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WiFi Nuttiness

Bartmon

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Feb 21, 2007
Messages
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I just heard from a teacher in Edmonton Alberta that there's a real movement afoot to blame in-school wifi networks for whatever ails their kids.

Apparently lawsuits are involved (which in Canada is much more rare).

Anyone else heard about this new phenomenon? (Maybe it isn't new)

Apparently kids are claiming that when they get to school they feel 'tired', their 'allergies' act up, they have 'difficultly concentrating', etc.

These are kids aged 12-15 usually.

OK, I'll say it... 'DUH!'

Bart
 
Yeah, but they aren't blaming the access to the internet. They're blaming the wifi signal itself as if the radio waves were interfering with the brain.
 
Here's a blog article:

Wi-Fi the New Danger to Children…Apparently
August 16, 2010
(...)
Parents in Barrie and other northern Ontario towns have called the public school board to remove its recently installed Wi-Fi system because, they claim, it is making their children sick.

The symptoms include memory loss, trouble concentrating, skin rashes, hyperactivity, night sweats and insomnia.

These are extremely non-specific symptoms, and most of them can describe pretty much every young child I know at some point in their lives.
(...)
For example, take the “expert” they got to comment on this story, one Professor Magda Havas from Trent University (in my hometown of Peterborough, Ontario, incidentally).

So what does this professor say? From the CBC article:

Claims by Health Canada that Wi-Fi is safe provided exposures to radiation are below federal guidelines are “outdated and incorrect,” based on the growing number of scientific publications reporting adverse health and biological effects, Havas wrote.

Havas did her Ph.D in Botany, so what makes her an expert electromagnetism, I have no idea. But from her website (note the advertisement to her book at the bottom), it seems she is involved in fear mongering for just about every junk science theory about electromagnetism affecting humans, including the dangers of power lines and cell phones (all these technologies have repeatedly been shown to be safe).
(...)
The parents claim that these symptoms go away on the weekends. This makes no sense as children are exposed to wireless signals at their home, at the mall, the airport, restaurants, pretty much everywhere. If it was the Wi-Fi and these children are truly sensitive to it, they should be sick virtually all the time.
Click to expand...

http://aquantumofknowledge.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/wi-fi-the-new-danger-to-children-apparently/
 
Obviously, as we all know teens always tell the truth, so they wouldn't lie about why they wish to avoid going to school. So the situation with wifi at school must be serious. Ayup, by the way if you believe that I have this marvelous bridge for sale and a prime waterfront lot in Antarctica.
 
Bartmon said:
I just heard from a teacher in Edmonton Alberta that there's a real movement afoot to blame in-school wifi networks for whatever ails their kids.

Apparently lawsuits are involved (which in Canada is much more rare).

Anyone else heard about this new phenomenon? (Maybe it isn't new)

Apparently kids are claiming that when they get to school they feel 'tired', their 'allergies' act up, they have 'difficultly concentrating', etc.

These are kids aged 12-15 usually.

OK, I'll say it... 'DUH!'

Bart
Click to expand...

I'm unaware of any lawsuits, but would be interested to hear.

The Barrie ON case cited in the blog post above is the only example of which I'm aware, and it's really just one parent. That was last year, and as far as I know nothing came of it other than frustration for the school board.

They do maintain a website: [Safe School Committee]
 
This one would be so easy to study, just do a double-blind where you turn the wifi on and off. Make sure you pick a bunch of kids that complain about the symptoms because the claim is that it only affects a few percent. Has this not been done? We knew homeopathy was impossible too but we did clinical trials just to end the debate. It's not going to die down unless they do something like that, I think. Heart-wrenching issue, really, can't blame the parents and kids.
 
Joey McGee said:
This one would be so easy to study, just do a double-blind where you turn the wifi on and off. Make sure you pick a bunch of kids that complain about the symptoms because the claim is that it only affects a few percent. Has this not been done? We knew homeopathy was impossible too but we did clinical trials just to end the debate. It's not going to die down unless they do something like that, I think. Heart-wrenching issue, really, can't blame the parents and kids.
Click to expand...

This has been done. The subjects were unable to tell the difference.
There was even a MDC claimant a while ago who claimed something similar.
It's purely a psychological condition or perhaps a degree of trying to avoid school. They can't exhibit it when tested.
 
Mojo said:
About 16 times so far, IIRC.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't know it after seeing this report, I've linked to the exact part of the video where they do an experiment on camera that supposedly shows a sensitive man is picking it up. It's a Canadian news story that was in the fall, and this is the video on the SafeSchool website that they are saying "proves" there is something to their claims! Compelling to the untrained eye ;)

So I'm guessing these studies have been done over the last few decades but it still hasn't convinced that prof from Uni of Trent in Ontario? Bruuuuutal
 
.."..microwave radiation is much more harmful than smoking.."..Give us some statistics .How many deaths from smoking 2000-2010 ?how many deaths from Microwave radiation 2000-2010....USA,UK,France,Australia..Please !
 
I'm prepared to accept that being in a microwave oven is more harmful than the same amount of time spent smoking.
 
Great idea!

Joey McGee said:
This one would be so easy to study, just do a double-blind where you turn the wifi on and off. Make sure you pick a bunch of kids that complain about the symptoms because the claim is that it only affects a few percent. Has this not been done? We knew homeopathy was impossible too but we did clinical trials just to end the debate. It's not going to die down unless they do something like that, I think. Heart-wrenching issue, really, can't blame the parents and kids.
Click to expand...

Actually this is a great idea. But in addition to asking the kids when it's Wi-Fi is on and when it's off, their heart rates and EEG should be recorded as well when the Wi-Fi is on and when it is off.
 
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