Safe Tech Tips While Staying Connected During COVID-19 Shut-Down
By Cece Doucette | Spirit of Change - Holistic New England
Published:
We are grateful today’s technology allows us to conduct work and school from home, monitor the news and stay connected with friends and loved ones. As we do so, let’s see if we can form long-lasting healthy habits around our technology use, and model good behavior for the children in our lives.
Two healthy technology habits to strive for are safety and balance. Read on for common sense choices and tools to help us get there.
Using Our Technology Safely
Public policy is starting to catch up to the science showing wireless technology is harmful, but what are we to do in the interim?
Choose hard-wired technology as best you can, and turn off the wireless antennas. Does that sound daunting? I was intimidated too at first, then I figured it out and protected my family — and you can too.
And guess what? We get much faster speeds, a more reliable signal and better data security now!
We’ve just been oversold on the convenience of wireless. So let’s figure out how to have the best of both worlds.
My local cable station did a walk-through of my home. We created a 23-minute PSA showing common exposures and suggestions for remediation if that helps (thank you, WACA-TV!).
https://youtu.be/0W_vlGmnpqE
Here are some device-specific tips:
- Plug in wireless devices to your router using an Ethernet cable and turn off the antennas in your device Settings (cellular, data, wi-fi, Bluetooth, hotspot, locator, etc.).
- Use a splitter to plug in multiple devices with multiple Ethernet cables. Did you know you can buy an adapter to hard-wire tablets, laptops and cell phones too? It’s what my kids use for their iPhones and MacBooks, and my husband uses for his new Android phone.
- Turn off the antennas in your router/modem. Your internet service provider’s help desk can walk you through how. Most boxes have multiple antennas so be sure to ask which ones yours has and disable them all: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 & 5 GHz public hotspots, and wireless home security antenna. (Note, to disable the latter, you may need to ask to speak with a tier-two tech support person).
- Use a landline for phone calls, and forward cell phone calls to the landline. No landline? Put cell phones in airplane mode and set timers to quickly check for messages throughout the day.
- Download texting apps to your hard-wired computer and encourage colleagues and loved ones to do the same. Or, agree to communicate via email on your computer instead of texting on your phone.
- Download books, movies, etc., to your device then enjoy them in airplane mode with all antennas turned off.
- For wearables, turn off the wireless antennas; the fitness tracker, clock, alarms and other downloaded apps generally still work in airplane mode. Some models can’t be disabled though so you may want to rethink wearing a transmitting device.
- Use smart assistants on your hard-wired laptops, tablets or phones instead of stand-alone wireless devices.
- Know where your utility meters are for electric, water, gas and solar systems. If any are digital or have an FCC ID number, they constantly pulse radiation through your walls/floors so be sure to avoid hanging out or sleeping near them.
- Keep your sleeping areas a sanctuary. It’s not just the light from the screens, it’s the radiation pulses too. Our bodies are meant to do cell growth and repair during sleep and the science shows wireless radiation hampers this critical process.
- You can still use your cell phone as a clock and alarm in airplane mode (but avoid charging it in the bedroom, there’s a dirty electricity issue).
- Unplug Roku, Chromecast, soundboards, etc.
- Steer clear of wireless baby monitors; you’ll hear the baby cry when s/he needs you.
Additional Benefits
- Once a home is hard-wired, many find they sleep through the night again, wake up feeling better, and children’s behavior issues often go way down too.
- Hard-wiring saves your data plan minutes and batteries too.
- For those concerned with climate change, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) indicates, "Wireless technologies will continue to consume at least 10 times more power than wired technologies."
So, we know it’s a lot to shift one’s mindset from wireless convenience to safe technology, but there are so many good reasons to get started.
Maybe for today just notice where your wireless exposures are. Then start taking baby steps with some of the above so you don’t get too overwhelmed.
Some like to have a detection meter
on hand so they can see and hear this invisible toxin, especially with
the industry now encouraging antennas in just about everything for 5G
and the Internet of Things (IoT). You can rent an RF meter for a few dollars a day too.
Balancing Technology With The Rest Of Your Life
It’s easy to get sucked into being in front of a screen for long periods of time, especially right now, and that’s just not healthy.
Excessive screen time takes away from other important areas of our lives like relationships, preparing healthy meals, exercise, creative projects, getting outdoors for vitamin D and connecting to the earth’s healing energies.
Now that we’ve been on this all-wi-fi-all-the-time honeymoon, how do we start putting some structure around appropriate technology use?
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has a tool kit to help parents/guardians set boundaries and communicate with children about media use.
- There are also apps to help us see just how much time we are spending on-line and help us manage healthier limits.
- We know scientifically that both wireless radiation and excessive screen time can lead to addictions
on par with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, etc., and
often manifest with similar compulsions, detachment, anger and rage.
If you suspect this is happening to yourself or a loved one, Dr. Victoria Dunkley provides a four-week digital detox plan that is helping many families. See her book Reset Your Child’s Brain. - I keep a sign next to my desk called 50 Ways to Take a Break. It gives me reminders and fun ways to step away from technology. Perhaps you’ll find it helpful too.
One Last Thing
Wireless radiation hits the immune system especially hard, along with the central nervous system. The effects are cumulative over time so the longer we use wireless technology, the more harm we may be doing to ourselves, and those around us via second-hand radiation.
With COVID-19 in play, it’s important to do what we can to support our immune system and learning to use technology safely will go a long way.
We realize it can be hard to open this conversation with others in hopes of transitioning to safe technology together.
That’s why we volunteered our time to create the non-profit Wireless Education, to build quick-online courses to level-set with the facts right up front.
Each course only takes about a half hour to complete, provides a handy tip sheet at the end, and a certificate of completion for compliance tracking. This may give you the confidence to know others can come up to speed with
you:
There is a small fee to help keep our little non-profit afloat, but if that is a hardship just let me know. Bulk rates are available too.
We also have a Robin Hood model: if a company licenses the Corporate Course to train its employees, they can designate a local school and we will donate the Schools Course licensing for free.
Might your company like to help create a win-win and protect the kids in this way?
Please let us know how we can help.
Have a tech-safe day!
A technical and professional writer by trade, Cecelia (Cece) Doucette discovered wireless technology brings biological risks and has shifted her career to study the issue, educate the public and affect policy change. Cece is a founder and Education Services Director with the international non-profit charity Wireless Education. They have distilled the independent scientific literature and medical advisories into easy, affordable 30-minute on-line courses to quickly train the public.
See the Schools & Families and Corporate Safety Induction courses at wirelesseducation.org.
For additional links and resources see:
Understanding EMFs
HiBR Conference @ NIH
Expert Forum on Wi-fi in Schools
Municipal Presentation on 5G & EMFs
Additional YouTube EMF Talks
Generation Zapped Award-Winning Film
2019 EMF Conference for Health Practitioners
See also:
A Letter From Covid-19 To Humans
Info To Consider On 5G And The Coronavirus
