My parents believe that EMFs from the Wi-Fi router are dangerous. How can I explain to them that they aren't?
Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this, if anyone has any suggestions on where to post it I'll move my post there.
They essentially believe that "Big Wi-Fi" is covering up the fact that EMFs are dangerous. They've taken measures such as turning the Wi-Fi off at night.
From the light research I've done, this is what I've found:
- EMFs can be dangerous at high levels... but so is water.
- The levels of EMFs produced by Wi-Fi routers and other household appliances are well within safe levels of EMF absorption
- Studies that show EMF is dangerous are working with high levels of EMFs, much more than we'd absorb in our day to day lives
- Natural light is technically more dangerous in terms of radiation?
- The FCC regulates ALL wireless devices to ensure they produce safe levels of EMFs
from the FCC website
All wireless devices sold in the US go through a formal FCC approval process to ensure that they do not exceed the exposure limits when operating at the device’s highest possible power level.
and
Some health and safety interest groups have interpreted certain reports to suggest that wireless device use may be linked to cancer and other illnesses, posing potentially greater risks for children than adults. While these assertions have gained increased public attention, currently no scientific evidence establishes a causal link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses
- the most consistent evidence of EMFs being harmful is between ELFs and childhood lukemia, which were classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Which sounds pretty bad, but coffee is also classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" when it comes to kidney cancer.
“Possibly carcinogenic to humans” is a classification used to denote an agent for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity in experimental animals. (WHO, 2002)
I admit I was skimming most sources, but that's what I got from about an hour or two of research. One of my hang ups is that, IF EMFs are harmful, it seems like the negative effect they would have would be negligible, and further more, taking measures such as turning off the Wi-Fi for only some of the time would have little to no effect. Like if you want to get away from EMFs you'd have to take out ALL the EMF producing stuff in your house, NEVER go into public, and so on... or retreat into the woods, live in a log cabin, and live off the grid for the rest of your life. I just can't comprehend living in that level of fear.
I believe my parents are getting most of their information from a specific guy and the book(s) he wrote, I'm not exactly sure who it is, but the things I've read about Dr. Dimitris J. Panagopoulos seem to fit what they believe. This interview seems to give a decent idea to what he thinks: https://theemfguy.com/emf-dangers-panagopoulos/
This guy went to a (seemingly?) decent university in Canada, graduated with honors in Biochemistry, and apparently dedicated his PhD to researching the harmful effects of EMFs. You would think that this guy would be in the know with all that education, right? I just don't understand, if EMFs being dangerous is pseudoscience, why does the guy who dedicated his life to researching EMFs believe they are dangerous? Is he just a very well qualified grifter?
The main thing I need help with is, even though I've found plenty of data that goes against the pseudoscience, people like Dr. Dimitris are going to make it difficult to talk to my parents about this, as it makes them distrust a lot of sources that the data comes from. I do not have the tools, energy, or time to prove if Dr. Dimitris is or is not a trustworthy source. For all I know, I could be in the wrong here and there IS some grand conspiracy.
If anyone has any answers and/or sources that would help shine light on this subject for me and hopefully my parents, as well as disprove or discredit the pseudoscience, that would be greatly appreciated.
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To add on:
I'm not 100% sure, but I'm 99% sure that my parents aren't afraid of the radiation aspect of EMF pseudoscience (or at least, it's not the main concern), more so the EMF sensitivity (and the idea that EMF sensitivity is a "natural" response, and everyone is affected by EMFs to some degree), which "causes" symptoms like:
Skin problems, like redness, tingling, or burning, sleep disorders, including insomnia, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, trouble concentrating or paying attention, muscle and body pain (fibromyalgia), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), confusion, strong mood swings that change quickly, depression or irritability, suicidal thoughts, nervousness, memory loss, balance problems, sensitivity to sound or noise.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/electromagnetic-hypersensitivity
Now I don't entirely discount EMF sensitivity all together... in very rare cases. The human body can be really weird sometimes, sure. But also, as far as I understand, all studies done on EMF sensitivity had negative or inconclusive results. And to say everyone is at least a little EMF sensitive... I mean, literally everyone would have to be feeling like shit 24/7, since we have Wi-Fi and cell towers EVERYWHERE.
To me, and I'm sure many others, EMF sensitivity is likely psychosomatic and/or the result of various other factors (lifestyle, diet, weather, etc.). I've done a lot of research on psychosomatic symptoms and placebo/nocebo effects, and this sounds pretty on point with that.
I'm going to sit down with them and just try to go over everything without triggering an argument, let them say what they believe and how they feel and I'll just try and walk them through all the evidence.
Thank you to all those who have commented thus far, feel free to keep adding on if you have more to say, especially about EMF sensitivity.
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Sources I have so far:
Establishing a dialogue on risks from electromagnetic fields | WHO, 2002
https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/42543/9241545712_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
From the WHO website:
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-electromagnetic-fields
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-5g-mobile-networks-and-health
https://www.who.int/health-topics/electromagnetic-fields#tab=tab_1
Health Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields, Including 5G | Public Health Ontario, 2023
https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/H/2022/health-effects-radio-frequency-electromagnetic-fields-5G.pdf?rev=d1a38462c0784618935048497b8fbf3d&sc_lang=en
FCC Radio Frequency Guidelines:
https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/wireless_devices_and_health_concerns.pdf
Should You Be Worried About EMF Exposure?Should You Be Worried About EMF Exposure? | healthline, 2023
https://www.healthline.com/health/emf
radiation chart: https://xkcd.com/radiation/
Some reddit comments I found to have helpful explanations:
https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/achvtz/comment/ed826is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/r/ScienceBasedParenting/comments/x2ew8r/comment/m1tgsyd/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/420e1g/comment/cz6lpbn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button