Cell Phone Companies may be Getting away with Murder. For Real.
I think of myself as a man of the 21st century. I have a job in the media and own a fair amount of gadgetry. But one gadget I use sparingly is my cell phone. This is in spite of the fact that my friends get on my case for not having the thing turned on all the time. A sense of entitlement has developed surrounding the cell phone: my friends think that they are entitled to be able to reach me at any time they please.
But, my refusal to keep my phone on is in no way connected with my desire for a little quiet or a preference for the “simple life”. Rather, I am afraid of the radiation produced by the devices and what it may do to my brain in the near or long term. Once upon a time, radiation was a big issue: people were concerned that they would get brain cancer from using mobile phones, and radiation was one of the biggest reasons at least some people gave for refusing to adopt mobile technology. However, as usually happens, nay Sayers get steamrolled by the momentum of new technology and, while they are asleep, the whole world moves ahead.
If there are nay Sayers still out there, please speak up. Cell phones still give off lots of radiation, but the way we communicate has changed.
Which is exactly what the cell phone companies (be they manufacturers, service providers or the rapidly expanding industry that is set to make a fortune off of applications designed for cell phones) wanted in the first place. Critical mass was achieved long ago, cell phones are a big business and surely the cell companies are aware of the fact that a scare involving radiation and its effects could have a massive negative effect on their business.
Or, would it? Cell phones have become such an integral part of our lives, especially the lives of young people for whom cell phones are as natural as television was for my generation, that life without them is almost inconceivable.
I have no scientific evidence to prove the little devices do or do not cause disease. However, the fact that they send off microwave radiation – the same form of energy used to reheat day-old pizza in a microwave oven – directly into our heads and from very close range gives me reasonable grounds to be concerned. Radiation was once feared by many but that fear is now buried deep in our collective subconscious. It’s time we took a hard look at what the real threat may be.
Several years ago the issue of radiation made the front pages in Israel. For a few months everyone was concerned about the dangers cell phones could pose, and the government started to look into the issue. At some point, however, the two major cell service providers at the time, Cellcom and Pelephone, offered to help the government out, and kindly take the burden of researching the effects of cell phone radiation on the human body.
The result of their research? No one knows. The project seems to have disappeared. Over the years cell phone penetration has reached 95% in Israel. People speak on the phones for hours every day. Many people don’t have land line phones anymore, preferring to simplify their lives with a single, mobile phone.
Are they in danger? Maybe. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that mobile phone operators are making a huge profit. It may take many years before it is determined whether cell phones really are a danger, just like it took decades before enough evidence connecting smoking to lung cancer became available to prove the cause and effect relationship. Are cell phones the cigarette smoke of our age? I don’t know, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Verizon or Cingular become the Philip Morris of the future.
But, my refusal to keep my phone on is in no way connected with my desire for a little quiet or a preference for the “simple life”. Rather, I am afraid of the radiation produced by the devices and what it may do to my brain in the near or long term. Once upon a time, radiation was a big issue: people were concerned that they would get brain cancer from using mobile phones, and radiation was one of the biggest reasons at least some people gave for refusing to adopt mobile technology. However, as usually happens, nay Sayers get steamrolled by the momentum of new technology and, while they are asleep, the whole world moves ahead.
If there are nay Sayers still out there, please speak up. Cell phones still give off lots of radiation, but the way we communicate has changed.
Which is exactly what the cell phone companies (be they manufacturers, service providers or the rapidly expanding industry that is set to make a fortune off of applications designed for cell phones) wanted in the first place. Critical mass was achieved long ago, cell phones are a big business and surely the cell companies are aware of the fact that a scare involving radiation and its effects could have a massive negative effect on their business.
Or, would it? Cell phones have become such an integral part of our lives, especially the lives of young people for whom cell phones are as natural as television was for my generation, that life without them is almost inconceivable.
I have no scientific evidence to prove the little devices do or do not cause disease. However, the fact that they send off microwave radiation – the same form of energy used to reheat day-old pizza in a microwave oven – directly into our heads and from very close range gives me reasonable grounds to be concerned. Radiation was once feared by many but that fear is now buried deep in our collective subconscious. It’s time we took a hard look at what the real threat may be.
Several years ago the issue of radiation made the front pages in Israel. For a few months everyone was concerned about the dangers cell phones could pose, and the government started to look into the issue. At some point, however, the two major cell service providers at the time, Cellcom and Pelephone, offered to help the government out, and kindly take the burden of researching the effects of cell phone radiation on the human body.
The result of their research? No one knows. The project seems to have disappeared. Over the years cell phone penetration has reached 95% in Israel. People speak on the phones for hours every day. Many people don’t have land line phones anymore, preferring to simplify their lives with a single, mobile phone.
Are they in danger? Maybe. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that mobile phone operators are making a huge profit. It may take many years before it is determined whether cell phones really are a danger, just like it took decades before enough evidence connecting smoking to lung cancer became available to prove the cause and effect relationship. Are cell phones the cigarette smoke of our age? I don’t know, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Verizon or Cingular become the Philip Morris of the future.
posted by CatZoo at 9:15 PM
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