Archive for August 16th, 2011

Airplane Mode

I think that someday people will look back to this decade and wonder “What were they thinking?” regarding cell phones and tablets and notebooks and laptops. It’s about the same way that we wonder what people were thinking regarding cigarettes 50 years ago.

There are studies and research and stuff about the negative effects (or lack thereof) of radiation from cell phones. The results are mixed, but studies are always like that. (And by “radiation” I mean electromagnetic radiation, not nuclear radiation. “Radiation” as in something that radiates or travels outward from a point source, in this case the radiation is electromagnetic waves.)

Until the results start converging, I prefer to play it safe.

Every year, there are more and more signals added to the air waves. First it was just radio. Then came TV. Then microwave ovens.
Cordless phones.
Baby monitors.
Video monitors.
Cell phones.
Wi-Fi.
I don’t know what the breaking point is, but I don’t want to find out.

  • I use my cell phone as my alarm clock, so it stays on my nightstand (right near my head) all night.
  • My kids will occasionally play games on my phone. And their bodies and brains are still growing and developing.
  • No one ever calls me, other than my wife. That’s fine – I like to keep the cell phone for urgent matters (They’re out of the sausage links that you put on the grocery list. Do you want something else instead or should I skip that one? Okay. Bye.) and not for chit-chat.

Because of all those reasons, I put my cell phone into airplane mode when I get home from work each day. There are still cell signals flying through the house, but they are reduced. My phone does not generate any cell signals (or wi-fi either).

As an added benefit, I don’t need to worry about my kids inadvertently buying or downloading games or clicking on ads or calling someone while they’re playing a game. And most of the games use a server to generate the ads, so without an internet connection, the ads don’t even appear in the games. And no phone call will interrupt my game.

That’s only at home. At work, I keep my phone in normal mode. But I don’t wear it. I set it on my desk so the radiation-generating point is not so close to my body.

Time may prove that EMR does not effect any health problems. But until then, why not play it safe? It takes me just a couple of taps to put my phone in airplane mode. It’s free and easy.

For the waves of death encompassed me;
The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;

2 Samuel 22:5