Safe ICT NZ
Safe Information and Communications Technology for New Zealand
Every potential parent and pregnant woman should know to keep to keep their wireless radiation exposure to a minimum
When a baby is developing there are a hundred billion nerve cells in the body, all bridging connections, even in the first few months of pregnancy. Disruption of those earliest signals can have serious implications for later life. More than four hundred physicians, scientists and public health professionals from around the world have joined together to express their concern about the risk that wireless radiation poses to pregnancy and to urge pregnant women to limit their exposures. Animal studies have found harm to germ cells, the cells that become sperm and eggs from exposure to artifical frequencies.
Tachycardia in babies in the womb when their mums are on cell phones
An Egyptian University study of ninety pregnant woman, and thirty with newborns, using cell phones up to their ears for ten minutes, made their foetuses or newborns hearts beat faster than normal and have a lower blood flow. Phones used were the International stand GSM phones using 900 MHz) frequencies. It is noticeable in the study that the increase in the babies heart rate was stronger the smaller the baby, the worst increases being in 25-30 week old babies studied. The author's of the study recommend pregnant woman avoid carrying and using cell phones during the early weeks of gestation and if necessary keep calls under 10 minutes.
For more information regarding pre-pregnancy actions you can take visit the Baby Safe Project website or download the PDF on this page.
The Baby Safe Project https://www.babysafeproject.org
Every parent and educator should know how digital media affects brain development
Neuroscientist Gertrude Teuchert-Noodt believes that we are taking our childrens' brain development back to the Stoneage and her research is frightening.
In this video you can see dramatic examples of the differences of eight year-olds handwriting (around11/21 ) when highly exposed to screens and when not exposed to screens.
Regarding safety, we have to avoid the syndrome known in safety education circles as the "cynical bastard" phenomenon, where a senior person accepts the risk as inevitable and promulgates a casualness about risk amongst others.
Instead, we need to aim for the highest safety standard that can reasonably be achieved for our children.
The Global Mind Project links the age of receiving a smart phone and mental health
A global study of 27,969 young adults released in May 2023 from Sapien Labs is showing that the age at which they received their first smartphone or tablet strongly correlates with their mental health status in young adulthood.“These findings suggest that there are long term improvements in mental wellbeing for each year of delay in getting a smartphone during childhood” said Chief Scientist Tara Thiagarajan. This study is part of the Global Mind Project, an ongoing survey of global mental wellbeing https://sapienlabs.org/whats_new/study-out-from-sapien-labs-links-age-of-first-smartphone-to-mental-wellbeing/
Parents need to be aware ipads and iphones are not
simply digital toys
Parents are not seeing ipads and smart phones etc as any different than other toys, but researcher Dr Dimitri Christakis has studied all ages of children from babies to teenagers and how technology effects their health. Recently he has focussed on possible point at which a child might develop a compulsion around technology. "The typical eighteen to twenty-four-month-old will spend an average twenty to thirty minutes with their favourite toy, that's it, We know children will spend much, much more time with iPads, with touchscreen media. And that alone tells us that there's something fundamentally different about this experience". He has found children play with ipads and iphones in a way they do not play with other toys, and he is seeing a disruption to the parent child relationship, the dyadic attention which provides children with information about their environment, allowing individuals to establish reference from spoken language and learn words. Children are over-riding really strong instincts, and staying engrossed in the ipad, rather than follow a parents directive to look at something pointed out, They are overiding a crucial part of of a child's development. He says "I don't think they [the parents] think of it as an addictive substance, they think of it as neutral or educational, He is now Chief Science Officer for Children and screens which has a number of resources and tips for parents.(Christakis quotation is from an interview in the book The Loop, on page 178 by Jacob Ward. Hachette Books 2022)
Cyber Safety for schools parents and children in New Zealand .
A kiwi orgnisation Our kids on line has programmes and lots of resources such as filtering and monitering software to help parents and schools keep kids safer online & their increase emotional wellbeing. In 2020, they released their first documentary 'Our Kids Online: Porn, Predators & How to Keep Them Safe'. Their second documentary 'Our Kids Online: Social Media, Gaming & the Developing Brain is currently in production.
4 weeks to change a “wired and tired”child
If your child is exhibiting signs of being "wired and tired – that is, revved up but exhausted at the same time, or being diagnosed as having ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, learning difficulties, or no diagnosis at all but is struggling for seemingly no reason then you may want to listen to Victoria L Dunckley, child psychiatrist and researcher. She says "Because electronic screen media is unnaturally intense in terms of sensory, cognitive, and psychological input–designed to keep the user engaged–it tends to overstimulate nervous system. The brain interprets all this stimulating input as a form of stress. This in turn triggers fight-or-flight reactions and a high state of arousal, making it difficult to wind down and sleep deeply." Based on emerging scientific research and extensive clinical experience, integrative child psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Dunckley has pioneered a four-week program to treat the frequent underlying cause, Electronic Screen Syndrome (ESS). She has used her programme on over 500 kids. Her book is called Reset your child 's brain A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time, you can download the first chapter free, or download her free email course from her website: https://drdunckley.com/reset-your-childs-brain/
Physiological benefits to 4 weeks of screen-free time for children:
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Resynchronizes the body clock
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Normalizes hormones, including stress hormones, growth hormone, and melatonin (the sleep signal)
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Redirects blood flow from primitive to more developed areas of the brain (e.g. the frontal lobe)
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Enhances deep, restorative sleep
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Rebalances brain chemistry, including dopamine
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Reduces electrical ‘”excitability” of brain cells
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Relieves overstimulated reward (addiction) and sensory pathways
"Many parents mistakenly believe that interactive screen-time—Internet or social media use, texting, emailing, and gaming—isn’t harmful, especially compared to passive screen time like watching TV. In fact, interactive screen time is more likely to cause sleep, mood, and cognitive issues, because it’s more likely to cause hyperarousal and compulsive use."
Psychiatrist, researcher Victoria L. Dunckley M.D.
Wi-Fi in preschools and schools should be removed
Without delay, Wi-Fi should be removed from New Zealand pre-schools and schools because of the proven very serious biological effects of radio-frequency radiation. In New Zealand, the telecom industry is heavily involved in driving the policies of use of technology in classrooms, which unfortunately means that there is adherence to the outdated principle that there is no harm from EMF if it doesn't noticeably heat the body.
The radiation from Wi-Fi frequencies has been found to affect memory, the decline of attention, cause oxidative stress, and affect developing sexual organs.
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the absorption of electromagnetic energy in a child’s head is considerably higher than that in the head of an adult. A child's brain has higher conductivity, a smaller size, and thinner skull bones than that of an adults brain, however, our regulations are based on that of a large adult.
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a child’s organism has more sensitivity to EMF than the adult’s.
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a children’s brain has higher sensitivity to the accumulation of the adverse effects under conditions of chronic exposure to the EMF because it is developing.
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EMF affects the formation of the processes of the higher nervous activity.
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Grigoriev et. Al. (2010) showed that 30 days exposure to demodulated Wi-Fi frequency radiation triggered a small but significant increase in anti-brain antibodies in the blood of rats…..which could then result in an autoimmune attack on the brain and/or nervous system. An example of an autoimmune disease of the brain is Graves disease in which the pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) is affected.
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On ScienceDirect Dr Martin L. Pall, (Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences, Washington State University) has tabled the research on the effects of Wi-Fi-on human health.
Some countries, for instance, France and Israel (and also regions within countries) are already passing laws to protect their children:
100,000s of doctors have signed petitions asking for Wi-Fi's removal from schools.
A document dated 25.3.2013 (updated from 19.3.2013) by the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District with the following recommendation:
‘…..do not add to the burden of public health by installing blanket wireless internet connections in Los Angeles Schools.’
Just prior to this in December 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics (representing 60,000 Pediatricians ) wrote to Congress requesting more protection from low-level microwave irradiation for children and pregnant women. With regard to Wi-Fi in schools, they wrote:
‘…..this is an unprecedented exposure with the unknown outcome on the health and reproductive potential of a generation.’
In 2002, 36,000 Physicians and Scientists etc. signed the ‘Freiburg Appeal’. Ten years later it was re-launched. It specifically warns against the use of Wi-Fi and the irradiation of children, adolescents and pregnant women. Collectively there are approximately 100,000 of the world’s most knowledgeable health professionals expostulating this same warning. While the responsibility to review the science on biological effects in New Zealand appears to rest with one expert who is not a doctor.
The Reykjavik Appeal on Wireless Technology in Schools was released following the International Conference on Children, Screen Time and Wireless Radiation in Iceland in 2017.
It discusses:
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Cognitive impairments in learning and memory that are shown. Results from the OECD's PISA performance surveys in reading and mathematics show decreasing results in countries that have invested most in introducing computers in school.
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Multitasking (which tends to be not good for either mental health or for a high quality of achievement).
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Too many hours in front of a screen, less time for social contacts and physical activities with risk for aches in neck and back, overweight, sleep problems.
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IT addiction
It asks for:
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No wireless networks in preschools, kindergartens and schools.
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A hard-wired direct cable connection is recommended to each classroom for the teacher to use during lessons.
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Prefer wired telephones for personnel in preschools, kindergartens and schools.
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Prefer cabled connection to the Internet and printers in schools and turn off Wi-Fi settings in all equipment.
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Prefer laptops and tablets that can be connected by cable to the Internet.
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Students should not be allowed to use cell phones in schools. They can either leave them at home or the teacher collects them in turned off mode before the first lesson in the morning.
A selection of scientific papers referenced by the appeal:
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Sangün Ö, Dündar B, Çömlekçi S, Büyükgebiz A. The effects of electromagnetic field on the endocrine system in children and adolescents. Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2015;13(2):531-45.
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Calvente I, Pérez-Lobato R, Núñez MI, Ramos R, Guxens M, Villalba J et al. Does exposure to environmental electromagnetic fields cause cognitive and behavioral effects in 10-year-old boys. Bioelectromagnetics. 2016;37:25-36.
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Hensinger P. Big data: a paradigm shift in education from personal autonomy to conditioning toward excessive consumerism. Umwelt-Medizin-Gesellschaft.. 2015;28;206-13.
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Megha K, Deshmukh PS, Banerjee BD, Tripathi AK, Ahmed R, Abegaonkar MP. Low intensity microwave radiation-induced oxidative stress, inflammatory response and DNA damage in rat brain. Neurotoxicology. 2015;51:158-65.
Compared to future medical costs, emotional trauma and lack of productivity costs: fibre is a very cheap option.
Our children are receiving no precautionary guidance regarding the use of mobile phones, tablets and other devices
Portable devices:
'Laptops' are safety tested for the specific absorption of radiation (SARs), with the device kept 20cms away from the 'body' which in SARs testing are really containers of salty water to approximate the body. These devices have fine print warnings about keeping a distance from them, who knows this and where are these warnings? You want to keep a distance from the radiating antenna (which can be near the top edge of the keyboard or the top or side of the screen) the near field plume is the most dangerous, but also these devices emanate a magnetic field from the motherboard and the monitor. Safe ICT NZ's advice is to keep your device off your body and let's stop calling them laptops. In reality to keep the magnetic field from these lower than the 2MG you possibly need to be 1 metre away from them! They vary in the magnetic field they produce, but The EMF Academy reports tests finding between 25 to 500 mG at 2.5cm away and for perspective, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends you limit your exposure to between .5 mG (milligauss) and 2.5 mG. So keep your laptop 30cms away from the body or do some testing with a meter.
According to the opinion of the Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the following health hazards are likely to be faced by the children mobile phone users in the near future: disruption of memory, the decline of attention, diminishing learning and cognitive abilities, increased irritability, sleep problems, increase in sensitivity to stress, and increased epileptic readiness.
Recently Russia released recommendations for children's protection while working at home during the lockdown. These included:
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Tablets for distance learning at home conditions permissible by adolescents over 15 years of age.
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The location of the Wi-Fi point should be on a distance of at least 5 metres from the student’s workplace.
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The tablet is placed on a table on a stand at an angle of 30°.
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The distance from the screen to the pupil’s eyes is not less than 50cm.
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It is necessary to exclude work with a laptop or tablet on knees, in hands, lying and the like.
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For all age categories: for reading and completing tasks, it is recommended to use mainly ordinary books and notebooks.
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Children under 6 years old must completely exclude the use of any computer equipment for educational purposes at home.
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Children aged 6 to 12 are advised to minimize the use of computer equipment for educational purposes at home conditions.
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Remember that Russia has researched the biological effects of EMF for one hundred and twenty-three years.
How free to choose is a child who has become addicted to technology before his or her brain has finished developing?
Because a child's brain is still in development, this addiction can become a much bigger beast to tame. We adults determine the environment our children grow up in — but children have no choice?
There are some mixed findings relating to screen use by children and the effects on their cognitive development. Effects depend a lot on where a child is developmentally. Making sure that child can read, do maths, and write on paper before introducing digital media is a good idea. The educational video games etc aren't doing our children the favours we think they are.
Researcher Dr Dimitri Christakis has studied all ages of children from babies to teenaers and how technology from television to phones, affects their health. In recent years he has focussed on the earliest possible point at which a child might develop a compulsion around technology. "The typical eighteen to twenty-four month-old will spend will spend an average of twenty to thirty minutes with their favourite toy, whether its blocks or dolls or trucks. We know thatooking for markers of screen addication are finding
More screen‐time for children means less self-generated imagery
Researchers Sebastian P. Suggate and Philipp Martzog reviewed the findings of screen use by children and asked themselves the question: does screen time help or hinder the creation of mental imagery? Mental imagery lies at the heart of mental life. They conducted a study measuring 266 preschool and primary school children's mental imagery and screen‐time use at two points in time, 10 months apart. What they conclude is that screen‐time participated is linked to reduced mental imagery in children. They recommend limiting screen time and increasing activities to foster mental image-making.
Reset your Child's brain
Parents For Safe Technology NZ group is a Facebook site for New Zealand parents working on a campaign on this issue, the group wants wired schools, strict guidelines around screen time and also no cellphones in schools.
Ways to limit children's screen time on various devices
can be found at myvision.org. This website not only explains the various harms to children's eyes from screen use but also gives lots of tips for controlling devices: https://myvision.org/guides/screen-time-guide/
Internet Safety for kids and parents
Consumer Notice has useful material on the conversations we need to have with our children on internet safety regarding rules to set and on the topics of cyberbullying, online gaming, privacy, etc
https://www.consumernotice.org/data-protection/internet-safety-for-kids/
Personalised AI tutors?
Learning motivation, engagement, and meeting children where they are is what is promised with personalised A1 tutors. Remember that persuasive design is one of the manipulative features used in digital media to keep children's attention on the screen for as long as possible
If your child is in screen trouble?
Screen Strong is an organisation that empowers families to reclaim their kids from toxic screens (social media, video games, and porn) they aim to be screen-smart, not screen-free. Their aim is to that help move children's entertainment and social life from the online world back to the real in-person world.
How many children are not getting enough sleep because of their screens?
30% of preschool-aged children and between 50% and 90% of school-aged are not getting the sleep they need and the digital devices they use are clearly linked to this sleep deprivation, This effects children's mental and physical health and is a pathway to poor learning, obesity, risk taking and depression according to the supplementary article in Pediatrics' magazine.
3427 Australian children 4, 6, and 8 years of age were studied, the longer screen time (and this study left out mobile phones and tablets) the shorter the children's sleep. In another study of in Melbourne In Argentina, researchers of adolescents found screen use adversely affected not only their night time sleep, daytime somnolence, and their academic performance.
"Imagine you are a 15-year-old schoolgirl. All of the 400,000 eggs in your ovaries were with you at birth. They are not fully developed but they are with you. They are 10 x more susceptible to radiation than all of the other DNA in the body... So the real damage here is [to] your grandchildren! That is where it is going to show most, and we already see this in animals that have reproductive cycles of 1, 2 or 3 years."—Dr Barrie Trower.
Dr Victoria Dunckley expert on the impact of screen-time on the developing brain on resetting your child's brain.
Dr Victoria Dunckley maybe tech is making kids moody, crazy and lazy?
Dr Barrie Trower is a British physicist, former Microwave Weapons Expert for the Royal Navy, and former cold-war captured spy debriefer for the UK Intelligence Services. During the 1960s, he was trained at the “Government Microwave Warfare Establishment.”
When Dr Trower learned that the communications industry was using power densities and frequencies that were similar to those used as weapons during the Cold War were being used in schools, he decided to come out of retirement and travel to explain exactly what the problem is going to be in the future.
Dr Barrie Trower's submission in relation to civil court action in Oregon to protect children against WiFi.