Texting Cancer | Teen Ink

Texting Cancer

May 26, 2009
By Mandy12337 SILVER, Winnipeg, Other
Mandy12337 SILVER, Winnipeg, Other
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Many kids in this modern day time have a cell phone, but don’t know how dangerous they can be. Over the last 15 years, scientists have really looked into cell phones. They have done more research now than normal because they have noticed that the risk of getting brain cancer from using a cell phone has increased. This health concern has a bigger affect on kids, not as much adults. A child’s brain is thinner and less dense than an adults is, so it’s more susceptible to everything. An adult’s brain is thicker and denser, so it doesn’t absorb things as well. What happens is the antenna from the cell phone sends out radiation waves to the brain. For a child using a cell phone, the waves go deeper into the brain because it isn’t very thick or developed. But an adult’s is, so the waves don’t go as far in. These waves may in fact give you brain cancer, so scientists think. But getting brain cancer from cell phones isn’t instant; it is over a prolonged period of time. You would have to use your cell phone for a long time over 10 years. At this point in time, the results are still inconclusive. Many scientists have found many different conclusions. We still aren’t sure if cell phones are linked to brain cancer. Many people, scientists and doctors think that cell phones could possibly lead to brain cancer, but on the other hand, some don’t. So it’s still a split decision. Data has been coming in for over four years but the scientists can’t figure out what it all means. They are divided on what the results really mean but most of them agree on that they urgently need to look at kids. But maybe our results are inconclusive because the studies we have done are only on people that use a cell phone for a few years.

Cell phones are spreading rapidly throughout the world. There are numerous companies that sell them now then ever before. But what people see on TV isn’t the full story on cell phones. All the companies make commercials to get kids interested. When the kids view the commercials, they realize that their friends have phones just like them and they start to want one too. The companies are now mainly targeting kids because they know kids start to think they need a cell phone at the age of 11 and older. Many kids watch a great deal of TV at that age so these companies are smart. The cell phones commercials don’t state that these cell phones could give you brain cancer. The companies make the cell phones appealing to kids, so that they will want them. They make pretty ones, different colored ones and good plans like the $20 student plan that MTS has. There are various commercials like the one where the dad comes home and brings everyone cell phones. He said that everyone needs a cell phone! That’s not true, people don’t need cell phones. The cell phone technology is fairly new. Before we had them we made out just fine. To contact each other we just walked somewhere or used the real telephone. So we could definitely make due without them, but sometimes they are nice to have in case of emergencies.

Parents are a big factor in cell phones. For parents, cell phones are a great way to keep in contact with kids. When they grow up, they want to do things on their own, without their parents with them. Parents still want to keep in contact with them in case of emergencies or if they just want to talk. Cell phones can let parents talk to their kids when they’re away or when they need them. If I needed a ride home from the movies, I would just whip out a cell phone and call my mom to come get me. Or if my dad calls and wonders how long I’m staying at Melissa’s house. So they can be great when you need them. Parents want their children to be safe; like knowing where their kids are and knowing what they’re doing. It’s their way to keep them safe without having them there. But are they really safe by using a cell phone?

Things that affect kids and cell phones are their friends and peer pressure. Kids start to feel the need for a cell phone when their friends get them. They have to be like everyone else in the trend so they feel obligated to get one. They think that if they don’t get one they won’t be cool and fit in, like most people feel. If you looked into a schoolyard of middle-aged kids, most of them are out texting and talking whenever they can. That’s how they communicate with each other to see what’s going on. They want to talk to each other and text because everyone around them is doing that. If one person has a cell phone, then soon everybody else does. Kids when they’re growing up want to follow all the trends that everyone else is, not just in clothes. So right now for kids, cell phones are the new trend. Kids are always peer pressured to do things like get a cell phone, even if they don’t want one. They think they’re cool because everyone else has one too. The kid’s friends encourage them to get a cell phone and they trust their friends and do what they say.

The idea of getting brain cancer from using a cell phone is quite interesting. It’s also a major health issue. Unfortunately, most people ignore it. When people are aware that their cell phone could be bad for them, they don’t care. They disregard it and don’t believe that a tiny cell phone could give a kid brain cancer. Parents still give one to their kid anyway. But there are still a few people that believe this could possibly happen so they are quite concerned. There are already innumerable cases of brain cancer without cell phones. If scientists do conclude that cell phones are harmful, people will worry because they didn’t listen. No one wants brain cancer.

Awareness and prevention are extremely important, so you can always be safe no matter what the results are. Even when people know that they could possibly get brain cancer from their cell phone, they choose to ignore it. Many people don’t know about this health concern. If people new what could happen to their kid from a cell phone, I don’t think their parents would let the use it any longer. There are many smarts ways to prevent brain cancer like limit the number of calls you make, limit the length of your calls, use hands free devices or hold the phone away from your body. When speaking on the phone, alternate sides, limit your cell phone use in rural areas where more radiation is emitted. When you go further away from a cell phone tower and limit cell phone use by young children. These things will decrease your chances of getting brain cancer by a little bit. They will make you a little bit safer when you’re using your cell phone.

Even though we don’t know if cell phones can really give us brain cancer, it could happen. There’s enough reason for concern and take precaution. They don’t know of this for sure yet but we still have to be careful and be sensible. There are indications that there might be a risk and these indications are getting stronger over the years. We should be incredibly cautious until we know more. So, if you are a kid, you may want to think twice about your cell phone and what it could do to you.


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