Teen Ring Tones

The New York Times reported today on its front page today that enterprising young cell phone users were circulating a new cell phone ring tone that teens and tweens could hear, but most adults could not. The tones have a frequency that is higher than the 8000 (or so) hertz that mark the top of most adults’ range of hearing.

The reason this is front page news is that it reverses the much more common story about sounds any adult, but no youngster, can detect. As the parent of a teenager, I can clearly hear my wife say things like “Please be home by 10 pm” and “Change your shirt” that are - demonstrably - inaudible to the teenager.