1 Cancer & Radiation Epidemiology Unit, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology & Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.
2 Biostatistics Unit, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology & Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel .
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019 Mar;22(3):212-219. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2018.0177. Epub 2019 Jan 7.
Concern has been raised regarding the possible effects of mobile phone use on health, especially by children and adolescents. Thus, it is important to evaluate factors affecting their patterns of use. This study aimed to identify determinants of heavy mobile phone use among Israeli adolescents. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire regarding mobile phone usage, leisure activity, sociodemographics, and opinion regarding mobile phone use. "Heavy use" was defined as >1 hour of daily duration of voice calls, or >50 daily text messages. The survey included 1,688 seventh and ninth graders in eight middle schools. The vast majority (96.1 percent) used the mobile phone for voice calls daily. Girls were heavier users than boys, and ninth graders were heavier users than seventh graders. Among students attending religious schools, the rate of heavy users was lower than among those attending secular schools. About half of the students did not use hands-free devices at least half of the time. Leisure activities were significantly associated with mobile phone use. This study demonstrates that several variables, including sociodemographics and leisure activities, may predict heavy mobile phone use among teenagers. This information can be useful for exposure assessment and for designing intervention programs for reducing radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure.
人们对手机使用可能对健康造成的影响表示担忧，尤其是对儿童和青少年而言。因此，评估影响他们使用模式的因素非常重要。本研究旨在确定以色列青少年重度使用手机的决定因素。研究数据通过一份关于手机使用、休闲活动、社会人口统计学以及对手机使用看法的自我报告问卷收集。“重度使用”定义为每天打 1 小时以上的电话，或每天发送 50 条以上的短信。调查涵盖了 8 所中学的 1688 名 7 年级和 9 年级学生。绝大多数（96.1%）学生每天都使用手机打电话。女生比男生更倾向于重度使用手机，9 年级学生比 7 年级学生更倾向于重度使用手机。在就读宗教学校的学生中，重度使用者的比例低于就读世俗学校的学生。大约一半的学生没有至少一半的时间使用免提设备。休闲活动与手机使用显著相关。本研究表明，包括社会人口统计学和休闲活动在内的几个变量可能会预测青少年重度使用手机。这些信息对于评估暴露情况和设计减少射频（RF）辐射暴露的干预计划非常有用。
