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Adolescents' risk perceptions on mobile phones and their base stations, their trust to authorities and incivility in using mobile phones: a cross-sectional survey on 2240 high school students in Izmir, Turkey.

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Hassoy H, Durusoy R, Karababa AO. · 2013

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Turkish teens show high EMF risk awareness, with 87% viewing cell towers as dangerous despite heavy technology use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers surveyed 2,240 Turkish high school students to understand their risk perceptions about mobile phones and cell towers. They found that 65% of students perceived mobile phones as risky, while an even higher 87% viewed cell towers as dangerous. The study revealed significant differences in risk perception based on gender, education level, and whether students actually used mobile phones themselves.

Why This Matters

This research reveals a fascinating disconnect in the EMF debate: young people, who are among the heaviest users of wireless technology, are actually quite concerned about its health risks. The fact that 87% of students perceived cell towers as dangerous suggests an intuitive understanding that contradicts industry messaging about safety. What's particularly telling is that students who don't use mobile phones showed higher risk perception, indicating that direct exposure may actually diminish awareness of potential harm. This mirrors historical patterns we've seen with tobacco, where users often minimize risks to justify continued use. The study underscores the critical need for age-appropriate, science-based education about EMF risks, especially as this generation will face the highest lifetime exposure levels in human history.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

This study aims to evaluate high school students’ risk perceptions on mobile phones and base stations, their trust to authorities, their opinions regarding incivility while using mobile phones and to assess associated factors.

For this cross-sectional study, 2530 students were chosen with stratified cluster sampling among 20,...

Mean risk perception scores for the mobile phone, base station, trust to authority and incivility di...

Understanding the effects of these determinants might aid in developing more effective educational interventions to specific subgroups on this topic. As debates on the health consequences of electromagnetic fields continue, it would be cautious to approach this issue with a preventive perspective. Efforts should be made to equalize the varying level of knowledge and to ensure that students are informed accurately.

Cite This Study
Hassoy H, Durusoy R, Karababa AO. (2013). Adolescents' risk perceptions on mobile phones and their base stations, their trust to authorities and incivility in using mobile phones: a cross-sectional survey on 2240 high school students in Izmir, Turkey. Environ Health. 2013 Jan 25;12(1):10.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2013_adolescents_risk_perceptions_on_2189,
  author = {Hassoy H and Durusoy R and Karababa AO.},
  title = {Adolescents' risk perceptions on mobile phones and their base stations, their trust to authorities and incivility in using mobile phones: a cross-sectional survey on 2240 high school students in Izmir, Turkey.},
  year = {2013},
  doi = {10.1186/1476-069X-12-10},
  url = {https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-12-10},
}
DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-12-10

Cited By (20 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, most teenagers perceive cell phones as risky. A 2013 study of 2,240 Turkish high school students found that 65% viewed mobile phones as dangerous, while an even higher 87% considered cell towers risky for their health.
According to student perceptions, yes. The Turkish study found that 87% of high school students viewed cell towers as risky compared to 65% who saw mobile phones as dangerous, suggesting greater concern about tower radiation.
Yes, female students consistently show higher concern about phone radiation risks. The study found girls had significantly higher risk perceptions for both mobile phones and cell towers compared to male students.
Students who don't use mobile phones actually perceive them as more dangerous. Non-users were 2.8 times more likely to view phones as risky compared to regular users, suggesting familiarity reduces perceived risk.
Gender, education level, and personal phone use significantly influence how people perceive EMF risks. The study found girls, students with less educated mothers, and non-phone users consistently rated electromagnetic field risks higher.