INFORMATION technology seems to have all the answers to many of our questions. Adults find it amusing to see toddlers learning to surf the internet before they even learn to speak. In fact, we seem to be very proud and tend to brag about it. Because of the humongous information and entertainment that we get from using our gadgets like the laptops, tablet and cellphones, many among users—including children as young as two years old—get addicted. However, studies warn us about constant exposure to gadgets’ microwave radiation. What should we do when what was perceived to be solutions to some of our problems become the problem?
In my research, several studies have been posted that bothered me. Devra Davis, PhD., author of Disconnect: The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation, explained the difference between microwave ovens and cellphones with regard to the radiation both emit.
“Cellphone is a two-way microwave radio with intermittent destabilizing pulses, unlike microwave ovens that steadily operate at the same frequencies. The weak and erratic microwave radiation from cellphones and tablets cannot directly break the bonds that hold molecules together, but does disrupt DNA, weaken the brain’s protective barrier and release highly reactive and damaging free radicals,” Davis said.
The doctor continued, “A five-year-old’s brain, healthy or otherwise, is encased in a thinner skull and contains more fluid than an adult brain. The bone marrow of a child’s head absorbs 10 times more radiation than an adult while those of infants and toddlers will absorb even more.”
Davis’ blog underlines the caution made by the American Academy of Pediatrics that children need more face time than screen time, more laps than apps.
“The capacity to learn how to tell the difference between mommy and me and to learn to think about the other requires holding, touching, smelling, seeing and hearing real live people. This cannot be supplanted by intoxicating technological bells and whistles,” the doctor wrote.
Davis recommends that a tablet should be eight inches away from an adult body, far longer than most toddlers’ arms.