“Why you’re addicted to your cellphone”

Story at-a-glance

• The featured CBC Marketplace program, “Why You’re Addicted to Your Smartphone,” goes behind the scenes, talking to tech insiders about how cellphone addiction is manufactured, and the effects thereof
• Internet addiction — the inability to unplug — has been shown to take a toll on cognition and focus, as it’s a constant source of distraction
• The “Moment” app tracks the amount of time you spend on any given app, allowing you to see just how much of your life you’re frittering away
• Silicon Valley companies use artificial intelligence and neuroscience to create more engaging and persuasive apps, maximizing the addictive potential of your smartphone
• Commonly used habit-forming tools include pleasure hooks, variable awards, “the infinite scroll” and loss aversion techniques

By Dr. Mercola. Read more

“This is what happened when a driver tried to Snapchat a hailstorm, Idaho police say”

“Idaho State Police shared pictures on Twitter [photo at top] last week showing what can happen when a driver is distracted by social media — and the photos speak for themselves,” by Jared Gilmour, McClatchey newspapers. Read more

“Illegal Levels of Radiation Emitted by Popular Cellphones”

Story at-a-glance

• Hidden within your cellphone’s manual is a little-known warning that advises you to keep the device at a certain distance from your body — typically 5 to 15 millimeters — to ensure you don’t exceed the federal safety limit for radiofrequency (RF) exposure
• Cellphone testing by the Chicago Tribune reveals several popular cellphones emit far higher levels of RF radiation than legally permitted, which has led to the filing of at least one class-action lawsuit
• In the U.S. and Canada, the SAR limit for mobile devices used by the public is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of head tissue. SAR is a measure of how much RF energy your body will absorb from the device when held at a specific distance from your body
• At a distance of 5 mm from the body (the distance used by Apple), the iPhone 7 was found to emit anywhere between 2.5 and 3.46 W/kg, which is 1.6 to 2.2 times the legal limit. At 2 mm from the body, the distance of carrying the phone in your pocket, levels were even higher
• The three Samsung Galaxy smartphones tested were all within the legal limit at 10 to 15 mm from the body (the distance used by Samsung), but RF radiation levels skyrocketed at 2 mm from the body, raising serious questions about the safety of keeping a Galaxy phone in your pocket

By Dr. Mercola. Read more