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RFK Jr. supports school phone bans due to radiation (NBC News)
YouTube video by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pym7T2C2Kp8). Transcript is the auto-caption track — verbatim ASR, not a certified transcript.
Cell phones also produce electric magnetic radiation, which has been shown to damage to do neurological damage to kids when it's around them all day. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a new target in his Make America Healthy Again agenda, cell phones in schools. But is his claim that cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation that causes neurological damage and even cancer legitimate? Well, most research shows it doesn't hold up. Cell phones do emit radio frequency radiation, but that's not the same as ionizing radiation, like the kind released from X-rays. Studies that have looked at whether exposure to radiation from cell phones could increase the risk of brain tumors found no association, and brain cancer rates haven't risen as cell phones have become more widely used. This large study found no link between wireless phone use and brain tumors in children in particular. Although experts say it's not impossible that there are health effects related to cell phone use, a 2017 study exposed rodents to radio frequency radiation and found a possible increased rate of certain tumors. However, findings in lab animals don't necessarily apply to humans. Cell phone use has also changed in recent years, which could affect exposure. People text as much, if not more, than they call, so there's potentially less radiation near the brain. But today's 5G signals have a higher frequency than previous networks. Restricting cell phone use does have bipartisan support, and many states have already enacted bans. But experts say the focus should be on its established link to depression and poor academic performance, not cancer-causing radiation.