Question: Which is a worse problem for adolescent health – the obsession with social media and its impact on the psyche, or the direct effects of bathing the brain with radiofrequency waves for hours on end via AirPods or a Bluetooth headset?

Answer: Both are bad.

According to one wise teen, a patient of mine, the problem is a “combined culture of being addicted to one’s phone and competing with your friends’ idealized lives on Snapchat, while at the same time tuning out the world with your AirPods.”

IS BIG TECH DOING ENOUGH TO CURB HATE ONLINE?

A growing number of teens are struggling with mental health problems. In fact, a new study from San Diego State University of 200,000 teens and 400,000 young adults found an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts than previous generations. The study’s authors believe the increasing psychological problems are due to more time spent on digital media.

Published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, the report found that major depressive episodes are up by 60 percent, with young girls being particularly vulnerable. Cyberbullying and the harsh judgments of social media appear to be factors, along with the social isolation that comes with spending so much time with your devices rather than with other people.

One of my patients told me that all the time spent on social media is caused by fear of missing out. “Human to human interaction is decreasing. People worry that they don’t measure up, that their own lives are lacking compared to the idealized version that their friends present.”

A recent Brazilian study found an increase in tinnitus (ringing in the ears) as a result of frequent and prolonged cell phone use.

At the same time that social media is taking over the teen universe and occupying their brains, there is also increasing concern that Bluetooth head phones and AirPods, along with higher intensity radiofrequency transmission (5G), present a direct health risk that must be addressed.

A report released by the National Toxicology Program late last year concluded that “there is clear evidence that male rats exposed to high levels of radio frequency radiation (RFR) like that used in 2G and 3G cell phones developed cancerous heart tumors …There was also some evidence of tumors in the brain and adrenal gland of exposed male rats.”

Granted, the study was in rodents, not people, but it was extensive, and should motivate further studies in humans as soon as possible, especially when you consider that 5G radiation is more intense and must be closer to the receiver, meaning it may have more pronounced health effects.

Hundreds of millions of people are now using Bluetooth devices that sit right next to their brains. The numbers are growing, and the potential health risks of high amounts of exposure to RFR go beyond cancer.

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A recent Brazilian study found an increase in tinnitus (ringing in the ears) as a result of frequent and prolonged cell phone use. Research in the lab has also shown damage on the cellular level, including altered calcium transport and genetic expression, which could be indicative of pre-cancerous changes.

Teens aren’t necessarily buying into any of this. They are literally plugged in and living in an increasingly unhealthy and addictive high tech world that is far from healthy. Sadly, many can’t find their way out.

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