After my post on Wednesday, I got a few questions/responses about the Moshi Moshi handset, and thought it would be helpful to post about it. Let’s be honest: we all have a cell phone…even my grandmother has one! And if you’re anything like me, chances are it has developed into a borderline necessity. Hands up if you’re guilty of switching on your handset even before your flight has completely landed, or whether it’s the first thing you look at in the morning.
While several studies seem to corroborate that basically everything can be linked to cancer and other illnesses, those based on cell phone radiation are a bit more plausible.
“[Cell phone radiation is like] what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain,”- Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles
Whether these effects are true, I would rather be safe than sorry…which is why I bought the Moshi Moshi. Other than look super retro, it’s a device that can be plugged into cell phones or PCs/laptops for internet calls. As it plugs into a 3.5mm audio jack, it’s compatible with a majority of cell phones. After buying it, here’s my take:
Pros:
- Great sound: With the exception of a few calls, the sound has overall been as good as if I were using the handset alone
- Lightweight
- As my handset is not rubbing against my brain, it reduces up to 96% of cell phone radiation exposure
- Feels more natural than talking into a headset
- Can be tucked between my shoulder and ear and enables hands-free operation/continued handset use during a call
The only con that I can think of is that some might find it annoying to carry around. Personally, the size of my day-to-day handbags probably gives Mary Poppins a run for her money, so I can just shove it in when I am not using my phone. As for the times when I am carrying a clutch (e.g. during nights out), chances are my phone calls won’t last over 2-3 minutes.
For 129 dirhams (~£22/$30), I am more than happy with my purchase. I still sleep next to my cell phone and I sometimes forget to plug in my Moshi Moshi, but overall some precaution beats none. If brain cells could speak, I’m sure mine would be thanking me :)! And while it’s a great solution to reduce cell phone radiation, there are other ways to reduce exposure too:
- Avoid using your handset when signal is weak: the fewer the bars, the stronger the radiation.
- Hold phone away from your body: even storing it in your shirt/jeans pocket is harmful as soft tissues absorb radiation.
- Text/BBM/Whatsapp: Phones use less power (=less radiation) to send text than voice. Messaging also keeps radiation away from your head.
- Save longer conversations for wired/cordless phones.
- Alternate which ear you listen to the cell phone with to halve the radiation to each side of your head.
- Switch your phone on to airplane mode if you keep it by your bed for the alarm. Otherwise keep it away from your bed.
So informational girl! I need to share some of this info with my dad– he’s on the phone so much for work haha
Interesting info!
glad you did a post on this. so helpful. i do worry about it, i think our generation will see crazy things when we’re 50. so scared.
glad to know my zara post helped you.. love that. omg, post what you bought in another post.. i’d love to see. 🙂
Zara really is the best! I don’t think I can ever have ‘enough’ of that place!
Really interesting post, K! I know I’m guilty of talking way too much on my cell phone but am honestly trying to cut back. I’m with you…better safe than sorry!
Guilty as charged..I turn my phone off much too soon before I land..oops.
ah! good to know.
Ha wow – never knew all of this – I use my phone for pretty much everything and never really thought about the radiation effects. I do love your Moshi Moshi handset (which when I saw I could tell it was Japanese – so cute!) and juding by the size of my bag I could fit it in there too so not a bad idea 🙂
For what it’s worth, it’s definitely way more snazzy than those ear pieces ;)!
Hrmm very interesting information here… I really did not know much of this! Allows me to think of some of my own routines 🙂
Great tips! I got into a habit of putting my phone on airplane mode at night but sometimes I just get lazy. The Moshi Moshi looks awesome though – where did you buy it from in Dubai?
From Virgin Megastores in Mall of Emirates (ground floor)!
Thinking about this is sort of scary…but I’m glad you addressed it! I think we all need to be a little more diligent about using our phones since we have no idea what the long term effects will be!
Better safe than sorry right!
This is such a great post! I’ve never really given much thought to mobile phone radiation, but I’m definitely going to look into buying one of these. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, Sarah 🙂
It’s really scary to think our cell phones – which have become basically an extra appendage – are slowly killing us with radiation. Thanks for this post, and for all your suggestions to reduce the risk. I use my hands-free most of the time, and try not to bring my cell phone to bed with me, or put it (or my purse) in my lap when I’m driving.
I used to have the worst habit of lying down with my Blackberry on me or right next to me…I now try to keep it at least 5 inches away when I’m sitting/lying down!
Good tips! I’ve started turning my phone off at night, ’cause I realize I leave my cell RIGHT next to my head all night, while I’m not moving, just soaking up any potential harm.
Exactly…potential and unnecessary harm! I need to take a page out of your book and shut it off!
Actually I usually turn off my cellphone while in flight because hubby really wanted us to follow instruction for safety purposes. But I wanted to follow your tips “Switch your phone on to airplane mode if you keep it by your bed for the alarm” I usually placed it on top of the pillow so now I will try to follow your recommendation. Thanks
I am guilty of using my phone on flight – going to make sure I don’t on my next trip!
I’ll be honest, this is more bad news for cell phones on top of all kinds of similar stories I’ve heard. I still recall how shocked I was when I saw popcorn getting popped with cell phones. Thanks for taking the time to try and inform people, and showing there’s small things that can be done. Regardless, cell phones are becoming something most people can’t function without.
Glad to be of help, Tom! I’m in shock about that tidbit about popcorn and cell phones…I had no idea but it just makes the whole thing that much more frightening!
Such useful and vital information. This definitely puts things in perspective for me. Now I know why texting was introduced into the world of technology! After reading this blog entry, I think that I’m going to strictly put my calls on speaker mode or text (not that I haven’t been doing that mostly already). Thank you for supplying myself and others this info.
Thanks Tom, although I’m still guilty of phone overuse ;)!
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