TECHNOFERENCE’ IS AFFECTING SLEEP, PRODUCTIVITY: STUDY

Prelims level : Nil Mains level : GS II - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e- governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability
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  • Excessive use of mobile phones is making people lose sleep and become less productive, according to an Australian study that found a jump in ‘technoference’ over the past 13 years.

1 in 5 women affected

  • According to the survey, one in five women (19.5%) and one in eight men (11.8%) now lose sleep due to the time they spend on their mobile phone.
  • About 12.6% of the men said their productivity decreased as a direct result of the time they spend on their mobile compared to none in 2005 and 14% of women have also noticed a productivity decline.
  • Over 54% of women believe their friends will find it hard to get in touch with them if they do not have a mobile (up from 28.8%), and 41.6% of men thought this. About 8.4% of women and 7.9% of men have aches and pains they attribute to mobile phone use.
  • The survey results also indicated that phones were being used as a coping strategy, with one in four women and one in six men saying they would rather use their phone than deal with more pressing issues.

The Good and Bad of Technology

  • Rapid technological innovations over the past few years have led to dramatic changes in today’s mobile phone technology which can improve the quality of life for phone users but also result in some negative outcomes.
  • These include anxiety and, in some cases, engagement in unsafe behaviours with serious health and safety implications such as mobile phone distracted driving.

Harmful Effects of Mobile Radiation

  • Health effects of radiation can be classified into two categories: threshold effects and non- threshold effects. Threshold effects appear after a certain level of radiation exposure is reached and enough cells have been damaged to make the effect apparent. Non-threshold effects can occur at lower levels of radiation exposure. Here are few common health effects or harmful effects of radiation on human body.

Hair

  • Loss of hair fall occurs when exposure to radiation is higher than 200 rems.

Heart and Brain:

  • Intense exposure to radiation at 1000 to 5000 rems will affect the functioning of the heart. Radiation kills nerve cells and small blood vessels of heart which may cause immediate death. Brain cells are affected if the radiation exposure is greater than 5000 rems.

Thyroid

  • Certain body parts are affected specifically when exposed to different types of radiation sources. The thyroid gland may be affected when exposed to radioactive iodine. If exposed to a considerable amount of radioactive iodine, whole or part of thyroid can be affected.

Blood System

  • A number of lymphocytic cells present in the blood will be reduced if a person is exposed to 100 rems. This may cause several immune problems. This is termed as mild radiation sickness. As per the reports from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, symptoms may be present more than ten years from that exposure.

Reproductive Tract

  • As the cells of reproductive tract divide fastly, these are more prone to be affected even if the exposure is not more than 200 rems.
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