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Harmful Effects of Mobile Phones

In 2009, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 85 percent of all Americans owned cell phones. The popularity of this technology, according to the Federal Communications Commission, caught on faster than personal computers or cable television. The convenience and ubiquity of cell phones has undoubtedly transformed many areas of people's lives, but scientists and researchers continue to question what the harmful effects of mobile phone use might be.

  1. Radiation

    • Studies have found that the radiation cell phones emit were responsible for many adverse health conditions but, according to a 2009 article in "Wired" magazine, each of these studies is contradicted by other studies. Sometimes contradictory studies come from the same sources. Andreas Stang, et al., published a 2001 study in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" linking mobile phone use with the risk of uveal melanoma--a form of eye cancer--but, in 2009, published the results of another study which found no such link. Other studies have suggested adverse effects on sperm viability or linked cell phone use in pregnant women with behavioral problems in the children they produced. Dariusz Leszczynski, a Finnish researcher for the STUK-Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, has spent ten years researching a link between mobile phone use and brain cancer and concludes that he and his fellow researchers "do not have the answer whether, or whether not, mobile phone radiation could cause brain cancer."

    Distracted Driving

    • Under the theory that using mobile phones while driving causes more accidents, some states have banned the use of hand-held cell phones while allowing people to use hands-free devices. According to "Wired" magazine, the reasoning behind these laws are based on "a small 1997 Canadian study that didn't take other driving distractions into account." A 2001 study by North Carolina University that was more comprehensive blamed cell phone use for only 1.5 percent of accidents involving distracted driving. In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis reported a low incidence of car accident deaths caused by cell phone use but stipulated that their results were uncertain because gathering data on such statistics was problematic. However, a University of Utah study in 2005 found that people driving while using cell phones had significantly lower reaction times.

    Precautions

    • While scientists and researchers continue to wrangle over the harmful effects of cell phone use, the general public would be wise to take precautions. You can buy cell phones that have a lower specific absorption rate (SAR), which means your body absorbs fewer of their radio frequencies. You can also keep your cell phone as far as possible away from your body by not storing it in your pocket, texting instead of talking, and using hands-free devices. Moreover, the decision not to use your cell phone while driving should be part of a larger vow not to engage in other distractions while driving, such as eating or fiddling with your car stereo.

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