As a way to get her newborn infant son to sleep through the night, mom Janet Vasquez decided to use her recently bought iPhone for the often-difficult task. She downloaded several applications, including “BabySoothe” and “Lullabies”, and set them running throughout the night in close proximity to her baby’s head. “My goal was to use the applications and the phone as a pacifier,” said Ms. Vasquez.
She isn’t alone. A recent feature article in The New York Times’ Sunday Styles section was titled “Toddlers’ Favorite Toy: The iPhone.” It recounted how parents utilize applications to help with their children. O little girl, at the age of three, has become borderline addicted to the device, while her little brother, now two, began using it at only six months of age.
According to Dr. Davis, the FCC guidelines for the use of these devices are close to two decades old, and rest on outmoded tests in which the prototype user is a hypothetical large man with an 11-pound head, and who talks on the phone for no more than half an hour at a time—this being the amount of time it takes microwave radiation from the phone to heat up and damage the brain. It certainly does not describe reality for a small child, whose thinner skull is far more delicate and penetrable than any adult’s.This endearing and seemingly innocent story goes on to relate how there are iPhone apps for little children such as “I Go Potty” and “Pocket Zoo.” Yet according to Dr. Devra Davis, the founder of Environmental Trust, this phenomenon points to a profound disconnect between public nonchalance and a growing body of scientific evidence that these two-way microwave radios, with their pulsed digital signals, should never be held close to anyone’s brain. “Children are especially vulnerable,” says Dr. Davis.
“The truth of the matter is that we are unwittingly in the midst of a major global experiment on our children and ourselves,” says Dr. Davis. “Half of all 10-year-olds use cell phones, although fortunately many children text rather than hold the phones next to their brains. But carrying phones directly on the body, for example in one’s pocket as many men do, or in one’s brassiere as many women do, is still a very bad idea,” she advises. Telecom manufacturers do issue warnings to cover themselves legally, and every smartphone comes with caveats about the use of their devices…but they are always buried in the fine print that few if anyone ever reads.
France has banned the production and marketing of cell phones for children. Many other nations, including electronically sophisticated Israel and Finland, warn against placing these small radiation devices next to pacemakers or anyone’s brain—let alone small children’s brains, which double in size during the first year of life.
Brains are not the only part of our anatomy that we need to be concerned about. According to several different studies from some of the world’s top researchers, sperm count is 50% lower in men who use cell phones four hours a day—which is the case for a growing number of teenagers and young men. Lab studies on both animal and human sperm show that sperm exposed to cell phone radiation die three times faster and become much sicker than those left alone.
“As one who has studied this issue extensively and knows of the dangers, I believe we must go further, and include a warning on every device, that urges us to avoid placing our cell phones directly against our heads, or anywhere on our bodies,” advises Dr. Davis. “Not convinced? Why not be smart and err on the side of caution until the technology is improved! When should we have acted to stave off the epidemics of cancer tied to tobacco and asbestos?” she adds.
While it may be easier on parents, and it may be more exciting for the child…the cell phone should not be treated like a new pacifier warns Dr. Davis. The US should be more concerned with protecting its children, not entertaining them. Where are the warning labels that scientists have called for, time and again?
Fully understanding the dangers, Ms. Vasquez has now decided to keep her phone away from her son’s reach. “I never realized the hazards involved until recently,” she said. “I was fortunate in that the apps didn’t do what I wanted them to, so I didn’t expose my son to my phone for very long. However, it’s a lesson I’ll take with me for a very long time.”
Brought to you by Environmental Health Trust, October 22, 2010
