If they must have them turned on, then they should be set to vibrate so as not to disturb anyone else in the room. Same kind of courtesy you expect in a movie theatre. Really though, in most cases there's no need to have it on at all during class. Our son is 12 and wants a cell phone. He doesn't have one yet, and we are negotiating, the sticking point being the cost. If he does get one it will have rules attached, including strict ones around classroom use.

Teen-repellant for businesses. This is a much bigger issue than emitting sounds that teens find annoying. What are teens doing hanging around there in the first place? If it's simple socializing, they probably just need a better place to do it. If it's worse than that, which in many cases it may well be, there are whole societal issues around sufficient parenting, child rearing, and ways for teens to spend their leisure time. Either way, driving them from loitering in one place to loitering in another place isn't going to solve the real problem. That said, the business does have every right to operate normally, and if loitering teens are negatively impacting their ability to conduct business, then I don't see anything wrong with using a non-harmful means of persuading them to move along.

Kevin

I agree with Kevin.

We did get our oldest daughter a cell phone, and it has rules. The first is that is that it is OFF during school hours (she attends the school where Rochelle teaches).

As for harmless means to drive the kids away, There was a parking lot in town that became a "hang out" for a while, that is until the owner of the store installed some loudspeakers and started playing Bluegrass music.

ROFL!! Bluegrass - genius, pure genius!!!!

Our schools do not allow you to even HAVE a cell phone. Of course all the kids do - and keep them off and well out of sight if they're smart. If a teacher glimpses it, there is an automatic all-day Saturday detention, no questions asked, no excuses accepted. They do enforce it - perhaps not 100%, but enough that they take it seriously.

I think the business has a right to do something to keep the kids away, but I'm not sure why the old-fashioned way is not good enough ("No Loitering" signs, followed by a warning and ultimately a call to the cops)...

Lady Z - I like the old fashioned way myself. Hard to imagine the noise thing working 100% because surely there are SOME adults that can hear the thing. I'd like to see if I could hear the new ringtones.

Man - my daughter is 9 and is dying for a cellphone. They came out with a kid's cellphone called The Fly or something and it was the first thing on her Christmas list. She isn't getting it!

Well my first thought is I hope these businesses don't have any teen aged workers. One of the common loitering places is malls and 7 eleven's both companies that would employ teens so this could not work.

I got a great teen and kid repelling phrase. Go clean your room. Never fails when I utter these words they have all kinds of things to do in the back yard.

As for cellphones in the classroom I do not think they belong in the classroom. Kids are there to learn and to have a cellphone ringing in the classroom is inconsiderate even if the teacher cannot hear it other students can hear it and it breaks concentration. This is unfair to the students that are there to learn the material.

I used to go to a parent participation music class where cellphones were not allowed and the number of adults that ignored this rule floored me. I realize life is busy and phone calls must happen but isn't your child important enough that you can't take an hour out of your life to ignore the phone and participate in the music class? If not then maybe parent participation music isn't for you. Same thing with school classrooms, the purpose is to learn and not to socialize more than likely that call could go to voicemail and wait until a break.

~Audrey

Cellphones are banned in a lot of UK schools as they cause children to become targets for violence.In primary schools 4-11 they are allowed to take them in but hand them in to the office so they can be used after school to contact parents if necessary.

I teach in UK and we are not allowed our phones in class so students have the same rule.

As with all things the rule is often broken and ways round obstacles are always found. Vibrate versus child only noises are not much different i guess.

Rach

Same rules, new technology
1- When I am teaching, lecturing, or running a mtg etc... : all cell phones on stun, all NB lids closed, no email, no phone calls, one conversation at a time.

Was same when I was in school: No talking in class, talk in class (or text, or do email or phone call), you get sent to the office, or whatever.
I confescate their NB PC's, phone, take out the battery and let them know they owe me 5-10min of thier time since they wasted mine.

2- Keeping teens away from businesses? We used to hang out at the pool hall, bowling alley, convenience store or tastee freeze/DQ or burger palace. At least our parents, police and freinds all knew where to find us. Using "repellents" HAH. 1/2 their income came from us grundgy kids. When a better scene happened, we went somewhere else, the Tastee Freeze lost all thier business to the A&W. Proprieters posted no loitering signs, gave donuts and coffee to the police, we remained civil (well most of the time). The owners/etc.. had the police come visit us... We made friends with the police too! Now the proprieters had both a bunch of grundgy kids and all the police hanging out in their parking lot!

Blue Grass music? NP, kids have bigger/badder boom boxes (we only had 8 track tape players and 5" speakers)
We like Norman Blake, Doc and Merle Watson. We pulled out our fiddles, guitars and washboards and played along!

3- Noise cancellation technologies... heh, I got one of those. I turn off my hearing aid.

4- My kids don't need no stinkin' cell phones. I give each of them a quarter on Monday. They can buy milk with thier lunch or make a phone call. Thier choice. Over indulgent kids (and parents) Bah!

Hmmm, my thirteen year old and eleven year old both have cell phones because they get themselves to and from school on public buses and I want to know if they miss their normal bus. The eleven year old will pull out the phone, call, and say "I missed the bus" and then turn off the phone and put it back in her backpack. LOL the thirteen year old, well in that school if a teacher sees the cell phone they have the right to confiscate it until the end of the year! At the school next year kids are allowed to have phones with them, I told the her that if I see any calls, text etc during school time she has to pay me double for them we share minutes Margaret

NPR Ringtone Link

The above link has a link to download the MP3 of the ringtone and the kiddo and I can hear it, but neither of the guys can.

I don't think cellphones should be allowed in school period.

As far as a repellent, well knowing I can hear it would work on me too.

We let my son have a cellphone once he turned 10, he only cares to use it in an emergency. We beg him to take it with him to school to be sure he can call if ever needed, but normally he forgets to take it. The schools do not allow cellphones here, but we still encourage him to hide his in his book bag. Obviously the rule is he can't talk on the phone during school time, but we really don't need to enforce it since he doesn't talk on the phone to friends...only us his parents.
I say keep it on vibrate and only use in emergencies. I agree this ringtone mimics just what vibrate does anyway, except vibrate wouldn't disrupt any others.

I am also able to hear it clearly.

I wasn't bad the first time I played it, but the second time it was more grating. I'd reckon the noise would repel me from that business.

I can't hear it and I feel really old now. Scary stuff.

As for the repellant aspect, even if we can't hear it, it's affecting us and the teens and the animals, and the plants and the atmosphere, etc etc and so forth. It's (the audio equivalent of) invisible pollution and I'd vote it not be used.

My two cents. But I'm joining the crotchety generation apparently. Sigh.