Superheroes may be invincible, but children aren’t; Apple Watch and kids, buyer beware

By Sarah Aminoff of Safe Tech International; Image courtesy Flo Freshman

In 1965, any American youth could tell you that the coolest gadget was comic book hero Dick Tracy’s smart watch, a two-way wrist radio. If you grew up with Dick Tracy comics, you knew you just HAD TO HAVE ONE of these state-of-the-art two-way wrist radios that helped the detective hero fight crime and “nab the bad guys”.

So, what exactly do these cool gadgets have to do with technology? Apparently, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has been a great admirer of Dick Tracy’s smart watch since the age of six. So, fifty years later, he had the good fortune to make a real-life gadget much like the one from his childhood.

In the 1940s, Chester Gould, creator of the Dick Tracy comic series, was inspired by Al Gross, who not only invented a two-way radio-watch but went on to invent the walkie-talkie, telephone pager, garage door opener, and cordless phone.

Tim and Chester were in good company when it came to their shared admiration of the smart watch. Some think, American engineer, Martin Cooper (an integral part of the team that developed the mobile phone) was inspired by Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek who used a cellphone communicator on the show. However, Cooper himself refuted this; he too had gotten his inspiration from Tracy’s two-way wrist radio. Either way, humanity is indebted (or not) to Dick Tracy for inspiring tech gadgets that would change children’s lives forever.  

What if six-year-olds ran the world?

What if six-year-olds ran the world and based their ideas on a comic book or on their childish imagination? Would houses be made of candy? Would birthday cakes accompany all meals? Would kids even consider whether something was good for them? What was the mindset of creators of Apple Watch? Were they guided by a singular-minded focus to reenact the tech of favorite childhood comics?

You saw it in a comic book, and you HAD TO HAVE ONE!

Apple Watch or time to explore and learn?

Apple forums assure us the Apple Watch is “safe/appropriate” for children, yet more and more parents are questioning such industry assurances. Alison Perry, a vocal member of the smartphone free childhood UK movement and Netmums, cautions, “The minute a child has a smartphone, that’s the end of their childhood”.  

Children need time to play, draw, read, dig for worms, muse, wonder and wander. Check your watch, there’s just not enough time in the day for Apple Watch.

Does an Apple Watch all day keep the doctor away?

Apple culture advocates for health and safety which (according to them) involves tracking heart rate, calories burned, and sleep. The watch also offers a GPS function with safety in mind whereby parents can locate their child in “real time,” although admittedly some parents wonder if Apple is normalizing surveillance. Yet the health and safety-promoting Watch is linked to rashes, migraines, numbness, wrist pain, skin irritation, burns, arm swelling, welts, bruises, and nickel allergy. Hardly a harbinger of good health and safety.

I got shocked by my Apple Watch, and it left a welt bruise on my arm. Apple Support has insisted it’s just static electricity.

Watched Shocked 2022

As a medical professional I can tell you for sure that these are not allergic reactions. These are definitely burns.

Vfour

An Apple Watch Series 7 has recently started overheating, and less than a day later, it began emitting smoke, and finally blew up.

Condrut Nistor of Notebookcheck

For more Apple Watch Sensor Burn discussions, see here, here, and here, including testimonies from medical practitioners. (As a side note: Although Apple Watch has consulted with board-certified dermatologists about effects on skin, the company at times shifts the blame for watch irritations onto customers, suggesting reactions are due to user weaknesses.  Yet repeated reports of watch burns documented in the Apple Community are reminiscent of the “me too” movement and beg further explanation. As noted by a user:  “Something is going on with the sensors and how they interact with the skin.” Perhaps science can unpack this mystery if Apple has no answer.)

From comic books to science

In comic books, radiation gives you superpowers. Spiderman, aka Peter Parker, when bitten by a radioactive spider is given super strength. Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, gets exposed to radioactivity and develops radar ability. While Dick Tracy wears his high-tech watch without any side effects, in the real world, independent science shows that wireless radiation from WiFi, Blue Tooth and cellphones (all used by Apple Watch) is harmful, particularly to children.

What would Tim Cook have found had he taken the time to look into the science before launching the Apple Watch? Following is a very small sampling of what he may have discovered regarding health impacts from wireless technology.

Science pre-Apple Watch launch:

• By 1971, Dr. Zory Glaser, on behalf of the US Navy, had collected more than 2,300 references to documents that detailed biological effects of wireless radiation from radar and mobile communications, navigational and other devices. Since then, Dr. Glaser has cited well over 6,000 studies on bioeffects.
• According to this PubMed NIH report, in 1970, the Soviet Union described the “microwave syndrome” among radar operators. Symptoms included, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, problems with concentration and memory….).
• In 2011, The World Health Organization classified cell phone radiation as a possible 2B carcinogen. 
•  “Leif Salford and others have demonstrated that exposure to low level microwave radiation from wireless devices can cause the blood brain barrier to open for 2 weeks or more.” – Physicians for Safe Technology

Science post-Apple Watch launch:
(Some of the science that could have helped Tim Cook reconsider both past and future inventions.)

• .The 2018 National Toxicology Report showed clear evidence of brain and heart damage from Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR).  Similar results were subsequently reported by scientists from the Ramazzini Institute.
• The 2021 Supreme Court ruling mandated the FCC to update its 1996 [antiquated] guidelines which were found “arbitrary and capricious.”
• And the connection between men’s infertility and cellphone use which can be found here, here, and here.

Was Apple unaware of the science or did the company cherry pick the science that supports their products?

In 2011, Dr. Magda Havas sent a letter to Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, stating the US government was “unwilling to acknowledge how dangerous this technology is….so it is up to industry leaders, like yourself, and your company to lead the way.”

In much the same vein, Louise Kuo Habakus sent an Open Letter to Tim Cook in 2014 which was written before Apple Watch was brought to market. Her takeaways: Radiation is biologically harmful; the dangers are documented and real; children are at greater risk; and policies are inadequate to protect public health.

Does Tim Cook not know that in France, Israel, Belgium, Austria, and Russia. Wi-Fi is now limited or banned in schools? 

Are the lines between heroes and villains blurred when it comes to tech?  Is it honorable to market tech toys for children?  Where does profit end and integrity begin?

Apple (and most tech companies) hide behind the antiquated and scientifically unsubstantiated 1996 federal guidelines for radio frequency (RF) exposure insisting its Watch has been tested and meets all applicable limits for RF exposure – limits that were set based on 30 minutes of active cell phone use back in 1996. (NB: Active cell phone use then was quite different from 2024.)   

Apple Watch and other wearables are not tested on children

In light of the potential health impacts to children, in 2018, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) offered guidance on reducing exposures to children as their developing bodies are “more easily effected by RF Energy.” In their 2021 Final Report, the State of New Hampshire 5G Commission acknowledged the “large body of peer-reviewed research that shows that the type of RF-radiation generated by wireless devices can have a deleterious effect on humans, especially children.”

With great power comes great responsibility

Clearly, we should not base policies, regulations, and inventions on comic books, nor look toward comics for guidance on how to live our lives. That said, the infiltration of technology into our lives is so out of control now that even Spiderman’s code of ethics can inform today’s tech giants who have put profits before children and future generations. Spiderman’s motto tells us, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

With all the technology our children are being exposed to, perhaps Apple Watch disclaimers would better read:

If you want to “power up,” you might have to first power down or power off your device. Superheroes may be “virtually” invincible, but children aren’t. Caveat Emptor…Buyer Beware!

Please consider adding your support to The International Declaration on the Human Rights of Children in the Digital Age.