<![CDATA[Your Cell Phone Still Won’t Kill You]]>

<![CDATA[Your Cell Phone Still Won’t Kill You]]>Following a dubious new report on the health risks of wifi, Keith Kloor decries the media’s ongoing flirtation with the “technology-causes-sickness” trope, which often not only ignores or distorts science but can actually bring about a negative psychosomatic effect:

[R]esearchers used a BBC documentary on the alleged dangers and health effects of electromagnetic fields. Participants watching the documentary–who were led to believe they were being closely exposed to a WiFi signal (they weren’t)–exhibited symptoms associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields. (I’ve previously discussed this Nocebo effect with respect to Wind Turbine Syndrome.) Those most symptomatic were also found to have pre-existing anxieties and sensitivities that made them more susceptible.

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