Mobilize asks us to consider what electromagnetic radiation might do to kids growing up with devices. (Photo via Mobilize)
We all have a sneaking suspicion that our cell phones are bad for us. You hear it every day: they erode our attention span and keep us connected to social media when
we should be paying attention to the people right in front of our eyes.
But what if cell phones are actually physically bad for us?
Mobilize,
an upcoming documentary from filmmaker Kevin Kunze, is the first
feature-length documentary to examine the possibly harmful effects of
cell phone radiation. The production value is shoddy at best — Mr. Kunze
started the film as a student, and paid the production costs himself —
but the film is dense with professors and researchers who testify that
the effects of cell phone radiation on the human brain are very real.
The film zeroes in on a specific
phenomenon — the effects of the radiation in cell phones when they are
held against the side of your head. Cell phones emit a small amount of electromagnetic radiation when
they transmit a signal, and the film asks whether or not that radiation
has any effect on the human brain, the most sensitive area cell phones
come in contact with.
As the film shows, most cell
phone manufacturers include ass-covering disclaimers in their phone
manuals, suggesting you keep your phone about an inch away from your
face — an absurd request for someone who needed to, say, make a phone
call. The radiation is real, but unlike health risks from tobacco,
certain medicines, or cars, the warning has been relegated to fine print
in small books that almost no one reads.
The FCC regulates both cell
phone radiation and the media, and is heavily influenced by the cell
phone industry’s powerful lobbying group. (Photo via Mobilize)
The biggest trouble with getting
accurate research, Mr. Kunze said, is a tale as old as time in politics:
lobbying money. For every independent research report that says there’s
a tie between cell phone radiation and brain tumors, there’s an industry-sponsored report to refute it.
Additionally, The Wireless Association (CTIA
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