Background
Your phone, while powered on is always communicating with the network even when you are not active on it, hence a continuous emission of radiation. This is how your phone detects when you have an incoming call or message.
Some sources like Berkeley News (2021) and The Guardian (2018) believe that the truth about the dangers posed by mobile phones are being kept deliberately from us the consumers. Though there is no concrete evidence to prove that mobile phones cause any serious health damage to humans yet, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has described mobile phone radiation as “possibly carcinogenic” to humans (IARC Press release, 2011). Carcinogenic simply means having a potential to cause cancer. This conclusion is also supported by many scientists as indicated in Berkeley News (2021). FYI: The IARC is an intergovernmental agency which is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Joel Moskowitz, a researcher in the field of public health also claims there are negative biological and health effects associated with using mobile phones and wireless devices (including increased chances of brain cancer). A study also carried out by Latha et al. (2017) showed using mobile phones at night (before bed) could lead to a reduced quality of sleep and reduced cognitive (brain) function. Some studies have also linked mobile phone radiation to headaches. The frequent use of mobile phones especially before bed has also been linked to having a lack of clarity; in other words, feeling confused.
Though research into some of these possible side effects is still on-going, and somewhat inconclusive, we have nothing to lose by adopting some precautions to reduce our exposure to cell phone radiation. We won’t just go on and on talking about all the potential side effects of keeping your phone near you at night, or in your pocket during the day without suggesting ways to better use your phone. Links will be provided below if you are interested in reading more on the possible side effects.
Suggested Precautions
1: Do not sleep with your phone near you
This is quite obvious based on the potential side effects mentioned but do not sleep with your phone near you. That is just a lot of unnecessary exposure to radiation while you are not even using the phone. Dr Sanjay Dudhat, a surgical oncologist posits that the radiation from mobile phones are emitted at about 3-to-4-foot radius and this is a scientific fact (Shah, 2018). It is therefore advisable to keep your phone up to 4 feet away from you when going to bed to avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation when the phone is not even in use. Your phone is always communicating with the network even when you are not using it, hence a continuous emission of radiation.
2: Use Bluetooth whenever possible.
Bluetooth and Wi-fi emit significantly less radiation which from studies, pose no harm to our health. Bluetooth headphones (or earphones) could be used in situations where you need to be on the phone for long hours, or on the move but still want to get notified of calls, messages and notifications. Some suggestions for this purpose are the Apple airpods, Beats studio buds, Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds, or the Samsung Galaxy buds.
3: Activate airplane mode when going to bed.
This is a recommended approach if your phone has Wi-Fi calling feature and can utilise Wi-Fi for calls and messages instead of the regular cellular mobile/data connection. However, if your phone does not have the Wi-Fi calling feature, adopt the habit of keeping your phone a bit far away from you (as described in solution 1) if/when you are expecting a call or important message.
4: Do not keep your mobile phone in your pocket or near your skin.
Studies have shown our skin is able to absorb radiations coming from our mobile phone. Keeping our phones even just inches away from our skin reduces the amount of radiation our skin absorbs significantly. This is very important especially for kids as their skulls are still thinner and their brains are still forming; therefore, not very effective at blocking radiation from mobile phones yet. Before giving your child that iPad next time, you might want to consider using just Wi-Fi while airplane mode is activated on the iPad. Wi-Fi is still able to work even when your phone is on airplane mode.
5: Use speakerphone where you can or where appropriate
You can activate the speakerphone where it is appropriate to do so, instead of holding the phone close to your ears. In situations where it might not be appropriate to activate the speakerphone, and you need to place the phone on your ears for a long period of time, practice switching sides. Some studies have also shown teenagers who stay on the phone for long hours on their right ears perform poorly on certain types of memory test (Kowalski, 2018). Again, we are only offering suggestions to mitigate the level and potential impact of our exposure to mobile phone radiation.
6: Avoid making calls when there is a poor network reception.
Your phone constantly emits large amount of radiation to establish connection and stay connected to the network. The lower the reception, the more effort your phone puts in to keep you connected which may also be noticed from your phone heating up while you’re on the phone in places of low reception. This is because your phone is super busy channelling more power to its antenna, doing its best to keep you connected still. The more effort your phone puts in to connect to the network, the more the radiation it emits.
Bonus tip:
Do not leave your phone charging on your bed (especially overnight). Apart from the potential dangers from the radiation emitted by your mobile phone, there is also the risk of explosion due to overheating. Your phone emits radiation because it is powered on and working. The more the processes running on your phone, the more the power it uses and the hotter it gets most of the time. This is why your phone or laptop could get really hot when you are playing games or running too many tabs on your browser while also having the VPN on. Keeping your mobile phone under a pillow or wrapped under the sheets or under anything similar would leave the phone no room to breathe, hence higher chances of overheating. Higher chances of overheating mean higher chances of explosion.
Which of these precautions would you be adopting from today? Let us know in the comments.
Links to articles for additional read
IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans
https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr208_E.pdf
Moskowitz: Cellphone radiation is harmful, but few want to believe it
https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/07/01/health-risks-of-cell-phone-radiation/
Can mobile phones cause cancer?
The Inconvenient Truth about Cancer and Mobile Phones
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/14/mobile-phones-cancer-inconvenient-truths
Wow, I have been doing a lot of things wrong! . Very informative! I will definitely adopt Bluetooth and airplane mode. The other one I would love to adopt but might be hard is the one on “low reception”
True @Fave. Sometimes we really need to make important calls or use our phone in areas of low reception. However, we can consciously reduce how often by using the phone only when it is really necessary to do so in areas with low signal.
Omo, so many things we’ve been doing wrongly out of ignorance. Thanks for putting this out as a reminder.
Informative
Hi Comfy! We’re glad you found it informative. Remember to share with friends and family 🙂
Yes David, though it is still described as ‘possibly’ carcinogenic, we have nothing to lose by being careful.
Super informative. Thanks!
I’ll be doing number 4 and 6 more intentionally now
Lovely! 4 and 6 are good ones to start with as well. We are glad you found it informative.
Wow,this is an eye opener, especially 4&6. Thank you for the information.
Our pleasure Tibzy! We are glad you found it informative!
Great, this is very informative thank you. Going forward, will be intentional about no 5 and 6
Yep! Good place to start Rose 🙂
I find this very interesting and informative, I would be adopting using Bluetooth especially during long calls.
I find this very interesting and informative, I would be adopting using Bluetooth especially during long calls.
Way to go Dolapo! Hope you share with people you care about 🙂
Great Information. Thanks
Thank you Sachin!
You are a life saver! Thanks for this. I have many people that also need to read this.
I’m really glad i read this. I definitely have a lot of habits to change (fast). Thank you so much for writing this.
Our pleasure always, Jide!
Thanks for reading and (hopefully) sharing 🙂
Interestingly, this piece brings to fore some of the intricacies of mobile phone (mis)use by users. Unfortunately, some tech companies and marketers are blindly driven by capitalist orientations, at the expense of collective good. We all should do better. While opportunities should be given by the supply side of technologies for users to learn about adequate use of mobile devices, users (the demand side) should prioritise their health and ‘life’ over patronage and brand bias. For users, it begins with the 6 suggested precautions above. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Boluwatife for an illuminating comment. Yes, we also owe it to ourselves to prioritise our health over other things that may not even be worth it in the long run.
Very informative.
Thank you Oluwadamilola
What a fantastic piece of . Very educative and I would be adopting every precautions mentioned here. Thanks.
Way to go Samuel! Nothing to lose by being more cautious 🙂
This is really helpful.. thanks for the tip
A pleasure of ours, Honeyy!
Sleeping with my phone beside me, I’m very guilty
Haven’t we all 😀 ? But it is never to late to be more cautious.
I really learned a lot from this post and I will definitely make corrections. Almost everything is directed to me.
We are glad Adelowo Ayodeji! Ensure to check back frequently for more interesting, educational and enlightening content 🙂
This is such a great post! I’m still very guilty of many of these things! I know a few people, especially women, who keep their phone in their bras or front pockets… smh! I’ll definitely be sharing this post to them!
Oh wow. You should definitely share it to them. Better safe than sorry.
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