Your cellphone is dialing up health problems

Tech innovator Elon Musk launched Neuralink in 2017 to develop implantable electrodes that can directly link your brain to computers’ vast knowledge base. This neural lace technology is supposed to make us one with the digital world, but if the way people are interfacing with their smartphones is any indication of how well humans handle such entanglements, this bot-human hybrid could cause a lot of unforced errors.

Cellphones are involved in 1.6 million auto crashes annually, causing half a million injuries and 6,000 deaths. However, you don’t have to be driving and texting to get hurt by your phone.

According to a study in JAMA OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery, cellphone-related head and neck injuries have spiked since 2007’s debut of the touchscreen smartphone.

Many are among people 13 to 29 who are texting while walking. Another report found that teens are developing bone spurs on their necks from overuse! There’s evidence that cellphone abuse is associated with sleep disturbances because their blue light restricts production of melatonin, which regulates your body’s internal clock. It also increases the risk of macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. Plus, research shows cellphones dumb down many folks by making it hard to focus on important tasks.

So we’re calling on you to do these: never read or text while walking or driving; use your phone’s blue light filter; put your phone on airplane mode an hour before bed; turn off push notifications and use social media only on your laptop or desk computer.