I’ve not been feeling that good recently. I’m tired most of the time,
listless and quite irritable. It’s something I put down to the time of the year
and the fact that, to put it bluntly, I’m not quite as young as I used to be. My
wife says I’m just a grumpy old man. However, according to some, my malaise can
be explained by the rise of wireless networking.
Apparently, if it weren’t for the electromagnetic radiation emanating from my
wireless router – currently positioned about two feet from left knee – I could
be skipping about like a three-year-old.
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But, just as with similar scares over mobile phones and phone masts, there
seems to be little in the way of scientific research to back up such claims.
There is, of course, subjective evidence, as in a recent Evening Standard
story about a woman who claimed her health had suffered following the
installation of Wi-Fi in her house. The two, she claimed, were inextricably
linked. Moreover, she was so sensitive to the radiation that she felt able to
tell instantly if Wi-Fi was installed in a particular room.
There’s also a support group,
ElectroSensitivity-UK, for
those made ill not just by Wi-Fi networks but all things electromagnetic.
Part of me agrees with those who point out that Wi-Fi equipment produces a
lot less radiation than TVs, microwaves and all the other electrical equipment
around us. I also tend to agree with those who suggest that extended late-night
web cruising, facilitated by the Wi-Fi hardware, could explain most of the
reported symptoms.
On the other hand, wireless hardware undoubtedly produces electromagnetic
radiation, and I see no reason why some people shouldn’t be more sensitive to it
than others. Just as, despite being tone deaf, I recognise there are people with
perfect pitch able to hear frequencies that completely pass me by.
But good, bad or indifferent, wireless networking won’t go away any time
soon. Indeed, in the next few years Wi-Fi could overtake copper as the
predominant edge technology, both in the office and at home.
In which case it might be a good time to take a look at the possible harmful
effects of Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies. I’m not proposing a
cigarette-style government health warning, just an independent study into the
cumulative effects of having so much kit pumping out low levels of
electromagnetic radiation.
After all, as I said at the start, I have been feeling a little under the
weather recently and would really like to know if switching my wireless router
off will put the spring back into my step.
Do you agree?
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