Tumor phone

Growing up as a Millennial, I got my first cell phone the summer before going into middle school.

My parents gave it to me for safety purposes, but I took it as a right of passage.

Having that sleek brick of a Nokia phone tucked safely into my backpack meant that I was really ready for seventh grade. Unfortunately, whatever wonder I associated with a cell phone as a tween has become disillusionment since the dangers of this device have become evident.

It really should come as no surprise that the radioactive slab of metal we all use to communicate would cause some sort of health problems. Yet we have continued to flaunt our concerns and talk endlessly on our mobile devices for years.
We are all responsible for it, but now at least there is proof to substantiate the doubts.  
A study overseen by the World Health Organization reports that long-term mobile phone use is linked to brain tumors.

The results, which should be published later this year, are still in the preliminary stages of inquiry but the data already collected is unsettling.

These early results reveal that cell phones are linked to three types of brain tumors and a tumor of the salivary gland.

This is not the first time cell phones have been associated with negative lifestyle traits. Using a mobile device while driving has time and time again been proven to be a life threatening and dangerous activity.

According to the National Safety Council 6 percent of all crashes are caused by driver inattentiveness due to cell phone activity.  This translates to 636,000 crashes, 330,00 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths annually.

Yet, with so much controversy surrounding the use of cell phones, very little legislation exists to curtail these dangers. Aside from some states enacting bans on using cell phones in moving vehicles, there are no rules that differentiate responsible cell phone habits from bad ones.

The cultural attitude of this country toward cell phones must be changed in the coming years. It is true that threats are associated with the use of mobile devices, but these are dangers that can easily be avoided.

For example, preserving landlines in households can help curtail time spent on a cell phone. This is an issue mostly targeted toward a younger public who only use cell phones and make up an estimated 7 to 9 percent of the population.

These people are considered to be less affluent, single, liberal and probably renters - all factors that contribute to increased cell phone, rather than land-line, usage.

As the first generation to fully feel the effects of lifelong cell phone use, it is important that we do not continue to ignore these dangers until it is too late. Mobile devices are fantastic tools that have benefited society, but we should be weary of the hidden threats within them.