The Port Authority in the Welsh town of Milford has installed a “Mosquito” — a sonic weapon that produces tones that are mostly perceptible to children and teenagers — at the library, where it has been used during opening hours.
Hi, I can’t sign because I don’t live in the UK, but I have severe hyperacusis. I don’t think people should be subjected to sonic pain devices.
I’m an adult who can hear the fake mosquito whine obnoxiousness. I was also a kid who spent a decent bit of time in libraries.
The sonic pest deterrent approach specifically aimed at kids is nasty enough in general. This is the kind of respect and esteem too many people show for young human beings.
But, trying to run kids away from a LIBRARY? Plus anyone else with sensitive hearing? Whoever though that one up should have to listen to a sonic weapon they can hear, 24/7, for at least a month. I wouldn’t want them hanging around my building, either. :-|
Signal boosting. I can’t sign it either (same reason, not in UK). And I’m deaf so even if I were sitting in one of those libraries, I would be oblivious and would still have been just as oblivious even as a child. But, yeah, I don’t have to know what it’s like to be annoyed by certain sounds (though I DO sorta know since I’m not completely deaf!) to see that this is really unfair to kids who may NEED a quiet space away from school or home to study or do research or just settle down with a good book. If they’re worried about kids being rowdy or something, surely there are other approaches they could take to address that problem that doesn’t involve penalizing all kids for something only some of them are doing.
All this even before considering that people should be ENCOURAGING kids to go to the library, not chasing them away :-(
Hope this petition succeeds.