Liberating children from the digital gulag
Ontario school boards sue tech giants | Why we can't make wireless tech safer | How magnetic fields impact us psychologically
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
1. What the media doesn’t tell us about tech addiction
2. Why anxiety is an electrical illness
3. Why cell phone safety may equal an end to digital freedom
4. Glimmers of hope - children without cell phones?
5. Text vs. speech: hormones and why we still need to hear each other
A myth is not a lie, but a story that tells itself. Quantum supercomputers, nanotechnology, and screen addiction are fueling the myth of our modern day. As a society, we need to be careful how we let certain stories unfold, as they often take on a life of their own, potentially leading us from the digital frying pan and into an oven of technocrats.
Thanks to all of your support, we’ve been able to chronicle the narrative surrounding tech addiction, which is quickly becoming an epic saga in the mainstream media.
Recently there was a momentous announcement in the fight to free children from the digital gulag. Four Ontario school boards have have sought more than $4 billion in damages from TikTok, Snapchat and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram — accusing them of deliberately harming the mental health of students, leaving educators to “manage the fallout.”
The products are "negligently designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave and learn", a joint statement by the boards said on March 28, 2024.1
Just this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ushered in a new law banning kids under 14 from social media and requiring parental permission from those ages 14 and 15 amid concerns over their mental health and well-being.
"We're managing mental health challenges, loneliness and … discrimination — the slurs that we're seeing students use, some of that emanates from what's on social media"
~ Colleen Russell-Rawlins, Toronto District School Board
Question #1: Is the tide truly turning, or just being diverted downriver to the cultural dams of a “safe space”?
"We really want to raise awareness and ultimately get these companies to acknowledge and to make these things safer"
~ Brendan Browne, Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Question #2: Will focusing on social media as a scapegoat only serve to distract from the Goliath of wireless radiation that bathes our children on a daily basis?
Question #3: Why trust the same companies that actively seek to enslave children with the task of making this technology safer?
In this article we’ll discuss why we believe the narrative of “safer” use of technology can backfire on our communities, and what pitfalls we need to be aware of when it comes to digital devices in our schools and homes.
What the media doesn’t tell you about tech addiction
1 - Light controls behavior
First - no matter how much we adjust social media algorithms, most devices emit blue light, which creates addiction in and of itself, spiking dopamine, the reward hormone of “more.” Our nervous, immune, and reproductive systems are all governed by the circadian rhythm, which is how our bodies use the natural rhythms of light, or its absence, to regulate hormones, fight disease, feel tired or energized. Most children in the digital age wake up by greeting the blue light of their cell phone rather than seeing the glorious Sunrise. In the evening this circadian mismatch is strengthened as children and adults alike steep their faces in a cocktail of ALAN (artificial light at night).
Why is light so critical for child development?
Blue light destroys growth hormone and other beneficial hormones2 , instead shifting hormonal production to cortisol, which reinforces stress as part of the addiction. The Sunrise actually has more blue light than our devices, giving us a true wake-up call, however the blue is balanced with red light, which repairs and regenerates melatonin for us throughout the day. Children are even more vulnerable as blue light has been shown3 to penetrate deeper into the retina, where it can create permanent damage:
Blue light can create a cascade of health harm, as this artificial ray can disrupt liver detoxification and impart more stress on our nervous system via dehydration of neurons.4 5
2 - Magnetic fields change our morals
MIT neuroscientists have now shown they can influence our judgments by interfering with activity in the region of our brain called the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) — a finding that helps reveal how the brain constructs morality.6 The TPJ lights up with activity when we make moral judgements, like evaluating the intentions of another person. We all like to think that we’re consistent in our morality, but the MIT team showed that an electromagnetic field applied via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the scalp impair our ability to evaluate the intentions of others.
In the experiment, TMS was applied in 500-milisecond bursts at the moment when the subject was asked to make a moral judgment. For example, subjects were asked to judge how permissible it is for a man to let his girlfriend walk across a bridge he knows to be unsafe, even if she ends up making it across safely.
Control subjects were able to evaluate the harmfulness and morality of characters’ intentions, whereas those exposed to TMS made judgments based purely on outcome. Control subjects found the intention to do harm morally impermissible, but those exposed to TMS largely based their judgment solely on the outcome. e.g. “she made it across, so that’s all that matters…”
This no-harm, no-foul attitude only holds up if the bridge holds up too.
The cerebral cortex of our brains is magnetized very easily by external EMFs like those from wireless devices, as it is loaded with a form of iron called magnetite. This is why some suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s should avoid blenders and electric vehicles, as they emit very high AC magnetic fields.
3 - Electrical frequencies can change our personal reality
A 2020 study in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience showed that those of us who experienced child abuse have a difficult time discerning reality from fiction when watching a movie. Researchers demonstrated7 that survivors of child abuse had a TPJ that wasn’t as active, and thus able to determine if what they were watching on the screen was true or false.
Research also shows8 that when our TPJ activity is modified, we are more prone to have an out-of-body experience.
Although a cell phone is less powerful, albeit more persistent, than the transcranial magnetic stimulation note above, the question still remains:
Could the electrical signals coming from a phone affect certain areas of the brain?
Could brainwaves operating in resonance with cell phone transmission frequencies also be affected?
After all, our children’s heads are glued to the phone’s antenna, which emits radiofrequency radiation.
A double-blind study led by Rodney Croft of the Brain Science Institute9 tested whether cell phone transmissions could alter a person's brainwaves. The researchers monitored the brainwaves of 120 healthy men and women while a Nokia 6110 cell phone - one of the most popular cell phones in the world - was strapped to their head. The data showed that when the cell phone was transmitting, the power of a characteristic brain-wave pattern called alpha waves in the person's brain was boosted significantly. The increased alpha wave activity was greatest in brain tissue directly beneath the cell phone, strengthening the case that the phone was responsible for the observed effect.10 11
What does this mean for children?
Alpha waves increase in power when we shift our consciousness of the external world to internal thoughts; and they also are the key brainwave signatures of meditation and sleep.
The electrical pulse of our Earth also emits an alpha wave known as the Schumann resonance, which allows our bodies to regulate cellular repair, as well as calm our nervous system. Apart from the insomnia and melatonin destruction caused by blue light, could this be why so many teens are “zoning out” during class?
Could it be that it’s not just social media that is the root of psychological distress, but the magnetic fields from cell phones that are making our children disassociate from reality?
4 - Anxiety is an electrical illness
Our nerves are physical structures, not mental. Our nerves do not have “bad” thoughts. In 1894, Sigmund Freud invented the term anxiety nervosa for these symptoms: irritibility, heart Palpitations, chest pain, perspiration, asthma, diarrhea, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, arthritis, numbness and tingling, insomnia, hunger, weakness, exhaustion. These physical symptoms parallel those of radiowave and electromagnetic poisoning.
What was society being exposed to on a massive scale at the same time that most were receiving a diagnosis of anxiety?
Wireless radiation in the form of the telegraph:
To add insult to injury, Freud would label many women hysterical, telling them that their anxiety was rooted in “improper thoughts.”
We take a deeper dive into EMF’s role on anxiety in this podcast episode:
5 - Non-ionizing wireless radiation is harmful
Even though the WHO classified wireless radiofrequency radiation from cell phones as a possible carcinogen based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer in 201112, most press around cell phone harm focuses on the addictive aspect of social media, versus the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Over 10,000 peer-reviewed studies13 have shown that wireless radiation can kill, and is toxic to most life on Earth. Effects from wireless radiation include miscarriage, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, mood disorders, ADHD, anxiety, and obesity, to name a few.14 15
Wireless radiation also penetrates a child’s brain more deeply. Children have smaller ears so a cell phone on the ear will be closer to the skull, as well as smaller heads with a shorter distance to their brain center.
Our social dilemma of radiation
I’m often told that there is “zero proof” that wireless devices cause direct harm. Yet why would most know about this, when it’s ignored as a topic in the US media? It may surprise some to know that countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, Russia16, and Israel, who see wireless radiation as harmful, have eliminated Wi-Fi from their classrooms.17
My wife and I recently watched a documentary called The Social Dilemma, which was produced very well. The idea put forth was that certain Silicon Valley execs had grown a conscience, and realized how addictive social media had become. They admitted that they created the problem, and now wanted to bring forth a solution. Wireless radiation was never addressed in the film. The main focus was on the manipulative software algorithm, along with calling attention to fake news, misinformation, sensationalism, and bad actors.
The issue arises: who is to say who is a “bad actor?” Who determines what is “fake” news, and what is not?
“It’s not the technology that is the existential threat, it’s technology’s ability to bring out the worst in society that is the existential threat.”
- Tristan Harris, former Google design ethicist, The Social Dilemma
I agree with Tristan on tech bringing out the worst in society, however I would disagree that tech, at least if we’re talking about wireless, is the primary existential threat. Radiation is the gnashing jaw of the saber tooth, and social media the infection.
Harris, who co-founded the Center for Humane Technology18 , whose site does have some very valuable resources in helping us understand how addictive software is created, is now steering policy decisions at the government level, seeking to create new guardrails for our online protection.
While I applaud them for some of their policy initiatives, I believe too much government oversight can become a slippery slope for our freedom. Here are the policy reforms the Center for Humane Technology seeks to adopt:
What does better ID verification mean? Facial recognition? Retinal Scans?
Who are the health authorities to whom we are supposed to entrust our children’s lives?
The recent fear over cyber-bullying has fueled the tyrannical growth of hate speech legislation in Canada, with the proposed Online Harms Act (OHA) of Bill C63. The OHA will seek to “protect children” and “act responsibly by implementing measures to lower the risk that users will be exposed to harmful content.” 19
What does “acting responsibly mean?
Imprisonment for life20, for anyone who is guilty of hate speech online.
What determines “hate”?
If the other party feels threatened for any reason, they can claim it is hate speech.
Do you see where this narrative may lead us now?
“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Z Luddite Generation
Today’s teens - part of Generation Z, roughly people born after 1997 - have never known a life without smartphones and social media. Even though the future looks bleak, rest assured that there are families and children all over the world that are being proactive - some are taking a step in the right direction by trading their smart phone in for a flip phone, while some are getting rid of their cell phones altogether.
Meet Logan Lane, a young girl who helped form the Luddite Club, a group of teens who are abandoning their smart phones and social media.
When Logan was 14, the pandemic hit. All of a sudden she felt overwhelmed being online for too many hours each day as school went virtual and her social media usage skyrocketed.
“I was fed up with the over-saturation of my life and the social aspects of it being connected to my online presence.”
She deleted her accounts and said goodbye to her smartphone.
“The best part about being a Luddite is my self-awareness. I have time to reflect about my day and my life” - a member of the Luddite Club
Texts Disconnect
We recently read a 2007 study “Instant messages vs. speech: hormones and why we still need to hear each other” which showed21 that children who call their mother experience a boost in the anti-inflammatory hormone oxytocin, while children who text have their stress hormone cortisol increase:
The researchers theorize that the human voice has adaptive benefits for our survival, as oxytocin (the bonding hormone) is released. Most of our human existence we relied on verbal cues to understand one another and be informed of potential threats. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a mother’s voice is worth a thousand feelings.
This is why I love our copper-wired landline. We can truly get a richer experience, better sound quality, and a true connection.
Let us know - how are you empowering yourselves with digital freedom?
We are more powerful than we know,
Roman & Bohdanna
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P.S. Thank you
and for raising awareness to the digital gulag, with your advocacy and weekly calls at the !Join the next semester of EMF 101.
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We’ll be covering these types of specifics, along with practical steps we can take to reduce EMFs in our daily lives during EMF 101.
Our course has launched already, but you can join the waitlist for the next round!
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Additional Resources:
The Effects of Phone-Free Schools by
: REPORT
Ouyang JQ, Davies S, Dominoni D. Hormonally mediated effects of artificial light at night on behavior and fitness: linking endocrine mechanisms with function. J Exp Biol. 2018 Mar 15;221(Pt 6):jeb156893. doi: 10.1242/jeb.156893. PMID: 29545373; PMCID: PMC5897701.
Croft RJ, Hamblin DL, Spong J, Wood AW, McKenzie RJ, Stough C. The effect of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on the alpha rhythm of human electroencephalogram. Bioelectromagnetics. 2008 Jan;29(1):1-10. doi: 10.1002/bem.20352. PMID: 17786925.
Ferreri F, Curcio G, Pasqualetti P, De Gennaro L, Fini R, Rossini PM. Mobile phone emissions and human brain excitability. Ann Neurol. 2006 Aug;60(2):188-96. doi: 10.1002/ana.20906. PMID: 16802289.
Seltzer LJ, Prososki AR, Ziegler TE, Pollak SD. Instant messages vs. speech: hormones and why we still need to hear each other. Evol Hum Behav. 2012 Jan;33(1):42-45. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.05.004. PMID: 22337755; PMCID: PMC3277914.
I was watching a movie about Wilhelm Reich, a student of Freud's who then left and began doing his own research. He invented boxes and blankets called orgone accumulators. Orgone is chi or prana. People who were suffering from illnesses recovered after spending time in these boxes. I realize that these boxes were basically Faraday cages and were shielding people from the harmful EMF's in the environment. The boxes collected and reflected back a person's own energy. The FDA raided his property and forced him to burn his inventions and locked him up for disobeying an injunction to stop using them. They also burned his books. He died in prison. He was ahead of his time and "They" new it.
Here is my house: No TV. No smartphone. Flip phone. Landline.