Texting, not radiation, affects kids' brains, says study

Repeated predictive texting, not radiation, is to be blamed for affecting brains of young people using mobile phones, says a new study.

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Abramson of Monash University and colleagues tried to detect a consistent relationship between mobile phone use and brain power.

Researchers found that 94 per cent of kids studied were using a mobile phone and 77 per cent owned their own device.

Considering the amount of radiation transmitted when texting is 0.03 per cent that transmitted during voice calls, radiation could not be held responsible for brain effects, reports ABC Science.

The Mobile Radiofrequency Phone Exposed Users'Study also found that predictive texting maybe training kids to act fast, but not with much accuracy.

Abramson said, "We suspect that using mobile phones a lot, particularly things like predictive texts for SMS is training kids to be fast but inaccurate."

He added, "We don't think that the mobile phones are frying their brains."

Associate Professor David Mercer of the University of Wollongong, Science and Technology Studies expert, said it was yet to be determined if radiofrequency effects cause health risks.

The findings were reported online ahead of print publication in the journal Bioelectromagnetics. The research was supported by the NHMRC and conducted in association with the Australian Centre for RF Bioeffects Research.