The Downside to Cell Phones

Updated 20 August 2017: Here are four good reasons to re-think your mobile device use

A cellular phone is a marvelous invention. We can speak to one another from the next room or from across the planet, while we are relaxing on the beach or from the boardroom. We can talk on the phone in our automobiles, our kitchens, and from airplane runways, send text messages to multiple contacts and access the world-wide web 24/7.

Yet, in spite of the ease of communication and instant access to limitless information that our Droids, iPhones and BlackBerrys afford us, there is a consequential downside to using a mobile phone. Many of us are still largely unaware or heedless of the dangers of indiscriminate cell phone use.

Here are four really good reasons to limit and/or avoid using your mobile devices.

1: Cumulative Electromagnetic Radio Frequency Exposure

Health risks associated with electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation can remain dormant for a long time. Some of us, though, will have a higher sensitivity and a greater risk in the shorter term. I am one of those who cannot use a cell phone due to this sensitivity. But, the risk of sensitivity may be cumulative over time and therefore be a hidden, health time bomb.

The “official” standpoint is that evidence linking cell phone radiation with brain cancer is still inconclusive. Organizations like the National Cancer Institute and the World Health Organization have been soft pedaling the detrimental effects associated with the growing technological gadgetry industry. In the opinion of many (myself included), the research is corrupt and falsely slanted towards a safety that doesn’t exist.

Don’t be fooled. EMF danger is as real as the reason you are draped with a lead vest before your x-ray in the dentist’s chair. You may not suffer the ill effects of exposure to EMF’s until later; you may not experience them at all. Nevertheless, science is finding sufficient linkage to EMF exposure and illness (including brain cancer) to start issuing cautionary warnings.

2: Electrosmog: an Environmental Pollutant

There is a form of environmental pollution that is invisible and odorless. Yet it exists and is becoming increasingly prevalent with the myriad forms of radio frequency transmitted devices that bestrew our homes and cities. Cell towers, mobile phones and devices, laptop computers, Wi-Fi, microwave ovens and televisions emit a constant stream of radiation into our surroundings.

This low-level, non-ionic form of radiation has become so widespread that urbanized areas are virtually inundated with electro-pollution. The harmful effects of electrosmog are evident to those of us sensitive enough to feel them and may be seeping into your biology while you remain unaware. These effects are already a new contributory factor in environmental illnesses.

3: Gadget Attachment Syndrome

One can become so engrossed with a wireless gadget that social skills involving actual face-to-face communication with real human beings may fall by the wayside. Perhaps you or someone you know has developed a closer relationship with their personal gadgetry than they have with their immediate family and friends.

Perhaps it’s time to turn off the computer, the X-Box, the television and the Blackberry and grab a soccer ball or a picnic basket and head outside with the family. Over-reliance on technical gadgets for entertainment or social interaction may deprive us of vital interactions that keep us mentally healthy. *

4: Distracted Driving Disorder

Texting and driving is a subject popular in the news of late as the connection between automobile accidents and cell phone texting and usage are becoming clearly established. Oprah Winfrey has made it a personal mission to ban cell phone use while driving and mentions it at the close of every airing of her talk show. Eighteen States in the U.S. have already passed legislation to ban cell phone use in automobiles.

There is another factor to consider involving distracted drivers using the cell phones: EMF radiation within an automobile, amplified from mobile phone use can contribute to mental impairment and a slow-down in reaction time.

No matter how you look at it, mobile phones and cellular devices have a considerable downside and one that bears mindful remembering.

Read my 12 tips on how to protect yourself from cell phone radiation: click here.