Are You Always Connected?

An increasing number of people today are connected to the internet all the time – either through cable or through Wi-Fi. Not at least smartphones are often kept open to the net all the time. It is efficient, comfortable, and smooth, but is it a wise policy?

I think not, and I'm going to explain why. I have collected my arguments under five points. We can label them human health, computer security & privacy, economy, environment, and machine health. (The word “computer” in this discussion also includes smartphones, and the word "machine" is used for any device run by electricity.)

Of course, everything said here applies to so-called “smart home” devices as well.

Human Health

The consequences of all the radiation a modern human receives are largely unknown. Safety levels are pure nonsense, because in some instances the consequences will not show up until a few generations ahead. Still we already know of many short term dangers. Too much talking in a mobile phone, for instance, does generate tumours in the ear. And electromagnetic radiation is lethal. Once you reach a certain level (accumulated over life), you die the magnetic death. The health consequences of all radiation cannot yet be even estimated, but I'm sure they are quite bad. If we understood them, they would probably cause general panic.

On an individual level, there is good reason to minimise the exposure to radiation. That means, all electrical machines should be turned off when not used. (Really off, not standby.) When it comes to Wi-Fi, the router should be unplugged when you do not use internet. That means also when you work offline on a computer.

If we expand this reasoning to mobile phones, I absolutely recommend the whole telephone being off when you have it in a pocket or close to the body. It somehow defies the advantage of a mobile phone, but it definitely makes sense from the perspective of health.

If that is too difficult for you, perhaps you have to be reachable, at least keep the telephone at a certain distance when you are at home or in any other fixed place. At least a meter. And use a hands-free when you talk. It strongly reduces the radiation to which you expose ears and brain.

Computer Security & Privacy

The security risks are proportional to the time you are connected to internet. After all, you are not exposed to any threat while being offline. Nothing can come in to and nothing can get out from the computer. The connection is the door to the wild world of internet. So, it makes sense to minimise the time that door is open, the time you are connected. Turn off internet when you are not using it, and turn off the computer when you are not using that. But keep internet off also when you are working with the computer but are doing something which is essentially done offline. For example: there is no reason to have internet in order to write a Microsoft Word document.

Economy

It is bad economy to wear and tear machines all the time, and, not at least, to waste electricity. The life of a machine will be shorter if it is always switched on and electricity costs money. And remember that “standby” is not off.

Environment

Radiation is a form of environmental pollution, but so is waste of electricity, since a major part of the world's electricity comes from burning coal or oil, or from nuclear power plants. Consequently, using more electricity contributes to environmental problems.

Machine Health

Machines are like living beings in the aspect that they work best and have the longest life if they get a good balance of work and rest. Above all, every machine needs regularly to become cold. It should be turned off a while every day to be allowed to lose heat. It will prolong its life considerably. This goes for everything: computers, TV-sets, mobile phones, routers,... you mention it. Just turn everything off when you are not using it. And unplug the electricity, where that is possible. Many machines are not completely off even if you turn them off – unless the electricity is broken.

Admittedly, this is impractical for mobile phones, laptops, and other machines run by a rechargeable battery. It is also impractical for communicative reasons. One cannot keep a mobile phone switched on only when using it, unless it is used only for outgoing communication.

Conclusion

In the end, the choice of how to balance practicality and convenience on one hand, and health, security and economy on the other, must be a personal choice based on your own preferences. However, be aware of what you do, don't be so blinded by the convenience that you won't see the negative aspects of being constantly connected.

(This article is based on material previously published in Meriondho Leo.)

Copyright © 2018, 2021 Meleonymica. All Rights Reserved.

Please join my community “Mind, Perception & Thought (c7a5)”.

You find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic, here.