Hat’s off to my Cellphone! I can’t do without it, it’s like my right or left arm, it’s like eating, it’s like taking a bath. I have to have it, it’s a requisite for life, I can’t do without it. In my research, I came across the fact that ninety-one percent of people own cell phones and sixty percent of teens own a cellphone. We are addicted to that little amazing box, it’s like drug addiction. Like AA, there should be a place to go for cellphone addiction. I came across three main reasons why people should be concerned about cellphone usage:
- Cellphones emit radiofrequency energy (radio waves), a non-ionizing radiation.
- Over a long period of time, the number of cell phone calls per day and the amount of time people spend on their cell phone becomes a health risk.
- Radiofrequency energy is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation can be categorized into two types: ionizing (e.g., x-rays, radon, and cosmic rays) and non-ionizing (e.g., radio frequency and extremely low frequency, or power frequency).
Maybe I can convince others including myself to reduce the use of their cell phones by breaking down the many articles written about the danger, here is what I have learned.
Here goes!
Radiation has both electric and magnetic fields and travels in waves. It comes from natural and man-made sources. Electric and magnetic fields are invisible areas of energy (also called radiation) that are produced by electricity, which is the movement of electrons or current through a wire. An electric field is measured in voltage.. As the voltage increases, the electric field increases in strength. Electric fields are measured in volts per meter (V/m). The strength of a field decreases rapidly with increasing distance from its source. Magnetic fields are measured in micro-teslas (μT, or millionths of a tesla). So is there danger in the use of home electricity? It was stated in an article I read that: “Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as from x-rays, is known to increase the risk of cancer.” However, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation from radar, microwave ovens, cell phones, and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk. Home electricity itself does not seem to pose a health threat.
I look at the number of people combating cancer and I think that we all will get some form of cancer from radiation we are being exposed to or the dangers in the food we eat. I think back to an episode of 60 Minutes in 1989, they did a story on cancer and the link to meat sources or other food we eat. So, the question is, do we harm our health by eating cancer causing pesticide and insecticide treated foods or from the radiation output in use of cellphones and appliances? I want the truth about what consequences these things have on a human life!
2 Responses
I had also came cross seeing many people using their smartphones everywhere they go. Or perhaps for the working industries, people are using laptops tablets etc and let the computer do the job efficiently and effectively. With this being said, I have a question in my mind. For the people who use smartphones and computers for work, would it increase the risk of getting cancer? But I have not seen that this would be a huge problem in getting some form of radiation from using technology.
Such an interesting topic to study. In addition i would like to say that exposure to ionizing radiation, such as from x-rays, is known to increase the risk of cancer. However, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation from radar, microwave ovens, cell phones, and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk.
The only consistently recognized biological effect of radiofrequency energy is heating. The ability of microwave ovens to heat food is one example of this effect of radiofrequency energy. Radiofrequency exposure from cell phone use does cause heating to the area of the body where a cell phone or other device is held (ear, head, etc.). However, it is not sufficient to measurably increase body temperature, and there are no other clearly established effects on the body from radiofrequency energy.
It has been suggested that radiofrequency energy might affect glucose metabolism, but two small studies that examined brain glucose metabolism after use of a cell phone showed inconsistent results. Whereas one study showed increased glucose metabolism in the region of the brain close to the antenna compared with tissues on the opposite side of the brain, the other study found reduced glucose metabolism on the side of the brain where the phone was used.
Another study investigated whether exposure to the radiofrequency energy from cell phones affects the flow of blood in the brain and found no evidence of such an effect.
The authors of these studies noted that the results are preliminary and that possible health outcomes from changes in glucose metabolism are still unknown. Such inconsistent findings are not uncommon in experimental studies of the biological effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation. Some contributing factors include assumptions used to estimate doses, failure to consider temperature effects, and lack of blinding of investigators to exposure status.