Hey there guys,@blessing97 here! In the month of December 2014, statistical data and reports from the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association showed that they were over 327.5million cell phone users in the United States alone. But recent data has proven that more than 5billion persons earthwide are mobile phone subscribers! And for good reason too.
The Good and Darkside of Mobile Tech
C'mon, let's face it. Gone are the days when to see our dear loved ones we had to travel long distances on foot or by road, or perhaps even by horses and chariots for those of us like @mobbs and @lemouth who are from ancient civilizations and have thus lived way longer than others here on earth.
Another alternative which really sucked was the use of hand written letters to keep an open line of communication with our friends and family who lived far away from us. These letters could take days or worse still even months to get to the intended recipients. Sometimes it could even get missing or damaged along the way, as it was only a piece of paper afterall. Thus, maintaining frequent or constant communication with persons far away back then was really a pain in the butt, as it required a lot of effort to do so.
Now fast forward many years from back then into the future, which is our present day world today. Now with the aid of a superb and amazing invention called a cell phone, you can communicate seamlessly with anyone who lives anywhere in the world today, be it via a phone call or a simple text message, which in most cases takes from just a few seconds to a couple of minutes to send and receive. Awesome right?
Why A Major Cause For Concern?
Many persons today are now "social media crazy", as now their world and lives seem to revolve almost entirely around social media sites such as facebook, twitter, instagram and all that stuff. Still all thanks to the invention of mobile phones.
Let me ask you a simple question though. Do you think you could potentially do without your phone for a single day? Okay, you said yes. Okay how about for a week then? If your answer still remains yes then I don't care, still keep on reading anyway. But if your answer is no, I understand that you really do love your phone and it means a lot to you. But on a second thought, don't you think you should be a bit concerned as to the amount of time you currently spend with your mobile device? "Why should I be concerned?" you may ask. Okay, I'll tell you why.
You should be concerned for a couple of good reasons, but I'll stick to just one of them for now. So what reason could be so important you may ask?
Well it is certainly and most definitely "no new news" that mobile devices produce or emit a certain level or amount of electromagnetic radiation in the form of radio and microwaves. And usually in the range of 800MHz to 2600MHz depending on the country you live in and also the network provider in question.
Although the word radiation may sound scary in itself, as whenever it is made mention of our minds quickly start to remember all the bad and scary stuff like cancer and DNA damage. But the reality is that radiation just actually refers to all the various types and forms of electromagnetic waves. Some of which include; visible light, x-rays and several other waves, all which have a place in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The electromagnetic spectrum is further divided into two parts or sections; The IONIZING and NON-IONIZING radiation.
The ionizing radiation which consists of electromagnetic waves such as x-rays, gamma rays and even UV have the ability to "ionize" or knock-off electrons from their respective atoms or molecules. Thus they have the ability to break off or "dissociate" chemical bonds. They can do this because they possess enough PHOTON ENERGY.
The electromagnetic spectrum highlighting the Ionizing and non-ionzing radiations. Image courtesy:wikicommons-Image by Glenna Shields under the public domain licenseIn other words, we can say "ionizing radiation" is the bad guy which causes cancer, DNA damage and the rest of all those nasty stuff you see in the movies. Therefore, you wouldn't want your electrons knocked off or ionized. Trust me on this!
To put things into perspective, it is the major reason why you wear a lead vest when going for an x-ray examination. And although they cannot all be completely avoided, as for example your traveling bags would always be scanned with x-ray scanners by airport security, and then when you finally get on board the plane, you still would be exposed to low or somewhat minuscule amounts of cosmic radiation during the flight. The point however is, you should endeavor as much as possible to stay away from ionizing radiations or their sources.
However, on the other hand, non-ionizing radiation is not harmful in little amounts and is comprised of a great percentage of the light we're frequently exposed to, such as; visible light from light bulbs at home, or even infrared light from people around us.
Non-ionizing radiation, unlike ionizing radiation does not posses enough photon energy to ionize electrons from atoms and molecules or to cause the dissociation of chemical bonds. Photon energy by the way is simply the amount of energy possessed by a photon of light, and also a photon is simply a small "quantized" packet of light.
Thus our human body is able to tolerate little doses of this form of electromagnetic radiation. Although in extremely large amounts or dosage, non-ionizing radiation could also cause some really serious damage.
So obviously, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by our mobile phones falls under the non-ionizing category. Thank goodness, or we'll all be walking zombies or probably dead by now.
Microwaves which we use to heat up food, uses a high power radiation which is approximately between 600 to 1000watts of power, although usually at about 700watts. On the other hand, our mobile phones only emit about 0.02watts of power during minimal operation. And which can go to a maximum value of about 2 watts during a call. This is indeed a far cry from the relatively high level power emission of microwaves which operate at a frequency of about 2450MHz, which is almost the same frequency of operation of our Wifi.
This means if indeed cell phones were that harmful to our body cells and tissues, it would continuously boil the water in our bodies just like a microwave. But obviously, this isn't the case today.
The Final Verdict
So therefore, with all said and done, does that mean we're very safe and there's absolutely no need for me to continue with my rants? Well, the answer is both yes and no. Why yes and no at the same time you may ask? Okay, once again allow me to tell you why.
My first answer is yes because, various scientific studies over the years have not really been able to pinpoint or establish any precise and definite link or relationship between the health problems such as cancer which everyone is really scared of, and the electromagnetic radiation or radio frequencies associated with our mobile phones. In other words, the inference from these research works have been inconclusive, although the findings seem to tilt towards the fact that we're indeed at liberty to use our phones as freely and as frequently as we like.
Also, the reason why I still answered no is because just like I earlier mentioned, the research results are still inconclusive and thus not totally reliable. Meaning, much work still needs to be done in this regard.
In fact, in the year 2011, a review was published by the World Health Organization's Agency for Research on Cancer which stated that cell-phone radiation is "probably carcinogenic", with obviously a lot of emphasis on the word "possibly"(source). But still this information really shouldn't be taken too lightly.
Although generally, a lot of researchers and scientists are still unconvinced as to how much negative threat is actually posed by our phones, in my own personal opinion, I would say the best option is to play safe. Meaning, don't throw your phones away, but don't abuse their usage either. Wisdom should be applied with regards to the amount of time spent using these handheld gadgets. Afterall, it is often said that it is better to be safe than sorry.
With special regards to what I just said, you might want to checkout the guidelines published by the California Department of Public Health as it gives a detailed list of do's and don'ts if we want to actually "play safe" and thus minimize our exposure to electromagnetic radiation from our mobile devices.
The guide recommends some really cool stuff, like keeping our phones away from our bodies when not in use, and also keeping them far away from the bed before going to bed. Be sure to check it out here!
So that's it folks!Thanks a lot for taking the time out to read this! I really do hope you were able to gain a thing or two, and please do feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below. Once again, THANKS!
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Great strategy for choosing the Title :D Nice writing style as well.
I would only like to further emphasize the difference between the microwave oven and cell phone. While the microwave oven is closed and keep all the microwaves inside, mobile phones/ radars etc. are used in the open spaces and their irradiation is much less "concentrated". Even if you take something like a 1000 phones - it will not boil anything, unless there is some box surrounding them.
The belief that a cell phone with a maximum radiation power of about 1w is capable of doing any real damage is one that I will call an old wives tale. The Sun can transmit up to 48w of power to our heads if we are standing under the sun.
I don't know why some people imagine that we are incredibly fragile creatures. Humans are capable to withstand a lot. A negligible amount of radiation whose frequency is absorbable can in the worst case scenario heat the area for about 0.1 C. This is as dangerous as putting the palm on the forehead
Lol @alexs1320 that was hilarious to say the least! But still you wouldn't put your palm on your forehead all day, would you? :)
It's just an old wives tale taken a step further.
Sure! @greenrun ..the value does seem really insignificant and minuscule relative to other more common sources of radiations. But make no mistake though! ..little drops of water could and would eventually create an ocean someday. Afterall, from my knowledge on the subject it isn't like after a phone call all the seemingly "negligible amount" of radiation emitted simply dissipates into thin air. Remember the emphasis is on constant exposure and not just a one time experience thing. Hence, there could be an accumulative effect in the long term.
But who really knows? I guess this present generation would only have to wait some 10 to 15years or even more to discover the real truth.
We have constant exposure from other more powerful sources, if we don't die from its exposure, I guess we'd be safe from whatever radiation a cell phone had in it.
Yeah I guess. Well said then.
Thanks a lot for your kind words sir @alexs1320, you are way too kind!
+
Yeah, you do have a really valid point right there. The radiations from our mobile gadgets are far less concentrated on our bodies as we use them right in the open, just as you've rightly mentioned. And maybe, just maybe indeed the probable threats are overly exaggerated than necessary.
But still it might interest you to know that during my research on this subject, I stumbled upon the case of a man who apparently sued his ex-company, after he claimed to have suffered some form of brain damage on a cellular level after working for the company for a period of 15years, during which he claimed to be a full time mobile telephone operator of some sort. Didn't bother to follow up as to who won the case though, but the point is there are cases here and there, which although are few and far between shouldn't be taken too lightly. A decent amount of care and caution definitely wouldn't hurt and thus still needs to be applied. Thanks a lot for stopping by!
You literally spoke my mind! @alexs1320
Great post anyways @blessing97
Thank you! @florae
I am not that ancient! :)
Hehehe :p
If the phone can do this .... ho far will the sun goes then??
Lol I know right? But thankfully, nature has various ways of protecting us from such evils.
So it's pretty much inconclusive eh. A very interesting topic because I'm worried actually whenever I put my phone inside my pocket (near to where sperms are produced) as it emits radiation. It is quite a relief knowing that studies are still not certain about the possible effects but let's try to avoid the consequences at all cost !
You're a hundred percent correct. The consequences should and must be avoided at all costs! Thanks a lot for stopping by :)
Without a phone? Yes. But recently my laptop broke for 1.5 days and I thought I was missing a brain.
And speaking of computers, I don't use my phone much, but I do use my computer quite a lot. Any idea as to whether that causes anything similar to what you say phones might possibly cause? The screen, say. If yes, maybe write an article about it?
Lol I can totally relate to this in all honesty! Being without my laptop sometimes makes me feel incomplete..like I'm missing a part of my soul or something haha.
And with regards to the issue of computer monitors, the amount of radiation they emit is even wayyy lesser than what you would encounter from using a messed up phone. So it's almost negligible and doesn't or wouldn't pose any major risk to it's user. Maybe a post about it in the future would suffice though. Thanks a lot for your heartfelt contribution :)
Okay now I feel comfortable sitting at my comp again!
Sound like a warning to me.... It's good but can we really do without using our cell phone, I stopped at a point in time and I then continued because I was practically behind others
I can try to reduced it.... From what I read it's really dangerous
Haha most persons have been there at some point, trust me. So you're really and definitely not alone on that. But the truth is, even besides the radiation stuff, it isn't too advisable to spend excessive time with our phones. It kinda takes away our humanity slowly but gradually, as most times it tends to make us forget who we really are to be honest. My bad, I didn't mean to sound so scary lol. But really, Thanks a lot for stopping by!
It is said that at Low Battery, this emmission is a lot stronger than when the battery is fairly charged. Speaks a lot about why I feel all Nervous and angry When my battery is low. Studies also show that there is a correlation to HBP too. We might want to watch how much time we spend with mobiles.
I think one thing we could do to help ourselves is getting the best devices out there. Yeah, it might seem expensive and stuff, but these devices give off even lower levels of radiation. Thanks for writing.
You're absolutely correct @pangoli. Thank you so much for coming around!
I'm relieved. Well done @blessing97
Thanks for coming by @vanessahampton :)
It brings relief to read that all the noise about the danger of cell phone use is actually false... I know you never really concluded on that ( I mean the yes or know part)
I once watched a video where phones about six of them and some corn were placed on a table. When all the phones rang simultaneously, the corn began to pop( I mean like pop corn). Could this senario be tied down to radiation from phones?
Errr.. I wouldn't really know for sure. Could be some other scientific or physical factors still at play. Would look into that personally though. Thanks for pointing that out.
Fantastic post @blessing97
You nailed it & i totally agree with the fact that we should be careful with the amount of time spent on our phones because we never really know.... its better to take precautions now than suffer for our Ignorance later
Yeah sure thing man. I really appreciate you coming by!
Hi @blessing97!
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