When my parents gave me a cell phone in 1997, I was skeptical. Whether it was because I'm slow to accept change, skeptical of things I don't understand, I heard about the risks, or for all of these reasons, I didn't embrace the technology easily. I would use my new phone sparingly. Since then, there have been numerous studies about the safety and dangers of cell phone use, whether from radiation exposure or from distracted walking and driving. My students this week debate on this issue. Here is some of what I found:
Researchers
in a 2008 Ohio State University study compared pedestrians who walked with no
technology, those who walked while listening to i-pods, and those who walked
while talking on cell phones. They found that those who walked while talking on
cell phones were more likely to walk into oncoming traffic than the other two
groups (1). More recently, computer science researchers at Dartmouth University and
the University of Bologna created an Android smartphone application that uses
the camera on the back of a phone to detect oncoming vehicles. The application
then warns the cell phone user with sound and vibrations coming from the phone
that the vehicle is coming (2).
After reading
many studies about the safety of cell phones, thirty-one scientists from the
World Health Organization in 2011 concluded that cell phones are “possibly
carcinogenic [cancer-causing] to humans.” An author from WHO reporting on this study reported, however, that "results of animals studies consistently show no increased cancer risk for long-term exposure to radiofrequency fields" (3).
The closer
the cell phone is to the human head, the more the person is exposed to radiofrequency
(RF) radiation. A phone produces more RF radiation when there is a weak signal—and
when in a moving vehicle-- because it must work harder to establish a
connection. Finally, a “radiation shield” on the phone may actually cause the
phone to produce more radiation to connect with other phones, and children are
more vulnerable to this radiation compared to adults because their skulls and scalps are thinner and possible because their brain cells divide more quickly compared to adults (4).
Cell phones and other electronic devices have been known to
interfere with navigation during airline flights. Specifically, a 2003 NASA
study found that cell phone connections could produce emissions that could
interfere with an airplane’s navigation (GPS) system. This is used to help a
pilot land an airplane, especially when the pilot cannot see the runway because
of clouds or other weather conditions (5).
Airlines already do not allow cell phones to be used on
flights because they can interfere with the plane’s navigation instruments, but
research from 2003 suggests that passengers break this rule (5). Airlines are
under pressure to allow cell phones in flight because travelers—especially business
travelers—want to stay connected to clients and coworkers, family, and others.
1. Nasar, Jack, Hecht, Peter and Richard Wener. “Mobile
Telephones, distracted attention, and pedestrian safety.” Accident Analysis and Prevention 40 (2008) 69-75. Web. 11 May 2012.
2. Wang, Tianyu, Cardone, Giuseppe and Antonio Corradi.
“WalkSafe: A Pedestrian Safety App for Mobile Phone Users Who Walk and Talk
While Crossing Roads.” Hanover, NH and Bologna, Italy: Dartmouth College and the
University of Bologna, 2012. Web. 11 May 2012.
3. “Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health: Mobile Phones.” The World Health Organization. June
2011. Web. 12 May 2012.
4. “Cell Phone Safety Fact Sheet.” Irvine, CA: University of
California at Irvine. June 2011. Web. 12 May 2012.
5. Strauss, Bill, M. Granger Morgan, Jay Apt, and Daniel D.
Stancil. “Unsafe at Any Airspeed?” Carnegie Mellon University, 2006. Web. 12
May 2012.
I think the joy that we don't always understand goes right along with the "peace that transcends all understanding". Phillipians 4:7 ~
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