It's hard to remember, but there was a time back in the 1950s and 60s when cigarettes were truly glamorous. No one really considered the potential health ramifications. The images below of James Dean and Frank Sinatra are iconic representations of an era that is now long gone. Since then, of course, people stared to die from diseases that smoking contributed to and we learned a lot about its health impact, including that of second-hand smoke.
Now flash forward to today. Our latest addiction? Wireless technology. It's everywhere. And, according to all known accounts, it's completely harmless. However if you look at the photos below (Lindsay Lohan and Harrison Ford), given the above context, is it conceivable things could change in a decade or two and that we might view these images differently?
If there's anyone who is an early candidate to get whatever wireless-induced disease may one day be in our future (if at all), it's me. I have had a cell phone since 1994. Today, the iPhone 3G I carry in my pocket, which rarely leaves my side, has any one or more of the following radios on at a given time: 2G wireless, 3G wireless, wifi, bluetooth and GPS. That's a lot of signals.
Last week Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, warned people to limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. This is causing some parents to consider postponing when their children can have cell phones. This is probably just temporary panic fire. Still, the admonition certainly got me and others thinking.
Branko Miletic in Australia is following a similar thread, asking "Are Mobile Phones The New Cigarettes?" The answer today is a resounding "no." But I wonder what we'll say in 20 or 25 years.
I have no plans to stop using wireless technology. It's way way too integrated in my life. In fact, my iPhone is fast becoming my primary device. The rise of cloud computing will only accelerate the trend. But I do sometimes wonder about the fact that we don't know what we don't know. How about you?
