Cell Phone Skepticism #3: Health Risks

In the early part of the 21st century the world’s mobile phone users were presented with a quite terrifying concept – that their use of cell phones caused an increased risk of brain tumors, and that anyone using a mobile phone with regularity was presenting themselves with a possible death sentence.

It had some weight as a theory – after all, cell phones send out radio waves and those have to go somewhere. It made sense to many people that there could be a chance of this radiation causing a tumor to grow inside the head of the cell phone user. It was certainly enough of a story to dominate the news for at least a while, and to persuade a number of wavering non-users to remain without a cell phone.

However, research carried out since then has quite uniformly demolished the argument that mobile phone use carries any increased risk of brain tumors. A Danish study in 2006 followed more than 400,000 users – backdated over the course of twenty years – and found that there was absolutely no increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use.

The extensive studies carried out before and since have also presented no argument that increased use of mobile phones makes it any more likely that the user will suffer a brain tumor. It is hard to say if the risk is increased even when the user has what might be considered an “addiction” to talking on their mobile phone – although if you remain doubtful, sending texts when it is appropriate is a worthwhile safety option.

Cell Phone Skepticism #2: They Are Invasive

We’ve all been in this situation: You are sitting down to enjoy your evening’s TV viewing, or reading a book, or putting the kids to bed, or putting the finishing touches to some important work – and then a phone blares. It might be yours, it might not. It might be a call, it might be a text message. Whatever the case, it can puncture the sense of anticipation or relaxation.

Many people who do not own a mobile phone give this as one of their most persuasive reasons to remain cell phone free. They will say it in as many words – “I don’t want people to be able to contact me 24/7.” – and there is plenty of justification for their discomfort with the idea. After all, when you’re open to contact all the time, you can never be certain of peace and quiet.

This of course should be balanced against the fact that you can always switch your mobile phone off or set it to “silent”. Indeed, this is considered to be a necessity when you are in a library, most business meetings, a classroom or even on most planes. But many of us picture the wounded expression of a friend or family member, saying “I tried to contact you but I just got your answer phone”, and find it hard to respond.

No-one expects you to leap into action at their beck and call, though, not if they are in any way reasonable. If it’s important enough, they will leave a message or find some other way to contact you. You can always switch your phone off – the precedents mentioned above are enough – and if you know you are likely to be contacted, you can set it to silent and check it every so often.

Cell Phone Skepticism #1: They’re For Posers

Although in most of the world it is now seen as the norm to have a mobile phone, there are still enough people who hold out against the idea of buying or owning one. Some will go to the extent of refusing a gift from a family member who thinks they should have one. Among the reasons given for not owning a cell phone, one of the most common is that they seem to be needlessly flashy.

The idea of cell phones as an accessory for posers is one that has less pull today than it did at the beginning of this century, but nonetheless sticks in many people’s minds. It is easy to laugh at this and call the skeptic a technophobe, but the image of a city trader circa 1990 with a cell phone the size of a brick clamped to their left ear is one that can be hard to shift.

There was certainly a time when owning a cell phone was a show of status more than anything. In the days before text messaging, before the internet, mobile phones were simply for making and receiving calls – and getting a signal strong enough to have a conversation longer than “Hello? Yes, I’ll be home in 15…” was practically impossible.

In those days, a cell phone certainly was not a necessity for all but the most pressured of occupations. As time has gone on, and cell phone coverage and take-up has grown to an increasing level, having a cell phone is still not necessary per se, but makes a lot of lives much easier.

Get Yourself Connected

It sounds weird to say it now, but a decade ago there was no shortage of people who would have considered it unthinkable to own a mobile phone. As the last decade has passed, the numbers who do not have one have shrunk considerably, and at least in the English speaking world it is now more likely that someone will have a cell phone than not. They have gone from being a luxury item or status symbol to being more or less the norm.

People still hold out on getting one, for their own reasons. Some think that it is a sign of gadget mania – if you can live your life without one, why bother getting one? Others are repulsed by the idea that they could be contactable at any time, wherever they are, and value their privacy so highly that they reject the idea of having one. And there are others who are still put off by the theory that radiation from your cell phone can give you a brain tumor.

Of course, you do not have to have a mobile phone. It is entirely possible to live your life without one. We have, however, seemingly reached tipping point in terms of the fact that you now seem to need a reason not to have a mobile phone where before you had to justify why you were getting one. Twenty years ago this would have seemed impossibly futuristic, but now, a mobile phone is simply seen as another thing you are expected to have.

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