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Feature Article:
Cell phone and child
A Cellphone for Kids
The marketing strategies targeted towards
cell phone and child, and the rising sales figures have
caused concern, given the fact that there are preliminary studies pointing to
the adverse impact that cell phones might have on health. There are worries that
the electromagnetic radiation emitted from mobile phone handsets may harm
health. In particular, there have been assertions that it could affect the cell
function, brain or immune system and increase the risk of developing a range of
diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s. If this is the case, children are a
high-risk category. Their skulls are thinner and their brains are still
developing — thus increasing their vulnerability." |
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Some Interesting Facts about Cell Phones
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“It’s small, and shaped to fit a kid’s hand” —
runs an advertisement for Firefly — a mobile phone launched by communications
giant Rogers, the first Canadian company to introduce a cellphone for eight-year
olds. The three-inch long phone has two special keys — mom and dad — as speed
dials. Firefly’s address book can store 20 numbers and it has multiple ring
tones, animations and flashing lights. “Every Firefly phone can be as unique as
the kid who uses it,” promises the advertisement. At $150 (US$1=1.2 Canadian
Dollars), it is being sold as a tool for parents to keep in touch with “the
people who matter most”. Young children and pre-teens are now being targeted by
wireless companies and mobile phone manufacturers as an untapped market for the
sale of mobile phones. Tweens (8-12 years) hold a rather privileged position in
North American families. As recipients of, often expensive, gifts from both
parents and grandparents, they are a ready-made market for expensive cell
phones.
While phone companies are now targeting a younger age group, some parents feel
uncomfortable about studies that hint at the possibility of risks joined with
use of mobile phones. Health Canada, the government health ministry, maintains
that there has been no conclusive study on radio frequency energy from cell
phones affecting the human body’s genetic material. As a result, it has steered
clear of issuing any public warnings against the use of cell phones.
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What can I use to
protect myself from cell phone radiation
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Cell phone and child?
Researchers, working mostly in Europe, are still
trying to find the effect of mobile phones on humans. The UK government and the
country’s private sector have been proactive in limiting the use of mobile
phones. In January 2005, after five years of first warnings against use of
mobile phones by children, National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) — the
UK statutory body providing research and advice on protecting people from
radiation hazards — reiterated that children should not use mobile phones. — WFS
By Naunidhi Kaur |
