In this article, we will give you an overview of why people often think phones are risky and why you are probably perfectly safe using your phone.
Why are Mobile Phones Dangerous?
We will come clean with you, mobile phones emit radiation. As soon as most people hear the word radiation they think of nuclear disasters and terrible health effects, but though you do not need to understand all the complicated physics of radiation, you do need to realize that there are lots of different kinds of radiation in the world, some more dangerous than others.Every time you get an X-ray, fly on a plane or even go out in the sun you are exposed to radiation, so obviously not all forms of radiation are going to kill you immediately and with horrible side effects.
Mobile phones give off a kind of radiation that is known as electromagnetic radiation because they use radio frequencies to carry signals.
This radiation is not particularly dangerous in small doses (and the doses you will get from regular use of your mobile are incredibly small), plus this is a form of low energy radiation and does not travel very far.
What is the Evidence for This?
Plenty of scientists have studied the subject of “are mobile phones dangerous or not?” You can find a full list of studies and their results here. The main thing that we know is that there have been no serious side effects of mobile phone usage proven in any of these studies, though some studies have found less serious side effects.What are we talking about here? For example, one study found that people's brains got hotter when they used their mobiles for a long time, this was not considered life threatening in the slightest (and respondents did not notice any effects from it), and brain temperature returned to normal levels as soon as the phone was put down.
There is also evidence that the radiation from cell phones can cause blood pressure to go up, though again, pressure goes back to normal levels when the phone is put down. In this study blood pressure was only elevated slightly, nowhere near life threatening levels, and could have been due to other factors, since blood pressure changes a lot for all kinds of reasons, such as arguing with someone on the phone or speaking to someone that you love.
Other studies have shown things such as tiredness after long time phone use, or sleeping difficulties, though these side effects are also associated with things like television and video games and are not unique to mobile phones.
The only serious study that we have seen showed that mobile phone users were twice as likely to have a kind of benign tumor, called a neuroma, than those who did not use a mobile, but this study is so far unsubstantiated.
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| Image Credits: www.bbc.com |
Does this mean that Mobiles are Safe?
Not at all. Mobile phones can absolutely be dangerous, just like a screwdriver can be, but usually for very mundane reasons. Driving whilst using a cell phone has been shown to increase both the number of car accidents and the risk of fatalities during accidents; this is more due to human error than to the risk of a mobile phone itself.There are also reported cases of phones exploding or catching fire and burning users; these incidents are fairly isolated and usually due either to battery faults in a phone or to the user attempting to open and dissect a mobile, which is not recommended. In cases of reported faults, companies recall mobile models to lower the risk of an accident happening more than once.
Mobiles can be dangerous, but not generally because they are irradiating you, more usually this is due simply to accidents or lack of common sense when using a phone.
So Should I Take Precautions?
Prevention is better than cure as they say, and whether mobile phones are dangerous or not, it is always worth being on the safe side. This does not mean that you should not use your phone at all, since the chances of anything happening to you are practically zero, but there are a couple of things which might be wise to keep in mind.Electromagnetic radiation can only travel over very small distances from your phone, as we discussed above, so a good precaution would be to keep your phone away from direct or close contact with your head as much as you can. This means not sleeping with your phone under your pillow, for example.
You may also want to consider getting yourself a hands free set if you use your phone a lot, since this will mean that you do not need to have your phone close to your head, this is a good precaution to take for those who like to talk for hours on the phone and is the only way that you can safely use your phone in the car as well.
As with most things, it is always best to exercise care around children, their bodies and brains are far more delicate than ours, and more at risk from exposure to all kinds of toxins, not just radiation. Try to keep young children away from mobiles, though the chances of a small child having the patience to talk on the phone for hours are pretty slim.
Do I Need to Worry?
Given that mobiles have been around for almost three decades, it seems likely that if there were significant health risks to using them we would already be aware of them. Whilst it is always a good idea to use any kind of electronic device with care, you really should not worry about using your mobile phone if you are an average user.There has been no link at all between mobile phone use and some of the serious factors sometimes associated with it by the media, such as cancer or harm to unborn children, so use your phone carefully, but do not stress about it, since that stress will probably kill you long before your phone possibly could.
Phil TurnerAbout the Author:
Are mobile phones dangerous was a question Phil Turner needed a definitive answer to he visited websites including uSwitch which had useful information on the topic. Phil was much assured by what he read