As mobile phones have become more and more popular, the health worries about them have also become more and more prominent. Mobile phones have been blamed for countless health problems, ranging from headaches, to cancer. These accusations are not unfounded, because of the uncertainties, millions of pounds have been spent on researching mobiles to see if they really are damaging the health of our nation. And although nothing yet has been proven, there are still obviously very serious risks at large as scientists have warned us to use mobiles sparingly, and some activists have even demanded that mobile phones should carry health warnings like cigarettes, to make people aware of the dangers involved. You may think this is extreme, but no one yet has been able to categorically state that mobile phones are safe; the worry is that we just don’t know. And if your health were at serious risk, wouldn’t you want to know about it, even if the evidence wasn’t entirely conclusive?
And this is by no means the only danger. Approximately 1.3 million mobile phones were stolen last year in the UK alone, and they are involved in one third of all robberies. These are violent crimes, in which the victim is sometimes threatened at knifepoint, and is often injured, and even killed. People are mugged for their mobiles day and night, no matter what age, gender or race they are, and no amount of phone disabling features will stop that. Ironically, many people buy mobiles to make them feel safer, so they know they can phone someone if in trouble. But having a mobile phone will actually increase your chances of being attacked, which is not what I’d call a safety feature.
Children in particular are suffering at the hands of mobile phones. As well as being prime victims for phone theft, they also have to deal with pressure from peers to get the latest handset or feature. In addition, they now have the newest form of playground aggression to contend with, text bullying. This may sound far fetched, but statistics published last year by the NCH Action for Children charity, showed that 16% of bullying was done by texting alone. Bullying in schools has always been a problem, but now the anonymity of a mobile phone is enabling bullies to escape uncaught more and more frequently. And this is being made possible by a device, which is more often than not bought by parents who are trying to do the right thing. And this is only the beginning of the problems.
With 60% of secondary school students now owning a handset, many of which include such gadgets as internet access and photo messaging, mobile phones have become playing grounds for paedophiles. Even last year, when these extras were not particularly common, a married, English man, was jailed for having unlawful sex with a teenage girl. He had met her in a chatroom which the girl had accessed through her mobile. Her parents had no way of protecting her. They supervised her computer use, but had no way of monitoring what she did on her mobile. And this case is not a one off. All over the technologically advanced Japan, chatrooms are being used for such procedures, and it is becoming an increasingly common occurrence in Britain too.
I can’t deny that mobile phones have brought instant communication to the millions, be they in the bath, on the bus or up a mountain. I can’t deny that they are efficient, attractive, companionable, and have designer kudos. But, when you use your phone, are you not just creating a flashing neon sign which says ‘mug me’? Are you not just holding yet another cancer stick to your head?
We can talk about the positive points of mobiles till the cows come home, but by doing that, are we just side-stepping the real issues, are we covering up mobiles with personalised ringtones and countless varieties of candy-coloured cases so that we don’t have to address the real problems, telling ourselves that if they look pretty, and can do so many great things that they surely can’t do and harm?
Is your mobile phone really as great as it seems?
Or is it a wolf in sheep’s clothing?