Youād think of all the places where youths congregate, a library would be the one where youād actually try and encourage them to be there.
But, but, but, think of the old people trying to read the newspapers! You donāt seriously expect them to have to share their silent santuary with the uncouth youth, now can you? /snark.
itās actually outside the library and supposed to be used out of business hours.
Of course, they would also have to take down the lanterns, which attract children with bright lights and subsequently zap them with electricity.
Andā¦ Go on? Could you tell us why it is appropriate? A good use of scare resources? Please?
Yeah, because Iām sure āsupposed toā fits reality. And even if it did, it is still wrong. This shit should not be legal.
Neither the post here nor the linked article explain why they have it. What are they keeping people away from?
tl;dr = skateboarders
ā¦ the āMosquitoā high-frequency alarm, which is used to keep young people from loitering outside the library after it is closed.
ā¦
After hearing the alarm for himself when it accidentally sounded during the day, Gareth ā who suffers from anxiety and depression - says he is now too afraid to visit the library in case it goes off again and triggers a panic attack.
The other flaw with the thing, besides the obvious, is that it isnāt actually just limited to children and teens. Some adults can hear higher than average frequencies too.
But this reminds me I was going to look for an ultrasonic pest repellent device to see if it works. On mice, not children.
Some cunning kids elsewhere have recorded this sound with their phones and use it for a ringtone for incoming texts. That way their parents and teachers canāt hear their phones going off when they are meant to be turned off.
@Brian_Whittle never said that it was appropriate, nor implied it. He just gave clarification on its use. I donāt get why you and @marilove are attacking him. Iām guessing you are outraged. That is fine. But donāt use that as an excuse to attack other posters in this thread.
I had middle schoolers in Russia play it on their phones as a prank that would get all the kids giggling, while the teacher tried to figure out what it was the kids suddenly found so hilarious. As it turns out, I could hear the sound just fine (I donāt know whether I have special ears, or recording the tone on the phone reduces some of its special effect), which kind of flabbergasted them.
PSA: if you are a music enthusiast or maker, always use hearing protection. It is kind of a pain, but you will appreciate being to hear while your friends say, ādid someone say something?ā
I suppose it must be related to the whole fear thing like we in the states generate toward various groups of people. Especially people without money or people who still have such a joy of life that they may be loud and exuberant at times. We like our cowering, fearful masses who slink around quietly looking for morsels of quietude and perceived safety. Children often laugh out loud and act joyful in the company of each other. I myself like the crazy beasts and interact with them whenever I get the privilege.
A couple of times Iāve sat outside a nearby public library and used the Wi-Fi after hours. Iāve only stayed a few minutesāit was just for a quick email checkābut technically I was violating the āNo loitering after hoursā policy.
And in spite of being outside the target demographic I can hear the āmosquitoā, so if the library near me adopted this theyād be deterring me. Iāve never seen anyone else loitering there, though, so probably they donāt think of me as much of a concern.
My guess itās quite the opposite, that they determined they did not want kids skateboarding in front of the library and chose the cheapest method to fulfill that goal, rather than using a security guard to chase the kids off.
Not knowing any details, I wonāt comment on whether the skateboarding is a problem, but it does seem that by trying to conserve scarce resources, they have impacted others, which may well be sufficient reason to get rid of the Mosquito.
Do note, however, if they somehow feel that discouraging loitering by youths is that important, the trade-off is likely to be the use funds for a security guard instead of library personnel or books.
Itās not what theyāre keeping people from, itās the people theyāre keeping away. Because * spit * youth.
Hereās a link to a mosquito tone generator. Listen for yourself. Ugh.
I used to go to a high-end department store that had trouble with kids loitering around the entrance. The store came up with its own solution: it started playing classical music around the doors. Adults loved it. Most kids left.
