Smartphones: the waves would be harmful to the memory of young people – 20/07/2018

Sticking one's right ear to one's cell phone could lead to a decline in people's memory youth. This would be due to the electromagnetic radiation that would damage the right hemisphere of the brain.

A Swiss study, published Thursday, July 19, tends to highlight the significant decrease in memory that would cause the use of smartphones by young people, as reveals Le Temps. This study of Swiss TPH has shown that high frequency electromagnetic fields can have detrimental effects on the development of memory in certain areas of the brain. However, these electromagnetic fields are largely captured by the brain by smartphones, when they are used near the head.

This study is based on a research report, published in 2015, which was already trying to prove this harmfulness but without bringing clear conclusions. The conclusions of the Swiss TPH are therefore the first results of an epidemiological study on the estimation of the cumulative dose of these waves in the young.

Do not call without earphones or speakers

Nearly 700 Swiss pupils , aged 12 to 17, participated in this study. They were followed for a year by the research team. They discovered that young people using their phone excessively to make calls suffered from a lack of development of their so-called "figural" memory, that is, a memory of forms and space. This "significant decrease" is due to the fact that this memory is located mainly in the right hemisphere of the brain. Thus young people spending a lot of time with their phone glued to their right ear would be more affected than others by this phenomenon.

According to Professor Martin Röösli, the director of this study, the young people who use their smartphones mainly to play, send SMS or go on the Internet would be less affected by these waves. Electromagnetic fields are too weak at this distance to cause developmental disturbances. He advises to use as often as possible a hands-free kit or loudspeaker during calls.

A study published by @SwissTPH in @EHPonline found that mobile phone radiation may have an adverse effect on the development of memory performance in adolescents within specific areas of the world [//] http://t.co/UZ61ZbCbac pic.twitter.com/YV4AICT5Ez

– Swiss TPH (@ SwissTPH) 19 July 2018

Further studies are needed

This study should be followed by another by the same team of researchers. Their goal is first to confirm it and to exclude other factors, such as puberty, from being the source of their results. Their next step is also to discover the exact effect of using smartphones on the behavior, psychomotor abilities, language and cognitive functions of young people.