I agree with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of Health and Human Services, that mobile phones probably do not belong to the classroom. They can distract you from learning and prevent socialization, or both.
But Kennedy has another concern. He recently I said Fox and friends That he is worried that the phone will case “neurological damage to the child” or “even cancer.”
The difference between Kennedy and me is, well, there are important differences for our purposes today, but we can’t mistake our doubts about cell phones for proven science, socialization, learning loss. fact.
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Many others criticize Kennedy from a superficial similar angle. Like me, they think there is a good reason to keep their phones out of the classroom. However, these critics argue that mobile phones cause depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Like Kennedy, they seem to be convinced that these concerns are actively supported by scientific methods.
However, the claims are mobile phones and social media. Cause Mental health issues are also weak. RFK Jr. is wrong to be afraid of neurological damage and cancer. But acting like Kennedy’s fear is being smashed isn’t much of an improvement Their Fear is mere science.
The evidence can be “very bad”
Kennedy told Fox that the phone “is shown to produce electromagnetic radiation, which has been shown to cause neurological damage to children when they are around all day long, causing cell damage and even cancer.”
Kennedy’s statement was not drawn out of nowhere, as is dangerous information, as is common. Mobile phones emit radio frequency radiation. And while most studies have no connection between cell phone use and DNA damage or cancer, “There are a lot of low-quality studies in the literature, and if you want to collect and put it all together, it would look very bad,” says Jerold Bushberg, a radiation oncologist at the University of California Davis. I said NBC. “There are a lot of activist groups out there that encourage those research and say it’s true.”
NBC’s work refers to several studies that may suggest a link between mobile phones and cancer, but also points out why these studies may not be reliable or applied to humans.
in Survey in 2017McCormick and his fellow researchers exposed rodents Radio Frequency Radiation And we found that the rate of growth of certain tumors could increase. However, given the many biological differences, lab animal discoveries do not necessarily apply to humans, given the limitations that prevent researchers from drawing conclusions.
10 years ago, a The study examined mobile phone use Of the more than 5,000 people with brain tumors, it was found that the risk of 10% of people who use mobile phones the most could be increased. However, this study relied on people’s memories of past phone use. This is not always reliable, and the results (as in the results of similar studies) are difficult to interpret.
The National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency say there is not enough scientific evidence to link cell phone use with cancer, NBC reports. However, it adds that “causal relationships cannot be ruled out because the international research institute on cancer is classified as carcinogenic.”
“It is true that in 2011, the Hyperpresary International Agency for Cancer Research was classified as a “potential carcinogen.” reasonRonbailey in 2013:
However, in a rather terrible reaction Journal of carcinogenesis It has been pointed out that agents classify coffee and pickles as possible carcinogens. Meanwhile, the National Cancer Institute states completely, “There is no evidence to date from cell, animal or human studies that proliferation energy can cause cancer.” A comprehensive review of journal research in 2012 Bioelectromagnetic magnetism “There is no statistically significant increase in the risk of adult brain or other head tumors due to the use of wireless phones.”
(reference: “‘Everything’ is carcinogenic” – on mobile phones”)
And of course, if your phone is causing something like a brain tumor (one of the most frequent concerns about the potential risk), you’d expect a dramatic increase in brain tumor rates. They are it’s not.
The bottom line means that raising a potential link between a mobile phone and a particular physical health risk might absolutely be no joke. However, Kennedy exaggerates the evidence and ignores the opposite.
And so are people who say that mobile phones are causing mental health issues in teens.
Are there any issues with Screen Time “Proven”?
In opposing Kennedy’s claims about cell phones and cancer, many entities draw a contrast between his concerns and more respectable concerns about the phone.
“Studies have shown that overuse of social media via smartphones can negatively affect teenage mental health and increase the risk of depression and anxiety,” declares NBC. “Scientists have also long understood that cell phone use in schools can lead to poor academic achievement, including those in the lower grades.”
Community Notes Under X Post to Share Kennedy’s Statement say: “Despite a widespread circulating plot and some testing of rats, there is no evidence that cell phone radiation has a negative effect on young people. On the other hand, excessive screen time has proven to be problematic.”
Yes, many studies have been shown Association Between mobile phone use and various psychological illnesses or negative mental states. However, these studies suffer from both methodological flaws and those who draw flawed conclusions from them.
The biggest problem in all of this tends to be people who assume causality from correlation. The survey shows links between social media use, phone use, or more common screen times and some negative psychological attributes. Maladaptation characteristicsand people can quickly cite this study as evidence that even those who pay lip service to the saying that correlations are not causal, are social media and mobile phones. Cause Mental health trends.
However, young people who suffer or are struggling with depression, anxiety and other issues or are struggling with predisposition to that, or are rewarding, are likely to retreat to Tiktok’s videos, and may force check Instagram to defeat rabbit holes and more on Reddit forums. This causes screen time to become a symptom rather than a cause.
After all, the majority of young people today have and use mobile phones, but a much smaller percentage is more likely to be what is called problem phone use. If mobile phones are the catalyst for insanity, then you should expect to see a much higher number if many people claim.
Of course, most young people may be able to use their mobile phones and social media responsibly, but for a subset of them, these things are very bad. Perhaps even worse than the alternative escape mechanisms that these problematic teens may accept in their absence. But this is not an assertion that people tend to make. And more if This is true and does not mean that there is a need to strictly limit the use of phone calls and social media for all young people.
Another issue is how these studies are carried out. Research often asks young people to remember and evaluate their use of social media and phones. (NBC focuses on this flaw when describing research showing the link between mobile phones and cancer, but somehow it appears to be different when children recall how much time they spent on YouTube.)
Statistician Aaron Brown laid out more methodological flaws in various teenage technical panic studies. Author of many papers Jonathan Haidt, Anxiety Generation: How Major Rewiring in Childhood Causing the Mental Illness Epidemiccited in his argument that “it contained coding errors, inappropriate statistics, and other issues.” Brown points out:
Most people downloaded most of the cheaply generated data, such as investigating second-grade psychology students, examining data collected for other purposes, or analyzing them using a ready-made statistical approach.
Haidt cites 476 studies in his book that appears to represent an overwhelming case. But two-thirds of them have been published previously… period when Haidt focuses on the book. Only 22 people have data on heavy social media use or serious mental issues among adolescents, with no data on both.
Bottom line: It’s absolutely nothing strange to raise a potential link between a mobile phone and a specific mental health risk. But like Kennedy, supporters who limit internet access and phone calls for young people tend to overstate their evidence and ignore the evidence against them.
case for School phone?
Kennedy and some of the suppression crews of the phone and I might all agree to call from school. Apparently A good idea.
But do you know who doesn’t agree with us? Many parents. A survey conducted by the National Commissioners last year showed that most American parents want Children with access to mobile phones at school. (My parents were down on phones than you would expect, with 46% saying that the phone had a “mostly” or “fully” positive effect.
We’ve also heard from teachers who agree that education would be easier if no one was carrying a cell phone, but resistant phone policies point out that teachers need to spend more time using the phone, which could result in even greater learning disruption than telephones.
Perhaps the problem with the school phone is not as simple and clear as it is visible at first.
However, one thing seems abundantly clear. School mobile phone policies should not be set by the federal government. They should probably not be set up by the state. These are the best questions for individual schools and districts.
Local governments are the perfect way to know how the school problem phone size is actually one of a particular student body and how local parents and teachers feel about this issue. They are most likely to know if it is viable to limit calls at schools and are the best way to implement anti-phone policies. (Do students keep their phones in a central location? Are they allowed to use them in the hallways between classes, or are they not at all?).
There is no universal impact of mobile phones on the psychological health and emotional well-being of young people. You probably don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to school mobile phones.
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