The Global Sociology Blog

Technology is a wonderful thing. Case in point: The Mosquito!

“The Mosquito ultrasonic teenage deterrent is the solution to the eternal problem of unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in shopping malls and around shops. The presence of these teenagers discourages genuine shoppers and customers’ from coming to your shop, affecting your turnover and profits. (…) Acclaimed by the Police forces of many areas of the United Kingdom, the Mosquito ultrasonic teenage deterrent has been described as “the most effective tool in our fight against anti social behavior”. Shop keepers around the world have purchased the device to move along unwanted gatherings of teenagers and anti social youths. Railway companies have placed the device to discourage youths from spraying graffiti on their trains and the walls of stations.”

It’s like an invisible fence in reverse. It chases the riff-raffs away to make room for the good middle-class customers who actually participate legitimately in the market economy… unlike the “anti-social youths” whatever the hell that means.

Anti-social behavior has been a concern in the UK, not only for shopkeepers but also for the then-Blair government who came up with the brilliant idea of Anti-Social Behavioral Orders (ASBOs) described as such by the Guardian:

“Asbos are civil orders made against someone who has been shown to cause “alarm, harassment or distress to one or more persons not of the same household”. Introduced in 1998, they were controversial from their inception for criminalising behaviour that was undesirable but otherwise lawful. Tony Blair, however, was convinced of their efficacy and in 2004 announced measures to improve the application of Asbos. The latest figures issued by the Home Office show that just under 10,000 Asbos have been handed out since 1999.”

As usual, such measures are purely repressive and at the very least stigmatizing and they become a substitute for actual social policy. It all boils down to the criminalization of the poor and their unseemly behavior. And of course, there were abuses:

“Manchester city council – dubbed the Asbo capital of Britain – has been been found guilty of an “abuse of power of nightmarish proportions” after it issued a woman with an anti-social behaviour order without checking the truth about allegations against her. The council imposed an order on the woman after a neighbour claimed she had played loud music, threatened violence, shouted abuse and made offensive gestures.”

So, anti-social behavior (anything you do that your neighbor does not like) committed by the undesirable classes (class and age and race) has to be stigmatized and informally repressed as with the Mosquito. Where is Mike Males when you need him!

And let’s not count on the European Commission to adopt a more progressive attitude:

Bruxelles refuse d’interdire le Mosquito, “arme sonore de dissuasion anti-ado”
LEMONDE.FR | 02.04.08

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The Commission declined today to ban the device, leaving the decision up to the individual member-states. In these states where the device is already in use, controversies have erupted and some store owners had to back down faced with parents’ complaints.

On this, see also my previous writing on the Surveillance Society.

A disturbing trend to be sure though. On the stigmatization of the youth, again, suggested readings:

• Mike Males, The Scapegoat Generation: America’s War on Adolescents
• Mike Males, Framing Youth: 10 Myths About the Next Generation