All You Need To Know About Smartphone Sickness - Yes, It’s A Thing.
“Q: Do I have a smart phone?
A: No, it has me!”
That pretty much sums up the current scenario, doesn't it?
So it’s no surprise if suddenly scrolling through your cell phone makes you feel sick in the stomach. Don’t blame the rich chocolate cake you just ‘liked’ on your newsfeed, because the technology-generated mayhem can make you feel woozy. Maybe a dull headache, dizziness or creeping nausea - these are just some of the peculiar side-effects of spending too much time on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever the kids are addicted to these days.
Is Your Smartphone Making You Sick?
Cell phones emit radio frequency energy (radio waves), a form of electromagnetic non-ionizing radiation, which is absorbed by the tissues closest to them. The dose of the absorbed energy is expressed as specific absorption rate (SAR), in watts per kilogram of body weight.
Exposure to ionizing radiation (like in X-rays), increases the risk of cancer. But so far, the only consistently recognized biological effect of radio-frequency energy is heating, which is what we utilize in microwave ovens.
Can Your Smartphone Cause Cancer?
Several studies with conflicting results (depending on who has funded them) notwithstanding, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an organ of the WHO, classified cell phone use as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.
Though several other expert bodies on cancer, in cleverly worded statements, have indicated that more studies over longer periods are required before the issue can be decided one way or the other.
Your Phone Slows Down Your Reflexes
A study published in the medical journal Human Factors, confirms that the reaction time of cell phone users slows dramatically. When you are texting your reaction time is found to be 23 percent longer in emergency situations. Mobile phones diminish the ability to focus. No wonder road accident rates have shot up.
If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone. It’s like instantly aging a large number of drivers.
Professor David Strayer, Co-author, University of Utah.
Your Phone is a Germ Hotspot
Your phone goes with you everywhere, gets set on dirty counters, tables, dropped who-knows-where, and everything your fingers touch goes on your screen. A 2012 Purdue University investigation found cell phones had 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat! YIKES.
In other words, your phone is getting bombarded with germs every time it’s used. So, knowing that ... how often do you disinfect your phone? Have you ever?
It Could Be Ruining Your Children
A large-scale study done on almost one lakh mothers and 30,000 children reveals that women who regularly expose their children to cellphone radiation, both while pregnant and after birth, are 50% more likely to have children with behavioural problems.
DR ASHWINI SETYA 2019