Should I Divorce My Cell Phone?

It’s not that I don’t love “him”.  In many ways I do.  He’s always there, right by my side any time I need him.  I look at him and he recognizes me in an instant, bringing me almost anything I ask him.  So, I’d have to say he’s a good provider.

We’re still quite intimate.  We spend every waking hour together during the day.  We sleep next to each other every night.  He’s always just an arm’s reach away.  

However, for a while now I’ve been have this nagging feeling inside.  Something just doesn’t feel right.  Do I know him as well as I thought I did?  Did I fall in love too fast?  Can I really—I mean really—trust him?  He’s virtually a part of me and yet, somehow, I feel that I don’t truly know him. 

The truth is, as I sit with this – and it’s hard to actually sit with it because he is always right there…  Just when I start to get clarity, he vibrates softly letting me know someone is trying to communicate with me.  Where was I?  Oh, yes—as I sit with this, despite the polite and almost constant distractions, I am getting clearer about what is troubling me and why I feel so unsettled.

I’ve heard other people talk about this and, quite honestly, I pegged it as a cop out, an excuse to conveniently find a way to blame their partner for the divorce.    I guess until it happens to you, you just can’t fully understand or appreciate it. 

For me it started with somewhat minor irritations like brain fog and headaches.  Then I started to notice that I was having trouble remembering things.  I noticed that the words in my text messages were being re-written and changed from what I had written and often didn’t even make sense.  I’d be typing a word and it would be changed when I hit the space bar to continue.  I’d go back and correct it, yet I often found out later that it had been changed back again after I had continued typing.  It was so embarrassing. 

Things like that kept happening.  Subtle.  Yet disturbing.  Was it me?  Was I just imagining it all?  I checked my settings and paid careful attention to how I was doing things, but these kinds of things just kept on happening.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt for a long time before I questioned him again by checking the settings.  But, I couldn’t find anything else I could change.   Then, I started to realize he had been gaslighting me.  I know.  Sounds kind of like a cop out.  But, it’s not.  When it’s been happening to you long enough you finally get it.

I’m finally getting it.  I love him and all the many benefits he offers me.  But I’m dependent on him, and I know in my heart that he’s not good for me.  The truth is he’s abusive and controlling and as scary as it is to think of living without him, I know I need to break away for my own good.

If you were born before 1980 you remember what life was like before everyone had a cell phone.  By about 1998 most adults had purchased a mobile flip phone.  Then, people started canceling their landline service in droves.  “Why should I spend $30-40 on a landline when I have a mobile device to send and receive calls, send texts, and receive voice messages?” we reasoned.

Since then, cellular phones have evolved into powerful handheld computers that give us access to the internet, GPS mapping services and a wide array of other applications and services. According to Statista.com, in 2019 there were almost 270 million smartphone users in the United States. 

However, cellular phones are also associated with a host of problems we could not foresee while many of us were prepping for Y2K, the catastrophe that never came.  Cell phone radiation and overreach into our lives, unfortunately, is a real problem. 

What we now know about the dangers of cell phones may soon make many wish they had not given up their landlines which are secure, reliable, and have very low levels of electromagnetic radiation.  Furthermore, they don’t fail in bad weather of during other events that strain the limits of a wireless system, such as what happened on September 11, 2001.

However, due to the fall off in demand for landline phone services it may now be less possible to obtain landline service in some geographical locations. 

Dangers of Cell Phones

The World Health Organization (WHO) concluded back in 2011 that the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones and other devices were dangerous to humans and, therefore, gave them a 2B classification , meaning carcinogenic (cancer causing) to humans.  (The Impact of smartphones and mobile devices on human health and life, Leonid Miakotko, NYU, 2014)

The iPhone information insert warns users to keep their IPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from their bodies and to never use carry cases, belt clips, or holders with metal parts. (idownload blog.com)

Warnings and advice on the internet about how to mitigate EMF effects of cell phones are widespread.  Summarizing, they recommend not holding the device next to your head (using a headset whenever possible), not carrying the device in your pants/shirt pocket or in your bra, not sleeping with your device on your nightstand, limiting or discontinuing cell phone use in cars where signals search more vigorously for connection to nearby towers, and limiting or discontinuing cell phone use in small, enclosed places such as elevators. 

Health Effects 

Some of the commonly reported effects on human health from radiofrequency exposure include insomnia, irritability/anxiety, depression, memory problems, nerve/eye pain, headaches and migraines.  Additional effects reported are cell mutation, fertility problems, DNA damage, melatonin reduction, skin damage, chromosome damage, neurologic damage, and cancer.

The FCC has set an RF exposure rate, or Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), for RF energy from wireless devices at a limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg), as averaged over one gram of tissue (fcc.gov).  But, anxious to give maximum functionality and optimal size to the consumer, manufacturers are good at pushing the limits.  For example, the Apple iPhone 6 Plus, comes in at only .01 under the FCC’s legal limit of 1.6 W/kg standard. 

Environmental Science research expert and Epidemiologist, Devra Davis, PhD, since 3G was the standard, has been warning people about the dangers of RF exposure of cell phones for all humans, and even more so for children and unborn babies.  She criticizes the SAR standard for being created on the basis of a 6 minute phone call per week (the average in 2014 was 195 minutes per day) and using a very large prototype for the tissue mass basis.  (All information attributed to Dr. Devra Davis taken from academic lectures posted widely on the internet.)

Dr. Davis reviews research that shows a reduction in fertility for people who carry their phones in their pockets as well as an increased incidence of breast cancer in women who carry their cell phone in their bras.  She states that flawed research is done by industry sources that have conflicts of interest and that more independent research is needed.  She states that the FDA says that they would regulate RF in cell phones “if” it could be shown, definitively, to be harmful. 

Standards
The FDA statement (above) flips the presumption of “unapproved until proven safe”on its head.   Drug companies have to prove that their drug candidates are SAFE and EFFECTIVE before they can be approved for use in humans.  Yet, the telecom industry is allowed to produce devices that emit electromagnetic radio frequency without having to PROVE that the levels of radiation are safe to humans.  This should be concerning to all of us. 

More concerning still is the fact that—well-known to most people—the implementation of the 5G (5^th generation) of cell phone technology (planned long ago) is well underway.  However, as of February 2020, the FCC had not yet approved an actual STANDARD for 5G technology.  Worse yet, the companies (carriers) that plan to benefit financially from the additional array of services they will be able to support on the 5G network have been the ones directly involved in writing the standards for 5G.  This would be like a classroom of students being allowed to write the questions for their final exam and sharing all the answers with each other prior to the test date.

It would be like a drug company submitting an application for a new drug to the FDA and setting the criteria for approval to match whatever their clinical trial data ended up yielding instead of having to fulfill objective and strict standards.  In other words, it is backwards and it certainly does not assure the safety of the public.

Censorship and tracking

Perhaps the most well-known example of reliable information coming to the American people regarding how electronic devices, such as cell phones, are used to spy on them by agencies such as the NSA (National Security Agency) came from the disclosures of Edward Snowden. 

Snowden’s whistleblowing led to the shutting down of a data-collection program that had been collecting domestic phone records on millions of Americans per FISA Court order of Verizon from April of 2013 to ostensibly obtain information on Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks during the Bush administration.  These surveillance tactics were no doubt facilitated, in theory at least, by the post-911 Patriot Act.

After shutting down the aforementioned surveillance program, the Obama administration replaced the original NSA spying program with another one under the U.S.A. Freedom Act of 2015.  Many concerns about these types of actions continue to exist to this day.  (Information provided was reported in The Washington Times and in The Guardian, 2013)

And, it’s not just the government that uses the data produced by individual cell phones.  Most corporations now use, track, store and sell data from cell phone users.  Facebook has the ability to track you through your cell phone.  It is controlled by a location setting on your Facebook account.  Furthermore, they also track your browsing activity on the internet.  What’s more, all corporations want to have you on a vast network that uses electronic sensors to know everything about you, what you buy, how you use energy and water, what your fitbit records, etc., etc., called the Internet of Things (IoT).  Cell phones are very important to this automated and all-pervasive system.

I hate to be the bearer of so much bad news, but the technology is being developed to implant a chip into your body that acts as a cell phone (it goes in your jawbone).  If you are a transhumanist at heart or someone who trusts others without question, that might sound cool.  Otherwise, not so much.

Facebook and Google are everywhere—though, unlike the American Express slogan, not everywhere you want (them) to be—unless you don’t mind being watched constantly and having your data tracked.

Facebook and Google are the ubiquitous tentacles of the digital world, the facilitators of all those who wish to capitalize on and use data to reach and manipulate consumers.  And, they are so very sneaky about how they do it.  Maybe a setting on your phone helps open the door, such as your GPS locator setting.  Maybe a permission on an app allows access to data settings.  One way or another we know that the name of the game for corporations these days is through personal data. 

Some people don’t seem to have a strong aversion to this data invasiveness.  They seem to be of the opinion that privacy is a thing of the past.  However, they may well benefit by rethinking that supposition.

Just like an overly controlling spouse, as in the divorce analogy above, the use of your data by apps, cellular carriers, Facebook, etc. is going to lead to an ever growing number of unwelcome intrusions into your life.  What’s more, the things that the aggregated collection of your data is used for in the future may shock and disturb you.

In the very near future for some of us (and already underway for others) your cell phone will be used as a surveillance tool for what is called “contact tracing” for the government to track citizens through an app in order to, supposedly, control things like the spread of the novel coronavirus.  Of course, if it is used for the virus that has been the subject of global attention since December of 2019, it will surely be used to track and trace other health concerns as well.  What else will the government want us to use our cell phones for? 

You may not object to a COVID-19 contact tracing.  But, does that mean you would submit to any kind of tracing on a carte blanc basis in the future?  If not, then this plan is troublesome to every person in the population for lack of a policy that respects the liberty of the individual. 

COVID-19 is outside the scope of this article, but suffice it to say that there are many questionable issues surrounding the response to this very real virus.  And, to the point of this article—which is the “abusiveness” of one’s cell phone (as well as other digital devices)—we have seen a magnificent increase in the censorship of information relative to the coronavirus, even information submitted by very respected and credentialed sources. 

When those who have control of the major digital platforms we use on our computers and our handheld devices—cell phones—begin to pervasively censor information from the citizens that is a very good time to begin questioning our dependence on those who control the network for our electronic devices.

Solutions

So, what can be done?  It certainly isn’t a one size fits all scenario.  The most nuclear option, regarding the cell phone, would be getting rid of it in favor of a landline.  But, very few people would have either the discipline or the fundamental commitment to carry out that option.  However unlikely it may seem, it is viable.  But, until we live in a society in which cell phones are used to so egregiously offend our sense of liberty (for example to track you down and force you to receive a vaccine against your will, implant a chip of some kind in your body, etc.) or to facilitate the biblical prophecy of the mark of the beast and his digital global monetary system it will be unlikely to see people divorcing their cell phones.

If you choose to keep using a personal cell phone even in this age of greater and greater overreach into your private life, you should do two major things: 

1.  Be vigilant about your personal settings and also about what you agree to in the permissions of the apps you download.  Also, be aware of how your other electronic settings, such as those on Facebook and other social media, interact with your cell phone. 

There is software that can track your cell phone even if it is turned off.  Sometimes people use this to find their cell phone if it gets lost.  But, others, including the NSA can use this kind of technology to turn on your phone’s camera and microphone remotely even if your phone is turned off.  Consider these points of knowledge carefully and see what else you can do to manage your phone.  And be particularly vigilant about these things if you have children who have their own cell phones.  Children are, unfortunately, targets for unsavory folks who know how to use technology and who also are devious in the way they act to try to lure kids into their web.

2.  Do what you can to reduce the electromagnetic effects of your cell phone device.  It is recommended that you never hold your cell phone up to your ear.  Either use a headset or put your phone on speakerphone and hold it away from your head.  Never hold it to your head while it is ringing, especially, since this is one of the times when the signal is the strongest.

Do not carry your cell phone on your body.  That means not in your pants pockets or your shirt pocket or your bra as the long-term dose of radiation can cause infertility and even cancer.  Remember, there have not been adequate studies done on the effects of cell phones, but independent studies indicate long term exposure to them is dangerous.  This is ESPECIALLY true for children due to their size and developmental level.  Never let a child hold a tablet on their lap. Strictly limit their exposure to all cellular devices.  Also, you might want to consider removing your Wi-Fi router from your home.  There are many schools that ban Wi-Fi because they know how dangerous it is to children. 

If you have to carry your phone on your body get a specially made shielded case for it to block the EMF signal.  Don’t use your cell phone in a car.  They are constantly searching for cell towers while you drive which significantly increases their EMF radiation.  Turn them off while you are in the car.  It’s not safe to talk and drive or text and drive anyway.

Do not leave your cell phone on your night stand while you sleep.  Remove it from the room you sleep in.  This reduces the radio frequency field around you while you sleep.  In addition, the light produced by your cell phone and its tendency to sound off when a notification comes in make it a large impediment to quality sleep.

Finally, to reduce your dependence on your cell phone and to reduce the amount of information that is used to track you leave your cell phone turned off when you are not using it.  Do you really need to be available 24/7/365 to anyone who wants to message or call you?  Do you owe them an immediate response?  If you said “No”, schedule the times when you will turn on your phone and return messages and make calls.  Take control of your life and your schedule.  You’ll get a lot more done, you will have less radio frequency polluting your environment, and you will stop giving those data greedy digital tyrants all your data for free so they can manipulate you with it.

If you are incensed by not only the electromagnetic radiation effects of cell phones—along with the imminent deployment of the 5G network—as well as the overreaching ways that governments and corporations use cell phones to track and manipulate people, you may be ready for the nuclear approach.

The nuclear approach consists of getting your PIN number from your cellular carrier (if you want to keep one or more of your cellular phone numbers) and then calling the phone company to order a landline for installation at your house.

Emergency

How would you, then, communicate in an emergency, you might wonder? 

1. You might want to consider a two-way pager for emergency communication when you are traveling since phone booths have become a thing of the past.  This would require that you have a procedure worked out ahead of time when you travel.
2. A two-way radio is an option (they can have a radius of 50 miles and some are solar powered).  There are lots of different kinds of two-way radios.  And, there is always the old CB radio.  “Breaker, breaker 1-9.  You got your ears on?”
3. Ham radio would be a more committed form of back up communication requiring training, licensing, etc.  But, not a bad idea to look into it.  They make portable Ham radio equipment.
4. TracFone option.  You can buy a TracFone very cheaply and either add a service plan when you know you will be traveling a distance away from home or keep a minimum plan applied all the time yet keep the phone turned off (wrap it in foil if you want to make sure no one turns it on remotely—probably not necessary, but it’s an option).  They are only about $20 a month for talk, text and some data.

These options may seem extreme and complex.  Some are and some aren’t.  But, if you are committed to reclaiming your independence, this project will be motivating and energizing to you.  Have some fun with it.  Think outside the box.  If you are old enough, you remember how it used to be before cell phones.  Remember when people would stop to help a stranded motorist instead of assuming they were a serial rapist?  Now we just assume everyone has a cell phone and drive on by.  However, not everyone does have a cell phone.

If you decide to go nuclear you are in a very elite class of people who have decided to live off the typical digital grid.   It will have some challenges.  Where will you keep you phone numbers?  For one thing, you’ll start to remember more phone numbers.  Aside from that you could resurrect the old Palm Pilot either from your junk pile or from Amazon or EBAY.  You can keep a spread sheet on your computer (which you might wish to consider hardwiring to a hub in your closet that connects it to a Cat5 of Cat6 instead of using Wi-Fi) and print it out to keep it handy and update it once in a while.  It will be a headache.  But, so is all the stuff you go through with your cell phone—autocorrect, updates that change everything you were used to, and all the automatic stuff they do that drives you nuts, not to mention the tracking, etc.

Your friends and family will be irritated that they can’t just text you any time and get an immediate message back, usually of something really important with a cute emoji attached (wink).  Train them to use your landline and leave a message if you are not available.  You can use a phone with a built in answering system or find an antique answering machine. Heck, if you want to you can go scorched earth and not even have an answering machine after you let your voice mail box get full.  It’s up to you.  You will now have all the control over how you want to live your life.  You can’t believe how liberating it feels not to have that extraneous part of your body with you all the time—your cell phone.

There may be many options in between the mitigation strategy and the nuclear strategy.  Do whatever is right for you.  But, in the tradition of Brain Cleavage, just please THINK ABOUT IT.  That’s what we do here.  Thank you for reading this “maiden voyage” post and feel free to comment.