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Many teens are using this ringtone to receive messages and calls in classrooms or other areas where a loud tone would be innapropriate. It is a very innovative way to be quiet and informed at the same time.

Teen Buzz (or Mosquito Ringtone) is a popular ringtone that was hijacked from a technology that was originally used to repel loitering teenagers from shops in the United Kingdom. Inventor Howard Stapleton developed the "Mosquito device" for Compound Security Systems. This device emits a modulated 17khz sound that proves to be a great annoyance to teenagers or anyone younger, but leaves most over twenty years of age unaffected. This is due to Presbycusis, a normal loss of acute hearing that occurs with advancing age. Teen Buzz was developed using the same technology, but as a constant 14.4khz high frequency ringtone. It is primarily used in the classroom, allowing students to be alerted of incoming text messages on their mobile phones without the knowledge of their teachers. Stapleton is impressed and admits to the idea being humorous, but he thought it might be an infringement on his intellectual property rights.

The Mosquito
Main article: The Mosquito
The Mosquito device is manufactured by the british company Compound Security. Once installed on a building, emits a high-pitched sound (at 17 kilohertz), like a constant insect buzzing. The product is based on the idea that, as people age, they are less able to hear high-frequency sounds, making this particular sound annoying only to youngsters.

This sound, beamed at kids congregating in a section of the mall, would encourage them to move on, the theory goes, therefore preventing unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in shopping malls and around shops or chasing them away.

Mosquito devices have been sold around the world since its launch on 2005. Police forces and small business have praised the Mosquito device and say it has improved business and community trouble spots.

It has since been welcomed by many as an important step forward in crime prevention, and by others as an attack to the human rights and the health of those affected.

Teen Buzz
The Teen Buzz Ringtone (also known as Mosquito Ringtone, Mosquitotone or Zumbitone) is a cell phone ring tone that is too high-pitched for most adults to hear. It is a constant high-frequency (14.4 khz) tone, while the sound generated by The Mosquito device is a modulated 17 khz sound, according to its inventor, Howard Stapleton.

In settings where cellphone use is forbidden — in class, for example — it is perfect for signaling the arrival of a text message without being detected by an elder of the species. Although students reportedly succeeded in using their cell phones without their teacher knowing, there are growing reports of adults who hear the tone perfectly (read below, Can You Hear It?).

Simon Morris, marketing director for Compound Security, said to The New York Times that his company has received so much attention - none of it resulting in a profit, because the ring tone was, in effect, pirated - that he and Stapleton decided to start selling a ring tone of their own. It is called Mosquitotone, and it is now advertised as "the authentic Mosquito ring tone."

Can You Hear It?
As more people report on the Internet their ability – or lack of ability – to hear the infamous ringtone, it is becoming every day more evident that people are not alike.

Although it is clear that the chances of hearing perfectly the sound decrease markedly with aging, there are many reports of people aged as old as 50 who allegedly hear the sound of the ringtone as clear as their younger counterparts.

information provided by wikipedia.org