Telstra’s mobile phone for Kids poses health risks
September 13th 2006 13:29
I remember hearing about this a while ago, apparently now it’s going on sale. While in countries such as Britain they are combating the rising number of kids on mobile phones due to health risks, it looks like here Telstra is looking to profit from it.
Sir William, the chairman of Britain's National Radiation Protection Board says that giving children under 9 mobile phones was ludicrous. He has reason to be concerned, when a mobile phone is used research shows that 70 to 80% of the energy emitted by the antenna (this is radiation we are talking about) was absorbed by the head. While it is still speculative at this stage wether it affects our health it certainly is a cause for concern.
Though it is difficult to know what the long term consequences are of using mobile phones. It’s difficult because, well, mobile phones haven’t been around in the mainstream for that long now have they? When are those who were still in their teens when first using mobile phones going to be thirty or forty years old? For all we know they might all develop brain tumours simultaneously and die, though that is probably an outlandish speculation by yours truly.
Back to the point though, it is not a good idea to be giving junior a mobile phone right now, is it? The experts aren’t sure what excessive exposure to the radiation emitted by mobile phones will do to someone over a prolonged period of time, granted it might turn out to be purely harmless, it could also just as well be excessively dangerous. Should we allow Telstra to gamble with our youths? With our six to fourteen year olds?
It is though, at the end of the day, the parent’s choice on what their kids can and can’t do, not Telstra’s. However Telstra should definitely be not be marketing products specifically aimed at children for some minor profit gaining. Virgin and Optus for instance strictly do not advertise for the under-16’s demographic.
Is Telstra just out to make a cheap buck?
*Further Reading
Could this be more dangerous than we might assume?
Though it is difficult to know what the long term consequences are of using mobile phones. It’s difficult because, well, mobile phones haven’t been around in the mainstream for that long now have they? When are those who were still in their teens when first using mobile phones going to be thirty or forty years old? For all we know they might all develop brain tumours simultaneously and die, though that is probably an outlandish speculation by yours truly.
Back to the point though, it is not a good idea to be giving junior a mobile phone right now, is it? The experts aren’t sure what excessive exposure to the radiation emitted by mobile phones will do to someone over a prolonged period of time, granted it might turn out to be purely harmless, it could also just as well be excessively dangerous. Should we allow Telstra to gamble with our youths? With our six to fourteen year olds?
It is though, at the end of the day, the parent’s choice on what their kids can and can’t do, not Telstra’s. However Telstra should definitely be not be marketing products specifically aimed at children for some minor profit gaining. Virgin and Optus for instance strictly do not advertise for the under-16’s demographic.
Is Telstra just out to make a cheap buck?
*Further Reading
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