Does Exposure to Mobiles Affect a Child’s Behavior?

Let the study wars begin! To recap, a group of researchers previously documented the apparent (and note the word apparent) effect of cell phones on concentration. Now the premise of an Ars Technica feature looks even more compelling. What’s anyone to think after seeing “Correlation found between cell phone use, childhood problems“?

To summarize:

The results suggest a linkage between cell phone use (both maternal and by the children) and behavioral issues. “Children with exposure to cell phones (prenatally, postnatally, or both),” write the authors, “tended to have higher percentages of borderline or abnormal scores for emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems.”

The contradictions between the two studies are obvious; better concentration stereotypically leads a better, more well-adjusted life right?

At least the folks of the study, as reported by Ars Technica, did not discount other factors that could’ve affected the results. For some reason, “higher rates of cell phone use correlated with low socioeconomic status and maternal psychological issues”, meaning it’s not necessarily the mobile’s fault after all?

This is where studies can be paralyzing, similar to the carcinogen craze of the early 90s and early 2000s. Don’t eat this, this, or that, because there’s a link between that and a higher rate of a certain kind of cancer. A few months later, another study with a totally opposite view comes out.

For now, it’s probably best to not do anything drastic, while researchers figure out ways to come out with more definite results that show absolutely clear links between cell phone use and any badness it may cause. Admittedly, that may be practically impossible, so can’t we just use the damned things?

Image courtesy of the Shawn Phoenix Reason website