DUBAI // Experts have warned about the health risks to children posed by mobile phones as those as young as seven are allowed to sign contracts. The telecoms company Du said people between the ages of seven and 21 require their guardian's consent to enter into a mobile phone contract. Federal law states a person must be 18 to sign an agreement on his or her own. Etisalat does not allow subscribers to sign up for contracts until they are 18.
But as more young people use mobiles, doctors warn their use is particularly dangerous to children. "Use of mobile phones affects children more than adults because their brain is more sensitive to radio frequency and can damage their neuron cells," said Dr Shabeer Nellikode, a neurologist at Lifeline Hospital in Abu Dhabi. "Studies agree that mobile phones are unsafe to the brain and precautionary steps should be taken."
Side effects could include hearing loss, brain tumours, skin cancer and modulated heart rate, he said. Parents such as Khadija Yaqoob, an Emirati mother of three, said they were aware of the health dangers associated with phones. "My kids always nag and say they want mobile phones but I know it has a negative effect on their brain and it's not healthy," she said. Still, mobile phone providers are launching products aimed at children. A mobile that will allow youngsters instant access to an emergency number and let parents to track their whereabouts will be on the market by the end of the year. Launched by Etisalat, it sends SMS notifications when children leave designated areas. Etisalat and Du declined to comment on the health effects of mobile phones on children.
Excessive use of mobiles could also create a wall in the social interactions between youngsters, causing them to rely on technology instead of human contact, said Magda De Lange, a human development consultant. "The danger in overuse or malusage of all forms of media and technology by children is that there appears to be an increasing disconnect in people's lives today," she said. "Kids are under pressure to determine their place on the social ladder [and] even more so here in the UAE, where the majority of children live an affluent lifestyle."
Mrs De Lange's 10-year-old daughter has asked for a mobile because 22 out of 24 kids in her class own one. Her mother has denied the request. "I have asked my parents for a phone before and they said 'What's the point?'" said her daughter, Milla. "I need to have a mobile to call phone friends or relatives." Samineh Shaheem, an assistant psychology professor at Wollongong University in Dubai, warns of mobile phone use by children - but also of the consequences of feeling left out.
"The child's cognition has not yet developed skills to balance the usage of a telephone," she said. "They do not understand the financial consequences of expenditure, so they don't understand when you [speak] on the phone someone's paying for it." With mobile phones so popular, Ms Shaheem said, not being part of the crowd can cause children to feel isolated, which can harm them socially. "One must move with the cultural and social and technological trends, if this is the trend at the time. However, if one stays behind that trend there are consequences, like being made fun of."
One parent voiced her concern after her 12-year-old was ridiculed for not being part of the phone craze. "All children will make fun of and laugh at the ones who don't have a BlackBerry and that's the situation with my son," said Susan, a mother of three who did not wish to disclose her surname. @Email:newsdesk@thenational.ae