The Truth About Our Wireless Devices – How Dangerous Are They?
Part 1 of a 3-part series.
There are more than 6 billion cell phones and 8 billion wireless transmitting devices in use in the world every day. More than 50 billion are expected to join them in the future. We are constantly adding electronics to our lives, and there is no sign of slowing down. Use of mobile devices is on the rise for everything –from phone calls, shopping, and research to simply playing games and watching TV shows. This relatively new technology is definitely amazing, productive, and life changing, but we need to ask ourselves just how life changing it really is. And are our lives changing for the better… or for the worse?
Think about how many devices your own family uses. Most likely, both parents have cell phones—and possibly tablets as well—and there is a good chance your children are using them, too. Yet it’s safe to say that we, as a population, know little about how mobile devices really work. We know they must connect to satellites to receive Wi-Fi signals and become operational. Other than that, we take it on faith that they are safe. But are they?
I’d like you to try something that I first learned when I sat down to watch Dr. Devra Davis’s lecture at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Dr. Davis was speaking on “The Truth About Mobile Phone and Wireless Radiation.” At the beginning of her talk, she asked iPhone owners in the audience to take them out and navigate to the following:
Settings
General
About
Legal
RF Exposure
Below is the hard-to-find warning that Apple publishes about the phone:
To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, the supplied headphones, or other similar accessories. Carry iPhone at least 5mm away from your body to ensure exposure levels remain at or below the as-tested levels.
How many of us are directed to this information when we buy our iPhones? Probably none! But we need to understand it.
What is RF energy? RF stands for radio frequency. In layman’s terms, it is the ability of your mobile phone (and tablets) to connect to Wi-Fi. Those radio frequencies are similar to what our microwaves use. We hear about the dangers of microwaves all the time, but very few of us are alerted to the dangers of our mobile devices. You certainly wouldn’t want to have your in-use microwave on your lap or held to your ear for hours a day, but we have no problem doing the same with our phones and tablets. And we give tablets to our kids to keep them busy or to learn new tasks. Tablets should be used on a table, but they’re being held in our children’s laps, close to their bodies, for hours at a time.
The radio frequencies we’re discussing are electromagnetic fields (EMFs), basically radiation. And while the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that short-term exposure is relatively safe, it does say that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified EMFs produced by mobile phones as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. WHO is conducting a formal risk assessment with results expected sometime in 2016, but for now the jury is still out on the effects of long-term mobile phone use.
The FDA, on its website, cites several ongoing studies into the link between mobile device usage and health effects. Unfortunately, long-term studies might take 20 to 30 years to complete.
Going back to that legal notice on your iPhone, you’ll notice they recommend that you not hold the phone up to your ear and that you keep it away from your body. How many of us actually do that? Instead, when we hear our phone ring, most of us immediately put it to our ear and talk for minutes or hours at a time. How many of us then put that phone in our back pockets and continue to carry it around throughout the day? As Dr. Davis notes, that’s not exactly the best behavior to model for our children.
So what can we do? Here are some suggestions:
Above all, hold phones away from your body.
Keep the phone away from your ear when you answer it. Use the speaker option. As Dr. Davis points out, EMF exposure is highest when we answer a ringing phone and when cell phones connect to each other.
Be sure to have your cell phone turned off before you put it in your pocket.
If you are expecting a call and are in the car, keep the phone in your cup holder.
If you are at home, place it on your counter… if at work, put it on your table. If you are walking in a grocery store or other shop, keep the phone in your purse.
Men (or those who don’t carry purses) should invest in an EMF-reducing cell phone case. Many different models are available on Amazon. Take the time to do some research and find the one that works best for you.
Use tablets on a table, rather than in your laps.
It might take a few years before the scientific verdict is officially in. In the meantime, it is our responsibility as parents to pay attention to the ongoing controversy and to be good role models for our children.
Next week, Part 2 of The Truth About Our Wireless Devices.
The post The Truth About Our Wireless Devices – How Dangerous Are They? appeared first on Tools of Growth.
