7 reasons why cell phones are the worst!

Cell phones probably don’t cause cancer, but even if they did, you probably wouldn’t stop using them.

It’s worth remembering this as we face some pretty startling news: A study showed that cell phones might, under certain circumstances, increase the risk of some types of cancer in certain male rats. At least, that's what one new study tells us.

Although, similarly exposed female rats did not grow tumours. And the results of another part of the study, about a group of mice who also lived through many hours of cell phone radiation, are not out yet.

No matter what the findings, this study simply can’t turn cell phones into a bad thing. It can’t because cell phones are already horrible.

Let’s look at some of the real ways in which cell phones are terrible for you.

• Addiction

We are obsessed with our cell phones.

If you own a cell phone, you’re likely addicted to it. A recent Common Sense Media study found that both parents (27 percent) and teens (59 percent) feel addicted to their mobile devices.

Addiction is the “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.”

Substitute in “cell phones” and it still works.

The compulsive need for and use of a cell phone, characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.

Addiction is never a good thing.

If you don’t think the addiction to cell phones is real, try not using yours for a day or more. A 2011 Bournemouth University study found that subjects reported physiological and physiological symptoms akin to drug-use withdrawal.

• Texting and Driving

Almost as soon as Martin Cooper made the first mobile phone call in 1973, companies were figuring out how to put them in cars.

For the first 30 years, cell phones and automobiles got along fine. Then along came texting and then texting and driving, two things that result in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries each year.

We know this is a terrible thing to do, and yet more than half of all cell phone-owning teens and parents admit that they check their smartphones while driving.

Even outside the car, cell phones prove to be a distraction that people are literally walking into things.

• Selfies

Cell phones rarely leave our firm, sweaty grip and this is often because we don’t want to miss an awesome selfie, which can also result in damage, injury and even death.

Earlier this month, someone climbed onto a priceless statue so he could take a selfie with it. The statue fell and shattered into at least a dozen irreparable pieces.

In 2015, there were more reported selfie deaths than deaths from shark attacks. (In all fairness to sharks, however, they rarely attack humans.)

And when selfies aren’t hurting people, they’re killing animals. Tourists cannot stop grabbing unsuspected species for what usually turns out to be animal-life-threatening photos.

• Cell phones are Dirty

Because you never put your cell phone down – even taking it to the bathroom – it is now one of the dirtiest things you own. A 2011 study noted that 1-in-6 phones have faecal matter on them. 

Even if you don’t believe that, think about where your phone goes and then count the number of times you’ve cleaned it.

It’s gross, but true!

• Sleep Deprivation

How many times have you rolled over in bed and right on-top of your cell phone? You and a lot of other people are sleeping with their cell phones, which means you were likely looking at it before going to sleep – if, that is, you could actually fall asleep.

Studies have shown that the blue light emitted from these devices serves to wake us up. Sleep deprivation messes with your appetite, your memory and even the health of your skin. 

Why do you think Apple finally introduced Night Shift in iOS 9.3? In theory, that warmer light colour makes it easier to nod off.

• Too much Information

Having constant access to a world of information and news means you have constant access and can’t stop looking. This can lead to information overload, which is about as bad as it sounds.

When people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost in doing so.

We may be overloading our brains with too many details and tasks that we can’t manage. The fact that all that information is there on our cell phones for us to access makes us think we have to access it now. That can lead to some stress-making.

• Poor Communication Skills

Cell phones and texting may also be robbing us of crucial communication skills. Teens no longer talk face-to-face and, therefore, now barely know how to do so. 

Imagine what the next generation of job interview candidates will be like. They’ll look for one horrible moment at the interviewer and the stare down at their empty hands, hoping that a cell phone will magically materialize and start asking them questions.

Put simply, there are countless, tangible ways that cell phones are bad for us. A study about the possibility that the same kind of radiation cell phones produce might increase the risk of some forms of cancer in a small group of male rats is probably not what we should be worried about.

But what if other cell phone studies show mobile phones do cause cancer in humans? Would you throw away your phone then? Probably not!

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