The arrival of smartphones on the market and the growing number of electrical devices we use on a daily basis has raised the question of how much these phones radiate and how harmful it is.

Given that the number of users and mobile devices is growing every day, it is not negligible that they have a great impact on our lives. It is estimated that there are almost five billion users in the world.

Different types of electromagnetic waves

Radiation, whatever it is, needs to be protected. But to know what we are protecting ourselves from, we first need to know how mobile radiates.

By definition, electromagnetic radiation is a phenomenon through which electric and magnetic waves, or photons, propagate. There are ionizing and non-ionizing rays in the electromagnetic spectrum. Ionizers have the power to expel an electron from the shell of an atom, while non-ionizers cannot do that.

Non-ionizing rays include radio waves, microwaves, visible light, infrared and ultraviolet rays. Since mobile phones emit small doses of low frequency radio waves, they also use non-ionizing rays.

Harmful effects of radiation

But, although mobile phones can be said to be highly sophisticated radios, they can have consequences for the human body. Radio waves can thus cause tissue warming, but not significantly. Although mobile radiation and cancer are often linked, this information is still not consistent enough to be considered official.

What increases the amount of radiation on mobile phones are the antennas that are hidden in smartphones. The closer the antenna is to the body, the greater the amount of radiation that the body absorbs. If we move the phone away, we reduce that radiation. Higher radiation is recorded in situations of weaker signal, because then the mobile uses more energy, which increases the amount of radiation.

Does phone radiation affect health?

Despite numerous studies, there is not enough evidence to prove the harmful effects of mobile phones on physical health. Among the short-term effects, there is an increase in heat and warming of the skin, and among the long-term ones, the formation of brain tumors is being investigated.

So far, the largest study conducted in 13 countries has shown that there is no increased risk of head and neck cancer when using mobile phones for more than 10 years. Therefore, mobile phone radiation is classified as a possible carcinogen for humans.

This means that a connection is possible, but there is no reliable evidence.

How does radiation affect children?

Given that mobile phones are a relatively new invention, radiation research in children is still ongoing. It is certain that today's generations of children will be much more exposed to mobile signal and radiation than today's, older generations, and that this could have an impact on their physical condition.

How to reduce mobile radiation?

If you want to be even safer and avoid radiation from mobile phones, it would be best to use such devices as little as possible. This is especially true for children, which is why it is often recommended that children not be given mobile phones, tablets and similar consoles at all, as long as their body and brain are developing.

Here are some tips to reduce smartphone radiation:

• use your home phone instead of your mobile for calls

• talk briefly

• use messages instead of calls, even though they radiate, that amount is short-lived, and receiving a message does not radiate

• use headphones and a loudspeaker for longer calls and keep your mobile phone to your ear as little as possible

• do not keep the phone in your pocket

• do not hold the phone near your head during the day or while you sleep

• talk in the open

• limit conversations when the signal is weak because then the mobile phone amplifies the frequency and thus the radiation

• restrict children's use of mobile phones

How much does 5G radiate?

With new technologies, we have received the 5G network, which many consider dangerous. When comparing the amount of radiation generated by 2G, 3G and 4G networks with that generated by 5G, there is not really much difference.

Radiation of the 5G network should not have an impact on health or a higher possibility of tumors, as well as the current network. The only effect that electromagnetic radiation has is tissue heating.