Cell phones not only allow your mother to find you, wherever you are, but they offer so many applications like music, games, and films that concern has developed over how much young people are exposed to the radio-frequency (RF) energy that mobile phones emit.
California’s Department of Public Health is the latest agency to enter the fray, offering advice such as, “[S]imple steps, such as not keeping your phone in your pocket and moving it away from your bed at night, can help reduce exposure for both children and adults,” from Director Dr. Karen Smith. Asked why Public Health would offer such recommendations without conclusive scientific evidence to back them up, spokeperson Corey Egel stated that the department was responding to public requests for guidelines. The state agency lists brain cancer, tumors of the acoustic nerve and salivary glands, lower sperm count, headache, and learning and memory effects among the “suggested possibilities” indicated by studies.
Part of the concern derives from the fact that cell phones in the U.S. tripled between 2000 and 2014, from 110 million users to 327.5 million. Globally, the number rose to 5 billion. Since most people hold a cell phone to their head when using it, high-profile cases of brain tumors awaken anxieties. And because children as young as 10 years old routinely use and sleep with their cell phones, precautions are considered prudent as their brains are smaller and their lifetime with cell phones longer.