Risks linked to mobile phone use and how they are portrayed in the media: examples from three daily newspapers]

This study analyses how three French daily newspapers (Liberation, Le Monde, Le Figaro) convey information on the risks associated with mobile phone use in the period from 1995 to 2002. Quantitatively, the physical risks inherent to the low-intensity, electro-magnetic waves are most frequently reported, followed by those linked to mobile phone use while driving. "Social" risks, such as those related to noise or uncivil behaviour, are amongst the most rarely communicated. In general, the media present two types of physical risks connected to mobile phone use: the collective ones, which cover the low-intensity electro-magnetic waves which are emitted from the antennas on signal base stations, and the individual ones, which concem the waves produced by the mobile phone itself, and the danger associated with its use by a driver while operating a motor vehicle. Controversy surrounding the current scientific studies and the uncontrollable character of the risks linked to the low-intensity, electro-magnetic waves instill much more fear and debate than around those related to the combination of driving while talking on the telephone. While this latter point is scientifically proven, it is also subjectively under control.