Rising Female Death Rate

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:04pm

The article that follows is ‘chaff’, a term for clouds of shredded aluminum foil blown out the back of airplanes in years past to confuse enemy radar. It’s someone waving their arms and saying ‘here, look over HERE’ in response to the recent breakthrough ‘radiation drives blood-brain barrier leakage’ article just back in this thread.

Sugar is bad, make no mistake. But there’s no mention of the blood-brain barrier, here, and that, we’ve learned, is at the base of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Researchers from the University of Bath found excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stage of the disease.”

Re: sugar, they use the very powerful words " caused by “, and follow closely with the repugnant meme phrase " tipping point .”

Where " response to early stage of the disease" tells me the fire’s already been lit. My understanding to this point is that the body’s got a lot of ways to try to keep itself healthy, but the blood-brain barrier gets leakier and leakier, until the disease gets good and proper traction, after the bad stuff is no longer being cleaned out by that brain circulatory system. So the signs and symptoms show up after the cow is out of the barn - the leaking blood-brain barrier is not symptomatic, to my understanding, doesn’t hurt, itch, like that.

So the key question, ‘why the 68% increase in Alzheimer’s in just a few short years’, is not answered by sugar, or fatness. While I have no doubt that too much sugar or fatness exacerbates the situation.

It would only cost a few more years and tens of thousands of lives until this ‘sugar’ ruse was, er, unraveled. But that’s how these guys play.

There’s a study back in this thread where they teased out that people who went to college got 20% more brain tumors than people who did not.

It will be analyses similar to that one that will break this game open.

Having proven “Alzheimer’s is caused by leakage of the blood-brain barrier” and “cell phone radiation causes leakage of the blood-brain barrier”, we’re kind of done, right? With the JAMA article saying "aging causes blood-brain barrier leakage (which it does), but aging hasn’t increased 68% in a few short years, so what’s the variable?

No heavy-lifting required " Alzheimer’s in college vs. non-college populations ", compute, " Alzheimer’s in professional vs. manual occupations “, and, God help us, " Alzheimer’s in cell phone owners vs. non-cell-phone-owners .” Etc.

Not a “mystery”, no complex chemicals, no hand-waving, just the answer to the question “what has caused a 68% increase in blood-brain barrier leakage in the general populace over the last few short years?”

February 27, 2017 - Alzheimer’s could be caused by excess sugar: new study finds ‘molecular link’

People who eat diets high in sugar could be at greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.

For the first time, scientists have established a "tipping point" link between blood sugar glucose and the degenerative neurological condition.

Researchers from the University of Bath found excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stage of the disease.

Abnormally high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycaemia, is a well-known characteristic of diabetes and obesity, and it is already understood that diabetes patients have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, where abnormal proteins aggregate to form plaque and tangles in the brain.

Now, however, scientists have unravelled the specific molecular link between glucose and Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting people who consumer a lot of sugar but are not diabetic are at increased risk.

They did it by studing brain samples from people with and without Alzheimer’s disease

They found that, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, an enzyme called MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) is damaged by a process called glycation.

The researchers believe that inhibition and reduction of MIF activity caused by glycation could be the “tipping point” in disease progression.

The researchers found that, as the disease progresses , the glycation of these enzymes increases.

Professor Jean van den Elsen, from the University of Bath’s department of biology and biochemistry, said: "We’ve shown that this enzyme is already modified by glucose in the brains of individuals at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

"We are now investigating if we can detect similar changes in blood.

“Normally MIF would be part of the immune response to the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain, and we think that because sugar damage reduces some MIF functions and completely inhibits others that this could be a tipping point that allows Alzheimer’s to develop.”

In the study, scientists from the university worked with colleagues at the Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, King’s College London.

Dr Rob Williams, also from the department of biology and biochemistry, added: “Knowing this will be vital to developing a chronology of how Alzheimer’s progresses and we hope will help us identify those at risk of Alzheimer’s and lead to new treatments or ways to prevent the disease.”

Globally, there are around 50 million people with Alzheimer’s disease and the figure is predicted to rise to more than 125 million by 2050.

Dr Omar Kassaar, from the University of Bath, added: “Excess sugar is well known to be bad for us when it comes to diabetes and obesity, but this potential link with Alzheimer’s disease is yet another reason that we should be controlling our sugar intake in our diets.”

The study, funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, used brain tissue provided through Brains for Dementia, a joint initiative between Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK in association with the Medical Research Council.

The work is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:05pm

"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug into your wire whenever they wanted to.”

George Orwell, from " 1984 "

February 28, 2017 - The government surveys TV use because it’s a component of a household’s overall energy consumption.

This just in from Correspondent Fran - thanks, Fran! - It’s an article headlined " Americans have fewer TVs on average than they did in 2009 -And the number of households with no TVs at all grew ."

It shows a societal move away from technology, specifically Television. I grew up watching hour upon hour of TV every day, as did everyone else. I now watch a half an hour per day, perhaps an hour. So my own TV use has decreased very significantly. There was no “I"m going to watch less TV” moment. Just the way it went.

“Americans went from having an average of 2.6 TVs per household in 2009 to having 2.3 TVs in 2015.” That’s an 11% drop, in one year. Did you notice they took care to withhold the percentage, as printing it would have been more impactful? I had to do the math.

Following that same pattern of hedging, we read “in 2015…39 percent of households had more than three TVs, whereas 44 percent had more than three TVs in 2009.”

The gave you the numbers, but didn’t note the percentage of the drop, as doing so would have been more impactful. “The number of households that had more than three TV’s dropped five percent.” That’s more impactful.

That money quote up at the top of this post, " The government surveys TV use because it’s a component of a household’s overall energy consumption ." Well, if that’s true, did they break out washers and driers in that way? They consume way more power than TV’s, at least they did before the clandestine weaponization of the Television:

" Last September, the Natural Resources Defense Council hired a third-party research firm to study TV energy use and found that several TV manufacturers were building their TVs to narrowly pass federal energy use tests, while consuming much more electricity if any of the TVs’ baseline settings were changed. "

So the fair-seeming, nattily-dressed sociopaths at the top of the Television Manufacturing control pyramid are lying to you about basically everything, including your TV’s power consumption. Did you notice the article doesn’t mention who the companies are, or if anything’s being done to stop them, you know, like Great-Satan VW, who built a similar work-around, emissions?

But you can see how we’re stepping back from the brink, here, I believe. Phone consumption is dropping, TV consumption is dropping, Computer consumption is dropping. Vinyl is rising. Technology can go out of fashion like Three Martini Lunches did.

I’m consuming less TV and didn’t even notice it happening, on my way to getting there.

February 28, 2017 - Americans have fewer TVs on average than they did in 2009 - And the number of households with no TVs at all grew.

Americans went from having an average of 2.6 TVs per household in 2009 to having 2.3 TVs in 2015, according to survey data from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA).

The data comes from the agency’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), which has been conducted periodically since the 1970s to understand American energy use. The 2015 survey included 5,600 respondents who were contacted in person and then given an option to follow up by mail or online. A fine-detail report on the survey results is due to be released in April 2017.

The latest data shows that in 2015, 2.6 percent of households had no TV at all, a jump from the previous four surveys in 2009, 2005, 2001, and 1997 in which a steady 1.2 to 1.3 percent of households didn’t own a TV. The 2015 data also showed that the number of people with three TVs or more dropped in 2015. That year, 39 percent of households had more than three TVs, whereas 44 percent had more than three TVs in 2009.

Interestingly, the number of households with one or two TVs increased in 2015 to 58 percent, from 54 percent in 2009.

The EIA doesn’t go into what has caused this shift, but it does note that “younger households tend to have a lower concentration of televisions per person and a higher concentration of portable devices such as laptops and smartphones. Older households are more likely to have higher concentrations of desktop computers.” (Anecdotally, the Ars staff seems to agree that having one or two really nice TVs for family viewing as well as auxiliary devices for streamed media is preferable to having several just-okay TVs.)

The government surveys TV use because it’s a component of a household’s overall energy consumption. According to the EIA, about 6 percent of all electricity consumption in US homes comes from TVs, cable boxes, DVRs, video game consoles, and other peripheral equipment.

As TVs get bigger and higher in resolution, they can demand a lot more electricity, too. Last September, the Natural Resources Defense Council hired a third-party research firm to study TV energy use and found that several TV manufacturers were building their TVs to narrowly pass federal energy use tests, while consuming much more electricity if any of the TVs’ baseline settings were changed.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:06pm

This is from almost a decade ago.

June 22, 20008 - U.K. - Suicides ‘linked to phone masts’

THE spate of deaths among young people in Britain’s suicide capital could be linked to radio waves from dozens of mobile phone transmitter masts near the victims’ homes.

Dr Roger Coghill, who sits on a Government advisory committee on mobile radiation, has discovered that all 22 youngsters who have killed themselves in Bridgend, South Wales, over the past 18 months lived far closer than average to a mast.

He has examined worldwide studies linking proximity of masts to depression. Dr Coghill’s work is likely to trigger alarm and lead to closer scrutiny of the safety of masts, which are frequently sited on public buildings such as schools and hospitals.

It is also likely to fuel more campaigns against placing masts close to public places on health grounds.

Dr Coghill said last night there was strong circumstantial evidence that the masts may have triggered depression in those from Bridgend who took their lives.

They include Kelly Stephenson, 20, who hanged herself from a shower rail in February this year while on holiday in Folkestone, Kent.

Dr Coghill said: “There is a body of research that has over the years pointed to the fact that exposure to mobile radiation can lead to depression. There is evidence of higher suicide rates where people live near any electrical equipment that gives off radio or electrical waves.”

There are now 70 million mobile phone handsets in the UK and around 50,000 masts. Both emit radio signals and electromagnetic fields that can penetrate the brain, and for many years campaigners have argued that this could seriously damage people’s health.

The national average for proximity to a mobile phone transmitter varies depending on the type of mast. The latest masts are far more powerful so they can transmit more sophisticated data, such as photos and videos for people to download on internet phones.

Masts are placed on average 800 metres away from each home across the country. In Bridgend the victims lived on average only 356 metres away.

The national average distance from a new powerful mast is a kilometre while in Bridgend it is 540 metres. Three transmitters were within 200 metres, 13 within 400 metres and as many as 22 within 500 metres of victims’ homes. Carwyn Jones, 28, who hanged himself last week, was the third young person in his street to commit suicide.

Research shows young people’s brains are more susceptible to radio wave energy. Only two weeks ago a report identified mobiles as having an effect on sleep patterns.

Dr Coghill added: “What seems to be happening is that the electrical energy is having an effect on the chemistry of the brain, depleting serotonin levels. We know that in depression serotonin levels are low and that a standard treatment for depression is to give drugs to boost serotonin levels. As they begin to work, the patient’s depression lifts.”

He said urgent research was needed because Britain was now covered with thousands of masts, many close to homes, schools and offices.

Since January 5, 2007, there have been 22 deaths of young people in the Bridgend area. Some believe the suicides are linked but so far experts have failed to find a common cause.

Thomas Davies, 20, hanged himself in February 2007. Last night his brother Nathan, 19, welcomed Dr Coghill’s research. “As far as this family is concerned nothing can bring Tom back,” he said. “But if there is a link found and something can be done then it could prevent further suicides.”

But Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association, dismissed Dr Coghill’s research. “This is an insensitive and outrageous piece of speculation which has no basis in established science,” he said.

The Government’s Health Protection Agency insisted that fields from mobile masts – even modern powerful masts – were well within international agreed safety limits.

“There is no evidence that masts do you harm. The levels of radio waves are very low.”

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:08pm

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer. And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right.”

George Orwell, from " 1984 "

August 27, 2016 - The maternal mortality rate in Texas doubled from 2010 to 2014

March 10, 2017 - Is US maternal mortality rising? Maybe not.

August 27, 2016 - The maternal mortality rate in Texas doubled from 2010 to 2014 .

January 3, 2017 - the Rise in Mortality from Breast Cancer in Young Women : Trend Analysis in Brazil

There was a tendency of increased mortality from breast cancer in Brazilian women ( average increase of 0.18 per year ; p <0.001), with regional differences, particularly in the age group 20–49 years (0.07 per year; p <0.001). The age group 50–69 years remained constant but had high average rates (37.14).

February 7, 2017 - U.K. - Unexpected mental health deaths up 50% in three years

Unexpected deaths include death by suicide , neglect and misadventure.

The Department of Health said the increase was “expected” because of changes to the way deaths were recorded and investigated.

February 16, 2017 - U.K. - Health cuts most likely cause of major rise in mortality , study claims …

February 17, 2017 - U.K. - Care cuts may have fuelled l argest rise in death rates for 50 years

February 28, 2017 - Rise in Texas maternal deaths absent from legislative agenda

March 10, 2017 - Is US maternal mortality rising? Maybe not. | The Skeptical OB

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:08pm

In the last post, we read a story from the U.K., from just last month, headlined " - " Unexpected mental health deaths up 50% in three years ."

For those unaware, “Unexpected deaths include death by suicide, neglect and misadventure.”

The folks who study the subject for living in the U.K., and the reporters and editors covering it there said " the increase was ‘expected’ because of changes to the way deaths were recorded and investigated ."

Well, if that’s true, then why does a story from the U.S. from just two weeks later say " Massachusetts’ Suicide Rate Has Nearly Doubled Since 2004 ", and mention nothing about the way deaths were recorded and investigated as having anything to do with the matter?

“U.K. record keeping changes drove merely-statistical suicide increase” is not true, but is rather a lie, a falsehood. It is a local, plausible-deniability excuse put forward to give the subconscious of folks in the U.K. a straw to grasp and so avoid dealing with the larger phenomenon we’re discussing here.

The story from Boston tells us that " Between 1999 and 2014, mortality rose 2–5% among white, Native American and Alaskan native people aged 25 to 30 ." They don’t mention that ninety-plus percent of that increase was comprised by the whites. It makes it look like a broader phenomenon than it in fact is. It casts it in a false light . Do I recall it was 94 percent and 6 percent? I’ll publish this and check back.

It goes on to tell us " In Massachusetts, men made up the vast majority (77 percent) of suicide victims , though the rate among women rose by 48 percent in the decade after 2004."

Where the " men made vast majority " section in italics above is a proactive, defensive hedge against, is deliberately positioned prior to " though the rate from women rose by 48%. " There is no mention of the percentage rise (or drop) on the male side.

So suicides have doubled, in just ten years, most notably among white women between the ages of 35 and 64. And suicide rates are increasing at a staggering rate in both the U.S. and U.K. Just what has increased in the last decade? Particularly among women of that age and ethnicity? What is present across both societies, populations? It’s got to be broad, you know, like something in the air .

Another story below from about a month ago from here in the U.S. is headlined " Study: Premature death rates rising in US "

It tells us " A recent study published in the journal “the lancet” finds that drug overdoses and suicide contribute heavily to the rise in numbers. " But the reader must notice how they positioned drug overdoses prior to suicide, and that they didn’t break out the statistics. That’s careful hedging in both cases, but unsubtle, as it’s part of a repeating pattern that I’m documenting here down through time.

It doesn’t have to be subtle, as the Propagandists well know. The subconscious will do anything to avoid getting involved, it’s how we’ve been programmed, been conditioned, as a society.

If my thesis is correct, the rates and intensity of all the mayhem documented in this thread is going to continue to increase, as the technology continues to work its malicious woe. And at some point the populace will leave its collective denial about the subject, and positive change will occur, and a controlled-media’s defensive efforts against that process will be ultimately unsuccessful, and in fact counterproductive.

I actually think that the positive change has already begun, based on the dropping sales of all stripes of technology, dropping consumption of Television, dropping consumption of social media.

February 7, 2017 - U.K. - Unexpected mental health deaths up 50% in three years

Unexpected deaths include death by suicide , neglect and misadventure.

The Department of Health said the increase was “expected” because of changes to the way deaths were recorded and investigated.

February 9, 2017 - Study: Premature death rates rising in US

(CNN) – For the first time in more than twenty years, life expectancy for Americans has fallen. The cause? According to a new study, premature deaths are on the rise.

Young white Americans and Native Americans are dying premature deaths at an increasing rate. A recent study published in the journal “the lancet” finds that drug overdoses and suicide contribute heavily to the rise in numbers.

Between 1999 and 2014, mortality rose 2–5% among white, Native American and Alaskan native people aged 25 to 30 . The total number of accidental deaths, including drug overdoses, increased in all 50 states for women and in 48 states for men.

West Virginia had the highest rate of early death from all causes, while the District of Columbia had the lowest. According to a CDC report, the average woman lives to be 81 and the average man lives to be 76.

In 2015, the life expectancy for Americans dropped for the first time in twenty years. It only fell by a little over a month, according to the CDC.

That’s not a huge number, but it’s the first time life expectancy for Americans has fallen since 1993.

February 28, 2017 - Massachusetts’ Suicide Rate Has Nearly Doubled Since 2004

Suicides now outnumber deaths from car accidents and homicides combined.

Suicide rates in Massachusetts have nearly doubled since 2004, according to a jarring new report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The report shows that Massachusetts saw a massive 40 percent increase in suicides between 2004 and 2014, an average increase of 3.1 percent per year. A total of 608 Commonwealth residents died of suicide in 2014—outnumbering car accident and homicide deaths combined.

While the raw numbers and the increase are both troubling, Massachusetts still has among the lowest suicide rates in the country , at nine self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 people. By contrast, Wyoming, the state with the highest suicide incidence in the nation, weathered 28.24 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2015.

In Massachusetts, men made up the vast majority (77 percent) of suicide victims, though the rate among women rose by 48 percent in the decade after 2004. People between the ages of 35 and 64 made up 56 percent of suicide victims.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:09pm

(Me, from this thread, to Don, October, 2016)

You know how “video games are addictive”? Well, SSmart phones are addictive in a way that my flip phone is not. Just as the ill-intended make Doritos REALLY ADDICTIVE, so they’ve custom-crafted the smart phone, the social media programs, the Bachelor TV shows, et al…to be REALLY ADDICTIVE. And all they need to do is make sure you have the hose attached to the side of your head (or, more accurately, your FACE) for the requisite number of hours. It doesn’t matter to them if you log those hours on social media application “A”, or through TV show “B”.

(Me, from this thread, this week)

"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug into your wire whenever they wanted to.”

George Orwell, from “1984”

February 28, 2017 - The government surveys TV use because it’s a component of a household’s overall energy consumption.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:09pm

"Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer; though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing. A kilometer away the Ministry of Truth, his place of work, towered vast and white above the grimy landscape…

The Ministry of Truth - Minitrue, in Newspeak - was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, three hundred meters into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"

George Orwell, from " 1984 "

June 6, 2016 - People are spending much less time on social media apps, said report.

September 9, 2016 - The end of an era: Social media grows as newspapers decline

December 23, 2016 - Are Teens Replacing Drugs With Social Media?

It used to be, there was a Sears Catalog. It was, like, four inches thick. Everyone got one and had one. It was the only catalog that there was.

Nowadays, catalogs are innumerable, and so deviously custom-designed and marketed that I will regularly get ones I’ve never heard of - super-specialized - and say to myself " this is really ME ." Then I throw them away.

I mention that because the only area of media consumption that’s still growing, at all, is mobile, and that’s that custom thing…the user dials up exactly what they want, and binges on it. " Binge watching " is a real term at this time, in 2017, said Jeff to the school children of the future.

I think the data below shows we’ve just passed the sick peak of the technology Programme . This from June of last year: " U.S. Adults Consume an Entire Hour More of Media Per Day Than They Did Just Last Year "

A story from just last month: " Rise Of Fake News, Decline Of Social Media? "

Alcohol consumption is dropping drastically world wide, with exception of the U.S., particularly the bell-ringer Binge Drinking in the U.S. It’s that last-ditch binge before the purge, I think. But even here, in very Heart of Darkness , social media use is dropping:

"In the U.S. — typically social media’s most lucrative market — Instagram use was down 36.2 percent, Twitter was down 27.9 percent, Snapchat was down 19.2 percent and Facebook fell 6.7 percent. "

Can you see how all of the Bad Guy gambits are failing, each and every one of them? And how the positive changes, the rise in awareness we’re seeing across the globe are increasing in speed and magnitude?

I’m going to research bicycle sales. I’m an avid cyclist, have been since I was a teenager. Half an hour less social media consumption, half an hour more cycling, cycling to a store where you bought less-poisonous, unweaponized food? Bet you I find a big increase in bicycle sales.

At the store last week, I saw a sign, " Completely Harmless Coconut Water ". World Peace is at hand, people.

August 9, 2010 - Phone Fatigue: Cell Phone Minutes and Voice Calls on the Decline …

June 6, 2016 - People are spending much less time on social media apps , said report.

People are spending less time on social media apps, in some cases substantially less, a new study from marketing intelligence firm SimilarWeb found.

The company compared Android users’ daily time spent on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat from January to March 2016 with the same period in 2015. The firm looked at data from the U.S, UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, India, South Africa, Brazil and Spain.

Facebook’s Instagram saw the biggest year-over-year drop — usage was down 23.7 percent this year, closely followed by Twitter (down 23.4 percent), Snapchat (down 15.7 percent) and Facebook (down 8 percent) , the study found.

In the U.S. — typically social media’s most lucrative market — Instagram use was down 36.2 percent, Twitter was down 27.9 percent, Snapchat was down 19.2 percent and Facebook fell 6.7 percent. Despite this drop, Facebook users in the U.S. continued to spend the most time using the app: 45 minutes and 29 seconds every day on average. Facebook users in India used the app the least, spending 22 minutes and 59 seconds daily, on average.

Americans are also the biggest Snapchatters, spending 18 minutes and 43 seconds using the app daily, followed by the French (16 minutes and 7 seconds), and then the British (15 minutes and 27 seconds).

February 12, 2016 - Digital Media’s Consumption Growth Slowing; So Is Traditional’s Decline

Digital media’s consumption growth rate in the U.S. continued to slow last year, while the rate of decline in traditional media use (dominated by television, of course) also slowed.

June 14, 2016 - All media consumption is declining - with one exception

Worldwide media consumption is dropping, but there’s one silver lining.

Zenith Optimedia has issued its newest Media Consumption Forecast, which predicts that all non-mobile media consumption, including traditional media and desktop Internet, will decline by 3.4% this year.

But mobile media consumption will climb by approximately 28% . Because of this, the forecast predicts that overall media consumption will still increase this year.

Despite the declines, TV media consumption still dominates. Consumers spent 177 minutes per day watching TV in 2015, compared to 110 minutes per day on the Internet (both desktop and mobile). TV accounted for 41% of media consumption in 2015, but that figure is expected to decline to 38% by 2018. Internet media, meanwhile, will account for 31% in that year.

Last year, mobile overtook desktop as the primary means of accessing the Internet. But now, mobile is racing past desktop, as people are expected to spend 86 minutes on average on mobile media, compared to just 36 minutes on desktop. This means that approximately 71% of global internet consumption will occur on mobile in 2016.

June 27, 2016 - U.S. Adults Consume an Entire Hour More of Media Per Day Than They Did Just Last Year

For daily total of 10 hours, 39 minutes

August 18, 2016 - Mobile phone sales drop as smartphone buyers bide their time

August 22, 2016 - NBC Blames Millennials And Social Media For Awful Olympics . …

September 9, 2016 - The end of an era: Social media grows as newspapers decline

September 19, 2016 - Limp handshakes, social media fronting & the decline of decency …

November 9, 2016 - Social media alone understood the Donald Trump story

November 29, 2016 - 5 Ways Millennial Social Media Habits Will Change In 2017

Overall millennial social media usage will start to decline . According to Infusionsoft, 90% of millennials currently use social media, but research suggests that f or more than half of us, social media is a chronic source of unhappiness — at least in some situations .

Millennials who have practically grown up with social media are starting to recognize this , and are beginning to see the platforms they used when they were younger as more juvenile and less significant than they were previously. Accordingly, we may see a significant drop-off in total social media use among millennials; some will stop using social media altogether, while many will start using social media less frequently throughout the day.

December 10, 2016 - FACEBOOK BRAND PAGES SUFFER 44% DECLINE IN REACH SINCE DECEMBER 1

Ignite analysts reviewed 689 posts across 21 brand pages (all of significant size, across a variety of industries) and found that, in the week since December 1, organic reach and organic reach percentage have each declined by 44% on average, with some pages seeing declines as high as 88% . Only one page in the analysis had improved reach, which came in at 5.6%.As reach declined, the raw number of engaged users plunged as well, falling on average by 35%. Some pages saw engaged users fall as much as 76%. Only one page in the data set had an increase in the number of engaged users,

December 23, 2016 - Are Teens Replacing Drugs With Social Media? - Rolling Stone

December 28, 2016 - Why Social Media Use Could Decline - Website Magazine

February 15, 2017 - Rise Of Fake News, Decline Of Social Media?

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:10pm

The game is turning, has turned. The most recent story below, from late last month, is headlined " Why I’ve ditched my smartphone for a dumb old Nokia ".

The story’s from the U.K., and notes that actor Eddie Redmayne also ditched his Ssmart phone. The author notes that " going back to the 'dumb phone’ or 'basic burner’ could soon be a bit like the retreat to vinyl records or 70s drop handled racing bikes ."

I’ve mentioned the return to vinyl many times in this thread. I’m an avid cyclist, and have never gotten rid of my ‘old’ bikes. My newest was a 1991, and when it got stolen, I’m now back on a 1986. I’m not being sentimental, I think they’re made better, feel better. People said “$500 - or much more - for a crappy-quality new modern bike, or $100 on Craigslist for a beautiful old English bike, I know the smart move, here.”

I’ve also talked a lot about off-the-front famous people ditching their Ssmart phones. " Eddie’s reason for swapping his iPhone for an old fashioned handset was an attempt to stop constantly checking his emails and start to 'live in the moment’, exactly the same as mine. It feels like a total release ."

It is! A release that is at once social, biophysical, neurobiological, and quite possibly spiritual . In that, in the case of demonic possession, one must invite the entity in .

You know how this thread is named “Rising Female Death Rate”? Here’s another data point for you, bold, italics mine:

“In addition I’ve some serious work in America impending and my girlfriend said “you’ll need a 'proper phone’ for that” and spent £650 on one for me for Christmas. I can see it now, still sitting in its box. It’s beautifully packaged, I haven’t unwrapped it yet.”

The author, elsewhere in the article: " We’ve all been sucked into an ever-increasing spiral of Emperors New Clothes Must Have Consumerism of modern digital communication technology. This in itself is actually madness ."

Yes, like in cars, like in bikes, like in everything, or so the folks running things would hope. Famous actors on both sides of the Atlantic, getting it. The author of the featured article, getting it.

Remember, when the school of fish, the flock of birds turns, they do so apparently as one.

August 18, 2016 - Mobile phone sales drop as smartphone buyers bide their time

November 29, 2016 - Report: Third Quarter Smartphone Sales Dropped By 1.8 percent …

January 11, 2017 - Personal Computer Shipments Dropped 5.7% In 2016 , Says IDC …

January 18, 2017 - New iPhone Sales Set For Disappointing Decline - Forbes

January 24, 2017 - Samsung mobile phone sales fall to lowest level in five years

It was the third consecutive annual decline in mobile sales at Samsung Electronic

February 27, 2017 - Why I’ve ditched my smartphone for a dumb old Nokia

When I take my small black plastic £10 Nokia phone out of my pocket it solicits a variety of responses, none of which you could file under Impressed. They include: “Is that a joke?” “How old is that?” and “Wow, do they still make those things?”

I get these questions every week accompanied by a look of disbelief and amazement – as if not having a smart phone means I’ve totally lost it. At least I am not alone – film star Eddie Redmayne has spoken of his decision to ditch his smart phone. Going back to the 'dumb phone’ or 'basic burner’ could soon be a bit like the retreat to vinyl records or 70s drop handled racing bikes.

Eddie’s reason for swapping his iPhone for an old fashioned handset was an attempt to stop constantly checking his emails and start to 'live in the moment’, exactly the same as mine. It feels like a total release.

Last August my phone broke twice and Apple refused to exchange it for a new one because I’d once had the screen repaired by a small independent supplier. While it was out of action, I bought a cheap Nokia instead and realised I quite liked it.

At first I was particularly conscious of having it in business meetings. Part of my work is in digital media with leading brands and ad agencies, one minute I’d be explaining our web-site, Sabotage Times, has two million unique page views a month and a very active Twitter following and the next I’d be making a call on something that looks like the toy phone my two-year-old has.

I’d go through the motions of telling everyone that I’d picked it up when my iPhone was in for repair and that I enjoyed the freedom from social media. When I explained this to an advertising conference recently, so many people tweeted about it that I ended up doing an interview about it on Radio 4 ; “Yes, it’s true, I don’t have a smart phone any more.”

Living without a smart phone isn’t as hard as you think it might be. I can text on my little Nokia, it has a torch, oh, and the battery lasts a week. If I need a battery when I’m travelling I just buy a new phone for a tenner from a high street retailer. It’s like Jack Reacher’s approach to clothing.

And should I ever drop my phone it simply falls apart, nothing breaks and I snap it back together. But I don’t drop it very often because I don’t have it in my hand all the time constantly glancing at it.

Sure I can’t go on social media and email (which is a bonus), but I’ve only missed one £100 job and that didn’t financially cripple me. Also it turns out people don’t actually mind if you don’t immediately reply to an email.

The peace of mind this has given me has been exhilarating. I choose when I go online and when I don’t. It’s a genuine pleasure similar to that feeling when you leave a city and go to the country. Less cluttered.

I do miss not having a camera in my phone and early on I found myself needing the map, but now before I leave my home I look up my destination on my laptop and remember the directions. Also there’s no shortage of other people around with smart phones. All offices have computers.

We’ve all been sucked into an ever-increasing spiral of Emperors New Clothes Must Have Consumerism of modern digital communication technology. This in itself is actually madness. The apparent need to slightly increase your camera speed every autumn prompts the replacement of an otherwise fully functioning device. Apart from the screen.

Because, let’s face it, the screen on your smart phone is often cracked – it’s almost a sign of the brand. To get more stuff into it and to keep the design 'fresh’ they moved on from the perfectly formed finger fitting Pebble design to something heavier with harder edges. People drop them a lot.

Where else would you tolerate a screen that kept breaking? A car windscreen with a jagged massive crack? A TV with a hundred sticks of broken glass obscuring the programming?

People believe smartphones can whisk you away to somewhere else better, funnier, more stimulating and more immediate. But like Eddie, I’m now happily enjoying being in the space where I actually am. I notice a lot more.

I’m not sure how long this will last. I recently sent a text on a mate’s iPhone screen and it just felt so easy compared to my old fashioned push buttons.

In addition I’ve some serious work in America impending and my girlfriend said “you’ll need a 'proper phone’ for that” and spent £650 on one for me for Christmas. I can see it now, still sitting in its box. It’s beautifully packaged, I haven’t unwrapped it yet.

You see I’ve become peculiarly attached to my old fashioned piece of black plastic. I could buy 65 for the same price as the smart phone and have telephones and batteries for life and no-one would change the headphone socket.

Yes, they even have headphone sockets!

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:11pm

“Who controls the present controls the past,” said O’Brien, nodding his head with slow approval. “Is it your opinion, Winston, that the past has real existence?”

George Orwell, from " 1984 "

September 29, 2014 - " The United States has a higher infant mortality rate than any of the other 27 wealthy countries "

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

August 6, 2016 - U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Stays High, Government Report Finds

March 21, 2017 - From 2005 to 2014, the infant mortality rate in the US dropped 15%

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It’s March, 2017, and the infant mortality rate is higher in the US than in any of the other 27 wealthy countries. Why is it so high, here? What do we consume the most of, among all other nations?

An article from October 5 of last year clarifies that " global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S., where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has significantly increased ."

Maternal mortality has fallen by half elsewhere, but has more than doubled in the U.S. Why? What’s the variable? What are we consuming a lot more of here, that people aren’t consuming so much of, elsewhere?

It must be something signal .

An article from today’s newspaper says that SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, declined 29% from 2005 to 2014. SIDS is frequently used as a cover story for Death cult shenanigans, so this could mean a couple of things. One (the most positive), that the rate of sudden death of living infants has decreased significantly, however directly contrary to the highest rate of infant mortality in the developed world.

That seems illogical, it doesn’t follow.

The 29% decline could be because a generally-rising awareness of Death cult shenanigan coverups is leading to a cumulative 29% decrease in their ability to successfully foist same upon the public.

Or it could be a bullshit statistic. We’ll presume it’s legit.

I’m going to keep adding all the data I can find to this thread, so I and y’all can figure out if that statistic, or this statistic are bullshit:

“From 2005 to 2014, the infant mortality rate in the US dropped 15%, from 6.86 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 5.82.”

For now, we can run with the most-optimistic surmise, that the rate did, in fact, drop 15% here in the U.S. But we’d need to state that in the context where it dropped by more than half in the rest of the world. So things are generally getting better, across the globe, even here. The crime rate’s been dropping precipitously from 1991 to present, even here.

Yet despite that, things are worse here by a wide margin, in terms of the general deathliness level. Among birthing mothers, and babies, in utero, at birth, and after birth. And don’t forget the sudden general rise in mortality across the populace. Why? What’s the deadly variable, that the general populace consumes or is exposed to in a general way?

Whatever it is that’s driving up Death rates, it’s macro level. It’s like it’s in the air, here in the U.S.

I believe it would be logical to presume that whatever it is, if it’s agreed that it’s taken up by the populace in a very broad way, it would be cumulative and dose-dependent. It would take awhile to impact everyone - certainly years - with a slow worsening. Otherwise the populace would catch on, if it were sudden, or quick in onset.

I don’t think the folks who designed this Death-increase-driver would let it become truly epidemic, and thus identifiable, but rather they want it to be a deep, wide, addictive malaise , to add to our many others.

Those who consumed the most of this generally-consumed toxins the longest would be the worst off.

I shouldn’t have to prove anything beyond " phone signals cause your blood-brain barrier to leak, leading to later Alzheimer’s ", but this is an interesting exercise.

I’m going to close and research SIDS and infant mortality.

September 29, 2014 - Our infant mortality rate is a national embarrassment

The United States has a higher infant mortality rate than any of the other 27 wealthy countries, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control.

August 6, 2016 - U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Stays High , Report Finds - NBC News

The U.S. infant mortality rate has stalled, the latest government report finds, giving Americans one of the worst rates in the developed world.

October 5, 2016 - Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates in the US Are a Tragic Embarrassment

Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S. , where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has significantly increased.

In a similar fashion, infant mortality rates are higher than any of the other 27 wealthy countries reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Cost for medical care in the U.S. is the highest in the world. Unfortunately, high medical expenditures do not translate into better outcomes for mothers and infants. In fact, the number of infant deaths in the U.S. for every 1,000 live births is higher than in Bosnia, Slovenia, Cuba and Belarus.

According to data released from the Institute of Health Metrics, there are 28 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births in the U.S. This number is a drastic 22 percent increase , up from 23 deaths in 2003. C ompared to 1990, the maternal death rate in the U.S. has more than DOUBLED.

October 13, 2016 - Why American infant mortality rates are so high

Texas A&M University

Summary:

In the U.S., more than 23,000 American infants died in 2014, or about 6 for every 1,000 live births, putting us on par with countries like Serbia and Malaysia. Most other developed countries have lower rates.

March 21, 2017 - US infant mortality rates down 15%

By Robert Jimison, CNN

According to a report, infant mortality rates declined in most states since 2005.

(CNN) Infant mortality rates have reached new lows, according to a report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

From 2005 to 2014, the infant mortality rate in the US dropped 15%, from 6.86 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 5.82. Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, declined by 29% , and there were drops in infant mortality rates across most racial groups.

“It’s good news, but on the other hand, we have so much more to do,” said Dr. Paul Jarris, chief medical officer for the March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on the health of mothers and babies. “What is concerning, though, is that the inequities between non-Hispanic blacks and American Indians and the Caucasian population have persisted.”

The largest drop among racial groups, 21%, was in Asian and Pacific Islander populations. All race and Hispanic subgroups experienced reductions in infant mortality rates except American Indians or Alaska Natives, among whom there was not a statistically significant change. The report shows significant declines among non-Hispanic black populations as well as women of Cuban descent.

However, those reductions were not broad enough to close the racial gap. Infants born to non-Hispanic black women have a mortality rate more than double that of non-Hispanic white women. Among Hispanic subgroups, the highest rates are seen in Puerto Ricans, 6.68 per 1,000, while the lowest, 3.95, are in populations of Cuban descent.

“I think there was a public health push in the past decade to figure out ways to lower this rate, and it has made an impact,” said report author T.J. Matthews, a demographer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. “We know that there have been a lot of efforts across the country in cities and states where they’re trying to figure out ways where they can lower the infant mortality rate.”
Rates for four of the five leading causes of infant death went down. Congenital malformations, the primary cause of infant death, dropped 11%. Deaths from short gestation and low birthweight declined 8%, deaths due to maternal complications fell 7%, and cases of SIDS fell 29%. Deaths caused by unintentional injuries increased 11%, from 26.2 in 2005 to 29.2 in 2014.

One source of the decline, Jarris said, is the push to end medically unnecessary induced labor. “These are when a woman is induced to cause labor when there is no medical indication. They were very common around 2003 to 2005, and we have done a good job as a nation of reducing these dramatically so that women aren’t delivering early when there’s no need.”

Declines in infant mortality rates were observed in two-thirds of all US states and the District of Columbia, and no state reported a statistically significant increase. Infant deaths declined 11% percent or more in Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

“Overall, 33 states and the District of Columbia had significant declines,” Matthews said. “Some states with fairly high rates, such as South Carolina and Mississippi, are in those categories where they had some of the sharpest declines.”

Although the report does not share details on how those states achieved lower rates, in the case of South Carolina, Jarris said the deliberate effort is key. “They have a strong partnership between the state Department of Health, the state Medicaid office, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the hospital association in which they are coordinating their efforts.”

The decline, Matthews says, is a public health success.

According to the National Institutes of Health, since 1962, infant death rates in the United States have dropped more than 70%. Although rates continue to fall, the United States maintains one of the highest rates of infant death among developed countries.

"In terms of preterm birth and infant mortality, the United States has the highest rates of any of the developed nations," Jarris said. “Our rates are more similar to that of developing nations. So the message, from my point of view, is that we cannot be complacent.”

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:11pm

March 31, 2017 - HOUSTON, TX - Witness account highlights dangers of texting while driving

A witness says the driver of a pickup truck that collided with a church minibus in rural Texas, killing 13 people, acknowledged he had been texting while driving — a development that highlights the dangers of sending messages on smartphones while behind the wheel.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Conrad Hein wouldn’t comment Friday on whether texting might have played a role in the Wednesday collision on a two-lane road about 75 miles west (120 km) of San Antonio, near the town of Concan. But officials have said the truck driver appeared to have crossed the center line.

Jennifer Morrison, the investigator in charge of the team from the National Transportation Safety Board, would only say that distracted driving will be among the issues investigated.

The witness who is saying the pickup driver was texting while driving recounted the incident Friday in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. Jody Kuchler, a 55-year-old self-employed welder, said he and his girlfriend were driving back to their home in the nearby town of Leakey when he came across a truck that was driving erratically across the road.

“He kept going off the road and into oncoming traffic and he just kept doing that ,” said Kuchler, who first shared the account of what happened with the San Antonio Express-News.

Kuchler, who followed the truck for at least 15 minutes, said he called the sheriff’s offices for both Uvalde and Real counties and told them “they needed to get him off the road before he hit somebody.”

Kuchler said he witnessed the crash and afterward, he checked on both the bus and the truck and was able to speak with the driver of the truck, who the Department of Public Safety has identified as 20-year-old Jack Dillon Young, of Leakey.

“He said, ’I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was texting.' I said, ‘Son, do you know what you just did?’ He said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry,’” Kuchler recalled.

Texas is unusual in that it has no statewide ban on texting while driving. Dozens of cities across the state prohibit the practice, but local ordinances may not have applied in the rural area where Wednesday’s crash occurred. Laws in 46 other states ban sending or reading email, using apps or engaging in other use of the internet while driving.

The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature approved a statewide ban in 2011 but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Perry, who characterized such prohibitions as government micromanagement and said educating drivers was the key to deterrence . A similar proposal passed the Texas House a few weeks ago but has yet to make it to a Senate floor vote.

The wreck on Wednesday occurred along a curve in the road where the speed limit is 65 mph, according to Department of Public Safety officials. The bus occupants — members of First Baptist Church of New Braunfels in Texas — were returning from a three-day retreat in Leakey, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) from where the crash happened.

Twelve people on the bus died at the scene, authorities said. Another died at a hospital. One bus passenger remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition, according to the church.

Young, the driver of the pickup, also remains hospitalized.

The number of motor vehicle deaths in the U.S. last year topped 40,000 for the first time since 2007 , according to the National Safety Council. The number of vehicle crash deaths in Texas rose 7 percent last year to 3,464, slightly higher than the national rise. One-in-10 driving fatalities in 2015 were caused by some kind of distraction , the U.S Department of Transportation said.

Morrison said most, if not all, of the bus occupants in the Texas crash — who ranged in age from 61 to 87 — were wearing seat belts. The driver and front-passenger seats had three-point lap-and-shoulder belts while the rest of the seats behind had lap belts only, she said.

Three-point seat belts are always preferable to lap belts because they hold the upper torso in place and help prevent head injuries, said automotive safety advocate Joan Claybrook. One of the problems with lap belts only is that in a frontal impact crash, people will remain in their seats but their upper bodies will go forward and their heads can strike the back of the seat in front, she said.

If the passengers wearing lap-only belts are seated along the sides of the buses, instead of facing forward, they will often hit their heads on the sides of the vehicle or the windows, said Henry Jasny, senior vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. A frontal crash of this type would be like “hitting a brick wall,” he said.

The NTSB identified the church vehicle as a 2004 Ford E-350 series van that had been converted to a minibus. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the only safety issues identified with that vehicle model from that particular year was a fuse problem reported in 2007 in vehicles that had been retrofitted to become ambulances.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:13pm

March 31, 2017 - Insomnia Tied to Greater Risk of Heart Attack , Stroke By Janice Wood

Insomnia Tied to Greater Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke

New research has found a link between insomnia and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

“Sleep is important for biological recovery and takes around a third of our lifetime, but in modern society more and more people complain of insomnia ,” said first author Qiao He, a graduate student at China Medical University in Shenyang, China. “For example, it is reported that approximately one-third of the general population in Germany has suffered from insomnia symptoms. ”

“Researchers have found associations between insomnia and poor health outcomes,” she continued. “But the links between insomnia and heart disease or stroke have been inconsistent.”

The meta-analysis assessed the association between insomnia symptoms and incidence or death from cardiovascular disease (acute myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, heart failure), stroke, or a combination of events.

Insomnia symptoms included difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early morning awakening, and non-restorative sleep.

The researchers analyzed 15 prospective cohort studies with a total of 160,867 participants. During a median follow-up of three to 29.6 years, there were 11,702 adverse events, they discovered.

They also discovered there were significant associations between difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and non-restorative sleep and the risk of heart disease and stroke, with increased relative risks of 1.27, 1.11, and 1.18, respectively, compared to those not experiencing these insomnia symptoms.

There was no association between early morning awakening and adverse events, according to the study’s findings.

“ We found that difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, or non-restorative sleep were associated with 27 percent, 11 percent and 18 percent higher risks of cardiovascular and stroke events, respectively, ” she said.

“ The underlying mechanisms for these links are not completely understood, ” she said. “Previous studies have shown that insomnia may change metabolism and endocrine function, increase sympathetic activation, raise blood pressure, and elevate levels of pro-inflammatory and inflammatory cytokines — all of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

Women with insomnia symptoms had a slightly higher risk of cardiovascular and stroke events than men , especially for non-restorative sleep, but the difference between sexes did not reach statistical significance, she noted.

“We cannot conclude that insomnia is more dangerous for women, given the limitations of meta-analyses and the lack of a statistically significant difference between sexes,” said He. “However, we do know that women are more prone to insomnia because of differences in genetics, sex hormones, stress, and reaction to stress. It may therefore be prudent to pay more attention to women’s sleep health.”

“Sleep disorders are common in the general population and sleep health should be included in clinical risk assessment,” she said. “Health education is needed to increase public awareness of insomnia symptoms and the potential risks, so that people with sleep problems are encouraged to seek help.”

The study was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:14pm

April 3, 2017 - NYC teen killed by oncoming subway after retrieving phone on tracks

A teenage girl standing on a subway platform in Queens dropped her cellphone onto the tracks — and was fatally struck by a train after she jumped down to retrieve it , cops said.

Dina Kadribasic, 13, died Sunday afternoon after being hit by a southbound R train at the 63rd Drive-Rego Park station on 63 Drive and Queens Boulevard, according to police.

She had been trying to get back onto the platform from the track bed — where she had just collected her phone — when the train struck her around 2 p.m.

After the collision, onlookers reportedly tried to save her from being pinned by the locomotive.

“People were trying to push the train, and everybody on the train moved to the side so we could push the weight of the train to the side,” straphanger Stephan Topete told ABC7.

“We thought the person was actually trapped in between the train,” he said.

Video posted on Twitter showed a large crowd of commuters — many still in shock from what they witnessed — waiting outside the station as fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.

“A lot of them were crying on the platform,” Topete said. “I think two of them were even throwing up.”

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:15pm

In the future, the time period in which we now live will be studied intensely. And the role of technology in these times will be one of the centerpieces of those studies.

The story that follows is headlined “Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the Web, Plots a Radical Overhaul of His Creation”

It shows me how it’s the idea underlying things that’s important - that external architectures can’t be used to contain and control humanity. And the folks at the top of the control pyramids who build such architectures are very unhappy about me saying that.

It shows how quickly things can change.

" The idea that people will eventually migrate from today’s tech giants to more decentralized systems may seem like a stretch ." I think that they hope to ride the scree, and own not only " today’s tech giants ", but also tomorrow’s " more decentralized systems ". But they’re not going to be able to own all of them. And, as people begin to realize just whom, precisely, they are dealing with, they’re going to circle the wagons.

Word’s going to go out, probably on the down-low, “the Serpent Cult demonstrably doesn’t control (insert seceded U.S. state, or seceded nation X)”. And people are going to move there because of that. And that state or nation is going to want the Serpent cult out of their shorts. How to achieve it?

Now, the hardest part of a problem is realizing that you have one, so once humanity comes to consciousness about the grinning teleprompter readers in every city in every nation on Earth all playing for the same sickening, two-faced team, it’s going to be over pretty quick. Remember, a bunch of people were all close at the same time with heavier-than-air flight, so I have to believe this point of view, while an outlier at this time, is not unique upon the globe.

The web’s a funny thing. My perception is that it was a military request: build us something that won’t be killable, that doesn’t have a head. It’s kind of hilarious how, even in its fully-Big-Brotherized current form, it’s done more damage to the Cabal than it has provided assistance.

Now, Humanity’s ultimate evolution to not using it at all is something I could believe no one but me has considered. It may be that, despite their advantages, humanity is going to leave such technological constructs behind, and go back to a different way of living. Like people who used to be addicted to video games who no longer play video games. I know such people, they binged out on it, had enough of it.

I think, in the shorter term, something will replace it, one step at a time. Right now, we’re at the place where a large subset of the populace are huge, raving fans of the party’s mandatory Telescreens.

How long until someone figures out an end-around on phones? Until something better replaces phones? Or only a small subset of humanity will carry a hand-held computer you can make phone calls on, out of necessity, like UPS drivers, and such and such. Almost as if, today, you were to go to dinner with friends, and began doing arm-curls with weights, at the table, while eating. It would not be done, it’s societally ridiculous, you work out, or you eat, you don’t do both at the same time.

You’d hope we’d get there with the wreck-your-car, step-into-the-icy canal Ssmart phone.

I believe we will, quickly enough. No one realizes, during fads, that they’re fads. They get all swept up, and buy a hula hoop, and use it a couple of times, and then put it in the garage. But everyone buys a hula hoop. Or wears their hat backwards.

As Carlos points out in the post that follows this one, the guy’s a stooge, an actor, a pavement artist: "He points to Wikipedia, which still allows anyone to edit almost every entry on the site. Wikipedia’s not perfect, he acknowledges, but says that “the net good of Wikipedia is huge.”

The amazing thing about the time we live in is that a relatively minuscule proportion of the populace currently grasps that Wikipedia is wholly-controlled-and-coopted. They read it, and literally cannot see or discern the tells. If you open the door to a sheep pen, the sheep will stay in the pen . It’s a very comfortable place to be.

The con they’re working is still “there’s no prison, you’re free as a bird!”, to people who are, in fact, in prison. I think that confidence game is collapsing, with greater and greater speed.

April 4, 2017 - Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the Web, Plots a Radical Overhaul of His Creation

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO the Queen of England dubbed Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the worldwide web, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Today he received what in the tech world counts as a much higher distinction: a Turing Award.

The prestigious prize, presented each year by the Association for Computing Machinery, amounts to the Nobel Prize of computing and comes with a million dollars. Berners-Lee received the award for creating the technology that underpins the web 28 years ago. But he sees his creation as the work of countless other people—and believes that work is far from over.

“I have to accept it on behalf of thousands of people who have helped make web standards and helped protest when net neutrality was threatened,” he says.

A tipping point could be reached where people will realize ‘that data belongs to me.’

When Berners-Lee created the web, it was a decentralized platform. Anyone could publish a website and link to any other site. But as the web has grown from an obscure research-sharing tool for the scientific community into a global medium for commerce, communication, journalism, and entertainment, the power dynamics have shifted. Today, huge companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Netflix dominate the web. These corporate giants enjoy an enormous amount of control not only over what people see and do online but over users’ private data. These days, Berners-Lee is working to reverse that trend as the co-lead of the Decentralized Information Group at MIT’s Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAIL).

On the better web Berners-Lee envisions, users control where their data is stored and how it’s accessed. For example, social networks would still run in the cloud. But you could store your data locally. Alternately, you could choose a different cloud server run by a company or community you trust. You might have different servers for different types of information—for health and fitness data, says—that is completely separate from the one you use for financial records.

“It’s kind of like when you had floppy disks and you had one disk for the application and another the storage,” he says.

Berners-Lee is working to make this a reality through an open source project called Solid. He hopes to create an open technology standard that different applications can use to share data, regardless of what that data is or what type of application needs to read it. Such a standard would enable applications—your hospital’s record-keeping software or a social network—to read and write data from the servers you choose and control, rather than the servers that belong to an individual company.

The idea that people will eventually migrate from today’s tech giants to more decentralized systems may seem like a stretch. But last year at the Decentralized Web Summit in San Francisco, Berners-Lee pointed out that in the early days of the internet, many people thought proprietary online services like America Online, Compuserve, and Prodigy—all of which sought to tame the chaos of the web and the open internet—would dominate the mainstream market. Eventually the web won out. “You can make the walled garden very very sweet,” he said at the event. “But the jungle outside is always more appealing in the long term.”

That could happen again, Berners-Lee argues, as projects like Solid and other decentralized systems become more mature, and as people become more fed up with having so little control over their data. “A tipping point could be reached where people will realize ‘that data belongs to me,’” he says. And now that the Federal Communications Commissions internet privacy rules have been repealed, we might be inching closer to that tipping point.

More Than Just Code
But centralization isn’t the only problem the web is facing. “We thought it used to be enough to keep the net neutral and the world would be ale to use it to build wonderful system that which would produce democracy and truth in science,” he says.

“I think people have looked at the last 12 months and said actually there’s evidence that the web has been more of a purveyor of untruth than of truth because of the way the adverting revenue model encourages people to put things online which will be clicked on.”

You might argue that hoaxes and “fake news” are a good reason for centralization. If Facebook and Google could filter out the misinformation and clickbait, perhaps everyone would be more informed. But Berners-Lee points out that putting just a few companies in charge of deciding what is or isn’t true is a risky proposition. Instead, he thinks openness still has a role to play in making the web more truthful. He points to Wikipedia, which still allows anyone to edit almost every entry on the site. Wikipedia’s not perfect, he acknowledges, but says that “the net good of Wikipedia is huge.”

The key to Wikipedia success, he points out, isn’t just the technology. It’s the governance of the site, the process of coordinating countless volunteers and hashing out what is or isn’t true.

It’s a reminder that the web itself isn’t just technology, either. It didn’t succeed because of the software Berners-Lee wrote to make publishing and browsing webpages possible. It succeeded because of the work he and so many other put into stewarding it as a platform. That’s the reason Berners-Lee deserves a Turing Award, and the million bucks that comes with it. The future of the web will depend just as much on that sort of stewardship in the future as it does on new technology fixes.

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Carlos_Silva · September 11, 2016, 9:15pm

Tim Berners-Lee seems to me to be another “opinion-maker” promoted by the Powers That Were, if you will. I think we’re supposed to go either with or against what he says, but definitely pay attention to it and forget the fact that the internet has grown far beyond what “Sir Tim” helped bring about.
The guy even promotes wikipedia as a place where to find the truth (good joke).

There’s also quite a bit of fear mongering in the article.

When Berners-Lee created the web, it was a decentralized platform. Anyone could publish a website and link to any other site. But as the web has grown from an obscure research-sharing tool for the scientific community into a global medium for commerce, communication, journalism, and entertainment, the power dynamics have shifted. Today, huge companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Netflix dominate the web. These corporate giants enjoy an enormous amount of control not only over what people see and do online but over users’ private data.

The web is still a decentralized space.
No one is forcing anyone to use Google, Facebook etc and anyone can still “publish a website and link to another website”. So what if google sinks your page in the search results. If the content of the website is relevant in some way it will get interested visitors even if it has to be by word of mouth, such as this obscure forum.
Even when information gets censored on those corporate platforms (and it does, daily) it is not possible to maintain a vice-like hold on people’s attention indefinitely. Too much censorship and people get tired and look for alternatives. It’s already happening with voat.co or gab.ai (and nobody is keeping your from making your own platform) though for the majority it may be too confortable to stay in the corporate embrace. Just like it was in the 1990s with AOL, a curated mini-version of the internet, a lot of people seemed to be happy with it at the time. Today it’s facebook which for a lot of people is the internet and that is fine by me. It’s definitely not keeping us from going out, busting some death towers and keeping in touch.

I do use facebook, by the way, mostly as an outlet for the business. Don’t have it on all the time as I find that too distracting.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:16pm

I thought the same thing about the guy - Lord Mucketywhateverface. Thinking “no one that deep in the infrastructure can be on the level.” Funny, in that “on the level” is a Mason-insider term.

However I’m going to finish editing the piece, because I feel they are managing a rearguard action - and there’s decentralization - vs. centralization - going on. And it mirrors the decentralizations/seccessions that will slowly and steadily and inexorably make this hidden cabal less and less powerful. The only way they can wield power is via subterfuge, and the long-lever-arms of pyramidal control systems, of Centralization.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:17pm

Really gaining on it here, I think. Understanding that correlation does not necessarily imply causation, I believe I have shown below that:

The two nations with the highest and second-highest Smart Phone penetrations in the world have, respectively, the second-highest and highest-suicide rates in the world.
The second-, third- and sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first-, second- and third-highest melanoma rates in the world. Pristinely-clean New Zealand, the sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nation, is first in skin cancer, and also fourth in the world in terms of overall cancer rate.
The first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have, respectively, the sixth- and eighth-highest cancer frequency rates in the world.

With loads of other interesting connections.

Smart phone penetration in South Korea is the highest on the planet, at 88%. So I’m going to do an internet search for “South Korea” and “highest rate”, and “world”, that sort of thing, and see if it turns anything up.

First hit:

“Suicide in South Korea is a serious and widespread problem, with the country having the second-highest suicide rate in the world according to the World Health Organization, as well as the highest suicide rate for an OECD member state.[1][2]”

Australia’s in second place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 77%. I searched: Australia Highest Rate In World

July 6, 2014 - Australia comes top of global list for recreational drug use in United Nation’s 2014 World Drug Report

August 10, 2015 - Australia Has The Highest Suicide Rate In The World . Here’s The Grass Roots Problem…

July 13, 2016 - Australia has world’s second highest melanoma rates

Aug 11, 2016 - The rate of suicide among young Indigenous men is the highest in the world , according to a new report highlighting the challenges facing young Australians

So we’ve learned that the nations with the highest and second highest Smart Phone penetration in the world have, respectively, the second highest and highest suicide rates in the world.

Israel is the third-highest nation in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 74%.

I searched: Israel Highest Rate In World.

Israel’s skin cancer rate second highest in the world - Haaretz - Israel …

March 29, 2017 - Why does Israel have the highest rate of this lymphoma ?

We’ve learned that the second and third highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have, respectively, the first and second highest melanoma rates in the world.

The United States is fourth on the list, in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 72%.

I searched: United States Highest Rate In World.

The U.S. has the second highest Alzheimer’s death rate in the world , at a rate of 45.58, behind Finland at number one, at a rate of 53.77. (research Finland).

September 21, 2016 - Maternal mortality rate in U.S. rises , defying global trend, study finds

The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of melanoma cases over the past few decades. The incidence of melanoma has increased 15 times in the last 40 years. This is a more rapid increase than for any other cancer.3 In the United Kingdom, a similar increase in the incidence has been seen.4

Cancer frequency: The U.S. at position six, and South Korea at 8, out of all nations on Earth

6 United States of America 318.0
7 Ireland 307.9
8 Korea, Republic of 307.8

So we’ve learned the first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetrations on Earth have, respectively, the sixth and eighth highest cancer frequency on Earth.

Spain is in fifth place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 71%:

July 2, 2011 - Skin cancer rates in Spain rise alarmingly - Olive Press News Spain

March 31, 2016 - Spain’s suicide rate jumps to record high in economic crisis

The suicide rate in Spain has risen 20 percent since the start of the economic crisis and now causes more than twice the number of deaths than from road traffic accidents.

New Zealand is sixth in overall Smart Phone penetration, at 70%.

January 28, 2011 - NZ fourth in world in rate of cancer | Stuff.co.nz

October 18, 2015 - ‘We have to start talking about it’: New Zealand suicide rates hit record …

Mar 31, 2016 - New Zealand now has the highest rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world – eclipsing Australia as the most dangerous place to be exposed

June 28, 2016 - NZ child mortality rates higher than for many wealthy countries | Stuff …

The United Kingdom is seven on the list of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 68%.

February 16, 2016 - Biggest annual rise in deaths for almost fifty years prompts warnings of crisis in elderly care

England and Wales show a five per cent increase in mortality rates in just one year

UK skin cancer death rates worse than Australia | Daily Mail Online

May 12, 2016 - Number of suicides in England and Wales reaches 20-year high …

That New Zealand melanoma data means we’ve learned that the second, third and sixth highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first and second and third highest melanoma rates in the world.

Canada is the eighth highest nation in terms of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 67%.

May 28, 2014 - Melanoma: deadliest type of skin cancer is on the rise

In Canadian men, the melanoma incidence rate increased 2% per year between 1986 and 2010, from 9 to 15 cases per 100,000. The death rate has increased by 1.2% per year.

March 2, 2017 - Why are colon cancer rates in Gen Xers and millennials in Canada rising ?

March 13, 2017 - Teen suicide on the rise among Canadian girls - BBC News - BBC.com

Chile has the ninth-highest Smart Phone penetration, at 65%.

Nov 21, 2009 - Chile has high rates of suicide and depression . Yet its living standards are good. So why are Chileans depressed?

2010 - Chile has a medium-to-high skin cancer mortality rate. Previous studies have shown an increasing rate of skin cancer mortality

2016 - The standardized suicide rate in Chile during 2001-2010 was 14.7 deaths per 100,000, the highest in South America.

And, lastly, in tenth place, Malaysia, with 65%.

June 5, 2012 - Suicide rate on the rise in Malaysia - Nation | The Star Online

February 18, 2014 - The incidence of cancer in Malaysia increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to 37,400 in 2012. ( a 16.8% increase , they printed the numbers, but withheld the percentage, as printing it would have been more impactful. I had to do the math. -ed)

June 11, 2016 - Skin cancer on the rise – a worrying trend – BorneoPost Online …

September 22, 2016 - Suicide rates on the rise among teenagers and in urban areas in Malaysia

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:18pm

Smart Phones as drivers of Melanoma/Cancer

2012 - “From 1970 to 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased by 8-fold among young women and 4-fold among young men.”

(Twice as high among young women as young men - ed)

The second-, third- and sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first-, second- and third-highest melanoma rates in the world. Pristinely-clean New Zealand, the sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nation, is first in skin cancer, and also fourth in the world in terms of overall cancer rate.

The first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have, respectively, the sixth- and eighth-highest cancer frequency rates in the world.

Australia’s in second place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 77%.

July 13, 2016 - Australia has world’s second highest melanoma rates

The United States is fourth on the list, in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 72%.

The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of melanoma cases over the past few decades. The incidence of melanoma has increased 15 times in the last 40 years . This is a more rapid increase than for any other cancer.3 In the United Kingdom, a similar increase in the incidence has been seen.4

December 22, 2016 - Melanoma Incidence and Mortality Rates Rise in the US

The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.

According to a research letter published in JAMA Dermatology, the burden of melanoma is increasing in the United States. Alex Glazer, MD, from the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine in New York City, and colleagues compared data on the absolute number of invasive melanomas reported in 2016 with similarly obtained data in 2009. They calculated raw incidence rates for 2016 and 2009, and then calculated the compound annual growth rates (CAGR).

The researchers note that in 2016, an estimated 76,380 Americans will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma. The raw incidence rates increased from 22.2 to 23.6 per 100,000 population (0.9% CAGR).

Cancer frequency: The U.S. at position six, and South Korea at 8, out of all nations on Earth

6 United States of America 318.0
7 Ireland 307.9
8 Korea, Republic of 307.8

So we’ve learned the first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetrations on Earth have, respectively, the sixth and eighth highest cancer frequency on Earth.

Spain is in fifth place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 71%:

July 2, 2011 - Skin cancer rates in Spain rise alarmingly - Olive Press News Spain

New Zealand is sixth in overall Smart Phone penetration, at 70%.

January 28, 2011 - NZ fourth in world in rate of cancer | Stuff.co.nz

Mar 31, 2016 - New Zealand now has the highest rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world – eclipsing Australia as the most dangerous place to be exposed

The United Kingdom is seven on the list of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 68%.

UK skin cancer death rates worse than Australia | Daily Mail Online

That New Zealand melanoma data means we’ve learned that the second, third and sixth highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first and second and third highest melanoma rates in the world.

Canada is the eighth highest nation in terms of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 67%.

May 28, 2014 - Melanoma: deadliest type of skin cancer is on the rise

In Canadian men, the melanoma incidence rate increased 2% per year between 1986 and 2010, from 9 to 15 cases per 100,000. The death rate has increased by 1.2% per year.

March 2, 2017 - Why are colon cancer rates in Gen Xers and millennials in Canada rising ?

Chile has the ninth-highest Smart Phone penetration, at 65%.

2010 - Chile has a medium-to-high skin cancer mortality rate. Previous studies have shown an increasing rate of skin cancer mortality

And, lastly, in tenth place, Malaysia, with 65%.

February 18, 2014 - The incidence of cancer in Malaysia increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to 37,400 in 2012. ( a 16.8% increase , they printed the numbers, but withheld the percentage, as printing it would have been more impactful. I had to do the math. -ed)

June 11, 2016 - Skin cancer on the rise – a worrying trend – BorneoPost Online …

Next, I’m going to examine the bottom ten Smart Phone penetration nations, and investigate their melanoma/cancer rates, rates of increase or decrease, relation to the top-ten penetration nations, etc.

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:41pm

MASTER DOCUMENT

(This post is updated as of 5/5/2017 with the data from the thread up through 10/21/2016. For my information, editing below stopped at ‘Spain’)

“I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!”

Lady Galadriel, from J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Fellowship of the Ring”

Mystery, Baffled, Puzzled

The words " mystery ", " baffled " and " puzzled " are memes, used, among numerous similar variants, whenever anyone in the wholly-controlled-and-coopted Political, Academic, Scientific and Media establishments wants to lie about, well, basically anything. Those variants include " question ", " startled ", " stunned ", " struggling ", " surprised ", " unclear ", " unsure ", " unexpected ", and the question mark.

July, 2010 – A new study by researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has found that women between the ages of 35 and 54 were more likely to die in hospitals following heart attacks than men of a similar age. This finding from a sample of more than 423,000 patients can be seen as surprising , given that women, on average, develop their first acute myocardial infarction about 10 years later than men, and are overall less likely to develop myocardial infarction than are men. The study was published in the July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

December 22, 2010 – A newly released report shows the teenage birth rate has hit a 70-year low— and scientists are baffled as to why

2013 - It is unclear why non-smoking women are at greater risk for developing lung cancer than non-smoking men.

March 4, 2013 – Mortality mystery : Female death rates are rising-- and it’s not clear why …

March 17, 2014 – Why are men’s sperm rates falling?

Men’s sperm production is decreasing rapidly and the scientific community is struggling to find an explanation, writes Dr Phil Hammond

Nobody’s quite sure what’s behind the general drop-off . It could be diet, environment, or girl power. The trouble with science is not just that there often isn’t a single answer

June 8, 2014 – Women are having fewer kids, and demographers don’t know why .

August 20, 2014 - For five years now, America’s teen birth rate has plummeted at an unprecedented rate, falling faster and faster. No one can figure out why.

October 22, 2015 – The mystery behind Japan’s high suicide rate among kids

As the suicide rate surges among Japanese schoolchildren, no one is able to offer a clear solution to the alarming phenomenon.

November 3, 2015 – Allstate doubles pace of rate hikes as costs keep rising … That’s created something of a mystery as to what’s causing the increase in accidents.

November 4, 2015 – “Puzzling” Rise in White Suicide « The Thinking Housewife

November 6, 2015 – White deaths increase: drugs, alcohol, suicide, but in US only. Why?

December 3, 2015 – As state’s child death rate rises, health officials focus on safe sleeping techniques

According to the study, 82 babies in the state died unexpectedly in sleep-related deaths in 2014, an increase from 74 deaths in 2013.

June 1, 2016 - First Rise in U.S. Death Rate in Years Surprises Experts

June 1, 2016 - U.S. Death Rate Rises for First Time in a Decade, Reasons Are Unclear

June 1, 2016 – U.S. Death Rate Rises, But Health Officials Aren’t Sure Why - NBC News

June 1, 2016 – Experts Stunned By Rising Death Rate in Obama’s America. .

June 3, 2016 – America’s Mysterious Rising Death Rate

June 10, 2016 – Baby Bust: US Fertility Rate Unexpectedly Drops To Lowest On Record

July 2, 2016 – Utah officials unsure why youth suicide rate has nearly tripled since 2007

July 5, 2016 – Is The Recent Rise In Utah Youth Suicides Really Such A Mystery?

August 24, 2015 – Scientists seeking cause of mysterious heart attack plaguing young women

January 27, 2016 – Can smartphone-assisted therapy help prevent suicide?

February 24, 2016 – SUICIDE rates among women in England have risen to their highest rate since 2005, and experts are frantically trying to understand why.

April 22, 2016 – There’s Been A Startling Rise In Suicide Rates In The U.S. | Huffington …

August 20, 2016 – The mystery of the falling teen birth rate – Vox

September 28, 2016 – Australian suicide deaths rising among women and teenage girls

“We have seen a 26 per cent increase in the suicide rates among women and the numbers of suicides among women (rise) over the last five year period,” Ms Murray said. " We don’t know why this is occurring …"

September 10, 2016 - Suicides continue to steadily increase, and experts don’t know why

October 3, 2016 - Questions Surround Report Of Maternal Mortality Spike In China

Why Women?

The statistics show decaying health for all white women since 2000.

From 1970 to 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased globally at a rate among young women double that of young men .

A U.S. study of brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cell phone use in the United States found a statistically significant increasing trend between 1992 and 2006 among females but not among males . The recent trend in 20–29-year-old women was driven by a rising incidence of frontal lobe cancers.

Non-smoking women are at greater risk for developing lung cancer than non-smoking men.

Middle-aged white Americans are dying earlier, and at markedly higher rates — a demographic health reversal only seen in the U.S. Specifically, this increase in death rates only applied to white women.

Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S ., where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has risen by more than half since 1990. The increases began in earnest around 2000 .

The suicide rate for girls and young women in the U.S. continues to rise at a pace far faster than for young males. From 2007-2013, the rate for young females went from 2.2 to 3.4 per 100,000. That’s the highest since 1981, when such tracking began.

July, 2010 – A new study by researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has found that women between the ages of 35 and 54 were more likely to die in hospitals following heart attacks than men of a similar age.

July 26, 2015 – Alarming rise in female suicide and self-harm in Australia, new report …

August 24, 2015 – Scientists seeking cause of mysterious heart attack plaguing young women

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’s anything that women are doing to themselves for risk factors , which is what makes this scary,” Holt’s doctor Esther Kim, a staff physician in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, told FoxNews.com.

March 9, 2016 – A steep rise in death by suicide among middle-aged Australians and young women has driven the national suicide rate to its highest level in 13 years.

January 8, 2016 – South Korea - Smartphone-addicted teens ‘more likely to think of suicide’. The study showed female students, students with a single parent or without parents and students with low standard of living had more suicidal thoughts, but such thoughts were more frequent for students addicted to smartphones.

September 28, 2016 – Australian suicide deaths rising among women and teenage girls , ABS …

"We have seen a 26 per cent increase in the suicide rates among women and the numbers of suicides among women (rise) over the last five year period," Ms Murray said.

What Happened in 1999/2000?

While middle-age blacks and Latinos have seen steady declines in their mortality in recent years, whites in the same age group saw their mortality increase about 10% between 1999 and 2014.

The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, … The suicide rate for white women ages 45 to 64 rose 80%

Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S., where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has risen by more than half since 1990. The increases began in earnest around 2000 .

The statistics show decaying health for all white women since 2000 .

There has been a 46.2% increase in cancer in South Korea - and a 312% increase in Thyroid cancer - since 1999 .

The suicide rate among US military veterans has increased by more than 30 percent since 2001

Girls Are More Likely to Have Problematic Cell Phone Use

“ Girls were more likely to have problematic CPU than boys (18.5% vs. 14.4%).”

“The world today has 6.8 billion people … that’s headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent.”

Bill Gates

“1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature .

2.Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.

Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.”

The Georgia Guidestones

[According to what Carol and I read on those stones in April, 2001, the population of the earth was supposed to have been reduced to half a billion before the year 2,000, which was also the deadline for all the other hideous goals outlined on the stones. This dramatially shows how far off the parasitic corporate order has been from their target (genocide and the reduction of humanity to primitive feudalism) since long before 2,000. ~D]

Smart Phones as Drivers of Cancer and Tumors

Smart Phones appear to be significant drivers of cancers and tumors. None of the ten-lowest smart phone penetration nations are in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence, while seven of the ten-highest smart phone penetration nations are on that list.

The first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world (South Korea and the United States) have, respectively, the sixth- and eighth-highest cancer frequency rates in the world. Pristinely-clean New Zealand, the sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nation, is first in skin cancer, and also fourth in the world in terms of overall cancer rate.

Excessive cell phone use (15 hours plus a month) triples the risk developing brain cancer. In a US study on 29 cases of neuroepithelial tumors, cell phone users accounted for 11 of them. These initial results indicated a near tripling in the risk of neuroepithelial tumors through cell phone use. mellingly, the published results of that study were then revised to reflect a doubling of risk, and then reported as not ‘ statistically significant’ .

Smart phone penetration in South Korea is the highest on the planet, at 88%. There has been a 46.2% increase in cancer there - and a 312% increase in Thyroid cancer - since 1999.

Israel has the third-highest smart phone penetration on Earth, at 74%, and has the 19th highest cancer rate in the world. As seen just previously with South Korea, the incidence of thyroid cancer has also been on the rise in Israel, in their case for more than a decade, and matches the rise in the use of cellphones, there. An Israeli study showed evidence of changes in thyroid cells in response to electromagnetic radiation and that the risk of cancer of the pituitary gland more was more than twice as high among women who used a cell phone for less than five years as compared to those who had never used one.

The United States has the fourth-highest smart phone penetration, at 71%. A U.S. study of brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cell phone use in the United States found a statistically significant increasing trend between 1992 and 2006 among females but not among males. The recent trend in 20–29-year-old women was driven by a rising incidence of frontal lobe cancers.

A U.S. study of four young women with breast cancer who had all regularly carried their smartphones directly against their breasts in their brassieres for up to 10 hours a day for several years developed tumors in areas of their breasts immediately underlying the phones.

Spain is in fifth place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 71%. They are 34th in the world in terms of cancer, and cancer rates have risen by 10% in Spain in the last five years.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Melanoma

The second-, third- and sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first-, second- and third-highest melanoma rates in the world. This shows a very strong correlation between smart phone penetration and melanoma rates.

In the United States, melanoma has increased 15 times in the last 40 years. This is a more rapid increase than for any other cancer. In the United Kingdom, a similar increase in the incidence has been seen. From 1970 to 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased globally at a rate among young women double that of young men.

Skin cancer rates are rising alarmingly in Spain.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide

Of the ten lowest smart phone penetration nations, four are ranked "very low" in terms of suicide rate, two are ranked "low", two are ranked "medium", and two are ranked "high." While, of the ten highest smart phone penetration nations, none are ranked "very low" in terms of suicide rate, four are ranked "low", five are ranked "medium", and one is ranked "high".

And so, thus, forty percent of the ten lowest smart phone penetration nations have very low suicide rates, while none of the high-penetration nations have very low suicide rates. This shows a strong positive correlation between smart phone penetration and suicide rates.

There are two “medium’s” and two “high’s” in the low-penetration nations, in terms of suicide rates. While there are five “medium’s” and one “high” in the high penetration nations.

And so, thus, forty percent of the ten-lowest smart-phone-penetration nations have medium-to-high suicide rates, while 60 percent of the ten highest smart phone penetration nations have medium to high suicide rates. This again shows a significant positive correlation between smart phone penetration and suicide rates.

Smart phone penetration in South Korea is the highest on the planet, at 88%. The nation is number three on the globe in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category, at 29.34. The suicide rate in South Korea has tripled in 25 years. Death by intentional self-harm increased 122.0% for men and 217.4% for women since 1990. Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Korean teens.

A South Korean study of 1,601 middle and high school students showed a correlation between smartphone addiction and suicidal thoughts. Addiction to the devices had a greater influence on suicidal thoughts than other factors such as gender, family or standard of living.

The study showed female students, students with a single parent or without parents and students with low standard of living had more suicidal thoughts, but such thoughts were more frequent for students addicted to smartphones. Smartphone addiction also had a negative correlation with self control. (Phone) Addicted students said they had difficulty quitting bad habits, that they often failed to complete tasks in a given time and that they were lazy. Smartphone-addicted students were also more likely to have trouble controlling themselves, putting them at greater risk of suicidal thoughts.

Australia has the second-highest smart phone penetration on Earth, at 77%. There has been a 26 per cent increase in the suicide rates among women there in the last five years. The overall suicide rate in Australia increased 10% from 2013 to 2014, and rose 5% from 2014 to 2015. And so rose 15% overall from 2013 to 2015. The rate rose 47% for teenage girls in Australia from 2014 to 2015 - rose fifty percent, in one year. The suicide rate in Australia for teenage girls rose at a rate 840% higher than the rate for the population overall from 2014 to 2015. The media in Australia says only " We don’t know why this is occurring ."

Israel has the third-highest smart phone penetration in the world, at 74%. While they are in the "low" category, in terms of suicide rate, s of 2014, Palestinian suicides had increased four hundred percent in three years. And as of 2015, suicide rates had more than doubled among soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

The United States has the fourth-highest smart phone penetration, at 71%. The overall suicide rate in the U.S. rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, with the pace of the increase greater after 2006. The suicide rate for young females in the U.S. rose 54% from 2007-2013, to the highest level since 1981, when such tracking began. And the suicide rate for white women ages 45 to 64 rose 80% during that time period. The suicide rate for girls and young women in the U.S. continues to rise at a pace far faster than for young males.

A 2012 article in the American Journal of Public Health noted that more people using the internet was positively correlated to a higher general population suicide rate. Another study in the U.S. found that Problematic Cell Phone Use was associated with suicidal tendencies among all groups of adolescents, with suicidal ideation increased by 11.74% and suicide attempts increased by 28% among problematic cell phone users, over those not so afflicted.

One story documenting the fact that suicide is now a leading cause of death for Nebraska teenagers noted that a new study had found that Internet use was among the top contributing risk factors.

In Minnesota, the suicide rate increased 6% in 2015, to the highest levels ever recorded. The suicide rate among US veterans suicide has dramatically increased - by 32% - since 2001.

In terms of what’s driving the rise, an article from a website called “the Thinking Housewife” spoke of a “ puzzling ” rise in white suicide, while another media account called the rise " startling ", and another called it a " mystery ", and another said " experts don’t know why ". Officials in Utah are " unsure " why the youth suicide rate has nearly tripled there since 2007.

Spain is in fifth place in terms of smart phone penetration, at 71%. In terms of suicide, Spain ranks 121st in the world, with a ranking of "low". However, in 2016, suicide rates in Spain reached record highs.

The media in Spain has attributed the sudden increase to the highest suicide levels ever recorded in Spain to " economic crisis ", " European austerity " and " harsh spending cuts ."

The United Kingdom is seventh on the globe overall in terms of smart phone penetration, at 68%. The U.K. ranks "low" in terms of suicide. Yet student suicides have risen to their highest level there since at least 2007. And suicide rates rates among women in England have risen to their highest rate since 2005, increasing 8% in just one year, from 2014 to 2015. Most tellingly, the male suicide rate decreased 6% over that same time period.

And so the U.K. joins South Korea, Australia and the United States as nations where suicide rates are increasing at significantly higher levels for females than for males. And the media in the U.K. says only that " experts are frantically trying to understand why ."

Canada is the eighth-highest nation in terms of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 67%. They rank 70th in terms of suicide, with a rating of "medium".

Suicide rates in Canada for girls aged 10 to 14 rose 50% from 1980 to 2012. Suicide rates for female teens aged 15 to 19 went up 68%, and decreased for boys of that same age in that same time period.

And so the Canada joins the U.K., South Korea, Australia and the United States as nations where suicide rates are increasing at significantly higher levels for females than for males.

India has a smart phone penetration of just 17%, and is among the ten-lowest smart phone penetration nations. However, India ranks 12th out of 172 countries in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category. Suicide rates in India are climbing at an alarming rate, faster than in the rest of the world, with Indian women having some of the highest rates on the planet.

And so India joins Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Australia, and the United States as nations where suicide rates are increasing at significantly higher levels for females than for males.

This is anomalous, so far, in this lowest-penetration-nation data set. Could it be that India’s overall internet consumption is such that the suicide needle is moved in this way, despite the relatively low Smart Phone penetration? There are also many other influencers - social, cultural, etc. - so we’re just looking for the broadest trends, here.

Japan’s suicide rate has been declining steadily since 2012, and dropped 6.4% from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, suicides in Japan dropped below 25,000 for the first time there in almost twenty years.

Russia, where we recently noted a 50% drop in suicides, has a smart phone penetration of 45%, very close to Japan’s 39%.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Increasing Overall Mortality

Middle-aged white Americans are dying earlier, and at markedly higher rates — a demographic health reversal only seen in the U.S. Specifically, this increase in death rates only applied to white women.

Russia saw a sudden rise in overall mortality in 2015.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Increasing Maternal Mortality

Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S., where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has risen by more than half since 1990. The increases began in earnest around 2000.

Of the six most prominent causes of maternal death in Australia between 1973 and 2012, psychosocial death was the only group where the maternal mortality ratio was rising.

Maternal and Infant Mortality in China were improving as of 2012. The maternal mortality rate in China dropped 76% from 1990 to 2015, and dropped 6% in just one year, from 2014 to 2015. Then the maternal mortality rate in China increased 30% in 2016, with the establishment press attributing it to the country’s relaxation of its one-child policy.

Japan’s smart phone penetration is 39%, roughly half that of the U.S. and South Korea. Maternal and Infant Mortality in Japan are both among the lowest in the world.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Declining Fertility Rates

The US teen birth rate has dropped 61 percent since 1991. The number of babies born per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 — are at the lowest levels ever recorded. The fertility rate has been dropping dramatically since 2007, from 2.1 to a current 1.86

In the 1970s, Spain had the highest fertility rates in the EU, but dropped 53% in 25 years, and now has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Increasing Car Accidents and Deaths

Car Accidents and Mortality are Rising around the globe. Pedestrian Deaths in Washington D.C. increased 30% from 2013 to 2015.

Korea has the highest smart phone penetration of any nation, at 88%. They again posted the highest fatality rate of pedestrians among the 29 OECD member nations last year. Pedestrian fatalities made up 37 percent of all road deaths in Korea last year, almost double the OCED average of 18 percent.

The Top Ten Smart Phone Penetration Nations, measured by the Pew Research Center survey conducted in 40 nations among 45,435 respondents from March 25 to May 27, 2015.

#1 South Korea - 88%

Smart phone penetration in South Korea is the highest on the planet, at 88%. The nation is number three in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category, at 29.34. Korea is not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence, however there has been a 46.2% increase in cancer there - and a 312% increase in Thyroid cancer - since 1999.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Cancer in South Korea

2012 - A total of 224,177 cancer cases and 73,759 cancer deaths were reported in 2012, and there were 1,234,879 prevalent cases identified in Korea as of January 1, 2013. Over the past 14 years (1999-2012), overall incidence rates have increased by 3.3% per year. Notably, incidence of thyroid cancer increased by 22.3% per year in both sexes and has been the most common cancer since 2009.”

(A 46.2% increase in cancer since 1999 , and a 312% increase in Thyroid cancer since 1999 -ed)

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in South Korea

April 18, 2010 - In prosperous South Korea, a troubling increase in suicide rate

April 28, 2015 – Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Korean teens , says report.

March 15, 2015 – South Korea develops smartphone app aimed at curbing student suicide

January 8, 2016 – South Korea - Smartphone-addicted teens 'more likely to think of suicide’

Adolescents addicted to smartphones are more prone to think about suicide, research shows.

The finding is based on a study by a team led by Kim Jae-yop, a professor at Yonsei University’s Department of Social Welfare.

The team surveyed 1,601 students in middle and high schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Analysis showed a correlation between smartphone addiction and suicidal thoughts

Addiction to the devices had a greater influence on suicidal thoughts than other factors such as gender, family or standard of living.

The study showed female students , students with a single parent or without parents and students with low standard of living had more suicidal thoughts, but such thoughts were more frequent for students addicted to smartphones.

Smartphone addiction also had a negative correlation with self control. (Phone) Addicted students say they have difficulty quitting bad habits, that they often fail to complete tasks in a given time and that they are lazy.

Smartphone-addicted students are more likely to have trouble controlling themselves, putting them at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, the research team says. The study is the first in Korea to demonstrate that smartphone addiction can lead to suicidal thoughts.

January 4, 2017 - South Korea’s suicide rate triples in 25 years

Smart Phones as Drivers of Car Accidents and Deaths in South Korea

May 23, 2013 - LEIPZIG, Germany ― Korea again posted the highest fatality rate of pedestrians among the 29 OECD member nations last year , a recent report found Wednesday. Pedestrian fatalities made up 37 percent of all road deaths in Korea last year, almost double the OCED average of 18 percent.

#2 Australia - 77%

Australia’s in second place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 77%. 63rd in terms of suicide rate, in the “Medium” category. Third highest cancer incidence in the world, at 323.0.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Melanoma in Australia

July 13, 2016 - Australia has world’s second highest melanoma rates

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in Australia

July 26, 2015 – Alarming rise in female suicide and self-harm in Australia, new report …

March 8, 2016 - New mortality data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday shows the overall suicide rate has increased significantly from 10.9 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in 2013 to 12 suicides per 100,000 people in 2014 – the highest rate since 2001.

(a 10% increase in one year -ed)

March 9, 2016 – A steep rise in death by suicide among middle-aged Australians and young women has driven the national suicide rate t o its highest level in 13 years.

September 28, 2016 – Australian suicide deaths rising among women and teenage girls, ABS …

In 2015, there were 3,027 people who died by suicide — 2,292 were men and 735 were women. That’s up 5.4 per cent from a total of 2,864 in 2014.

"We have seen a 26 per cent increase in the suicide rates among women and the numbers of suicides among women (rise) over the last five year period," Ms Murray said.

“We don’t know why this is occurring, so we really need to see the government come on board with investment in research, so we can really understand what it is that is bringing about this increase and the way in which [women] are choosing to take their own lives.”

The ABS statistics also reveal that the number of teenage girls who die by suicide has risen.

In 2015, 56 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 ended their lives, up from 38 in 2014.

October 17, 2016 – Australia - Suicide a rising cause of maternal death

Professor Steve Robson, incoming president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told MJA InSight that “new data show that deaths due to psychosocial causes are becoming more common”.

“Of these, suicide is one issue of tremendous concern because it affects physically healthy women.

Of the six most prominent causes of maternal death between 1973 and 2012, psychosocial death was the only group where the maternal mortality ratio was rising.

#3 Israel - 74%

Israel’s in third place, at 74%. 109th, 6.02, in the “low” category, in terms of suicide rate. 19th highest cancer rate in the world.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Cancer in Israel

A recent Israeli study observing that, “the incidence of thyroid cancer has been on the rise in Israel for more than a decade which matches the rise in the use of cellphones ” collected human thyroid cells from healthy patients and subjected them to radiation. The study found, “evidence of changes in thyroid cells in response to electromagnetic radiation”.

“the risk of cancer of the pituitary gland more was more than twice as high among women who used a cell phone for less than five years as compared to never users“.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in Israel

2014 – Palestinian suicides increased four hundred percent in three years .

2015 - Suicide Rates More Than Doubled Among Soldiers Serving The Israel Defense Forces”

#4 The United States - 72%

The United States is in fourth place, at 72%. 47th, at 12.38, near the top of the "Medium" category in terms of suicide. 6th highest cancer rate in the world.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Cancer in the U.S.

Cancer frequency: The U.S. at position six, and South Korea at 8, out of all nations on Earth:

6 United States of America 318.0

7 Ireland 307.9

8 Korea, Republic of 307.8

So we’ve learned the first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetrations on Earth have, respectively, the sixth and eighth highest cancer frequency on Earth.

Another U.S. study of brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cell phone use in the United States found, “there was a statistically significant increasing trend between 1992 and 2006 among females but not among males . The recent trend in 20–29-year-old women was driven by a rising incidence of frontal lobe cancers“.

American researchers studied four young women with breast cancer. They found that, “all patients regularly carried their smartphones directly against their breasts in their brassieres for up to 10 hours a day, for several years, and developed tumors in areas of their breasts immediately underlying the phones “.

Stem Cell Cancer: In a US study on 29 cases of neuroepithelial tumors, cell phone users accounted for 11 of them. These initial results indicated a near tripling in the risk of neuroepithelial tumors through cell phone use. The published results were revised to reflect a doubling of risk and then reported as not ‘statistically significant’.

2013 – Although smoking increases the risk of lung cancer dramatically, 1 in 5 women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked , whereas among men who develop lung cancer, only 1 in 12 have never smoked. Of all the types of lung cancer, women are more likely to develop adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is also the type of lung cancer more commonly found in non-smokers.

It is unclear why non-smoking women are at greater risk for developing lung cancer than non-smoking men.

April 26, 2013 – the last 32 years, brain cancer incidence rates have increased by 23% for men and 25% for women . In 2010, the incidence rate was 8 new cases per 100,000 men and 5 new cases per 100,000 women. This equates to nearly 2,300 newly diagnosed cases in men and just under 1,700 in women. The reasons for the increase in this relatively rare cancer are still under investigation.

November 15, 2013 – One in five women with lung cancer has never smoked, and the diagnosis rate among women is only increasing.

May 14, 2014 - Can’t get off your smartphone? Using your electronic device excessively — 15 hours plus a month — may triple your risk for developing brain cancer.

September 9, 2014 – Sleep disturbance and "light at night" have been linked to higher cancer risk, particularly for breast and prostate cancers . In addition to helping us sleep, melatonin also functions as an antioxidant. And while more research is needed , researchers have pointed to "uninterrupted darkness" as potentially protective against cancer. People whose natural melatonin production is suppressed are at a higher risk for a variety of cancers, though a causal relationship has not been found.

January 6, 2015 – Heavy Cell Phone Use Can Quadruple Your Risk of Brain Cancer

July 29, 2015 - Cellphone radiation can cause cancer: study - NY Daily News

The scientists were right — your cell phone can give you cancer.

February 9, 2016 - Cancer from Radiation: Is Your Smartphone Really the Culprit? – Food

May 27, 2016 – Groups of rats used in the study were exposed to different intensities of radio frequency radiation. Some male specimens were found to exhibit low incidences of two different types of tumors, one in the brain and one in the heart. The more radiation they were exposed to, the more likely, it seemed, they were to develop cancer.

August 21, 2016 – Among African Americans, Hispanics and even the oldest white Americans, death rates have continued to fall. But for white women in what should be the prime of their lives, death rates have spiked upward. (Implies they’ve shot up, but will shoot right back down again, forming a “spike” on the graph - ed)

In one of the hardest-hit groups — rural white women in their late 40s — the death rate has risen by 30 percen t.

The statistics show decaying health for all white women since 2000. The trend was most dramatic for women in the more rural areas. There, for every 100,000 women in their late 40s, 228 died at the turn of this century. Today, 296 are dying. And in rural areas, the uptick in mortality was noticeable even earlier, as far back as 1990. Since then, death rates for rural white women in midlife have risen by nearly 50 percent.

In the hardest-hit places — 21 counties arrayed across the South and Midwest — the death rate has doubled, or worse, since the turn of the century for white women in midlife.

In Victoria County, Tex., a rural area near the Gulf Coast, deaths among women 45 to 54 have climbed by 169 percent in that time period, the sharpest increase in that age group of any U.S. county. The death rate climbed from 216 per 100,000 people to 583.

Lisa Campbell, medical director for the Victoria County health department, said she has been struck by how many white women she knows who have some kind of cancer.

“It’s kind of weird, actually,” she said.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Melanoma in the U.S.

December 22, 2016 - Melanoma Incidence and Mortality Rates Rise in the US

The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.

According to a research letter published in JAMA Dermatology, the burden of melanoma is increasing in the United States. Alex Glazer, MD, from the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine in New York City, and colleagues compared data on the absolute number of invasive melanomas reported in 2016 with similarly obtained data in 2009. They calculated raw incidence rates for 2016 and 2009, and then calculated the compound annual growth rates (CAGR).

The researchers note that in 2016, an estimated 76,380 Americans will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma. The raw incidence rates increased from 22.2 to 23.6 per 100,000 population (0.9% CAGR).

( a 6.3% increase in Melanoma in the U.S. from 2009 to 2016 , they withheld that percentage, I had to do the math - ed)

The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of melanoma cases over the past few decades. The incidence of melanoma has increased 15 times in the last 40 years . This is a more rapid increase than for any other cancer.3 In the United Kingdom, a similar increase in the incidence has been seen .4

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in the U.S.

.

Shah showed that the prevalence of Internet users was positively correlated with general population suicide rates. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the prevalence of Internet use was independently associated with general population suicide rates in men (P = .001) and approached statistical significance for women (P = .074). Hagihara et al.13 conducted a time-series analysis with data from 1987 to 2005 and reported a statistically reliable positive correlation between general population male suicide rates in Japan and the prevalence of households using the Internet (P < .05).

October 1, 2012 – They found that teenagers who used their cell phones after going to bed … putting teens at increased risk for depression and suicidal thoughts .

November 5, 2013 – Internet Use May Up Self-harm, Suicide in At-Risk Youth - Medscape

October 9, 2014 – Association between problematic cellular phone use and suicide : the moderating effect of family function and depression.

Five hundred thirty-two adolescents (10.54%) had problematic CPU. The rates of suicidal ideation were 23.50% and 11.76% in adolescents with problematic CPU and without problematic CPU, respectively. The rates of suicidal attempts in both groups were 13.70% and 5.45%, respectively.

This study found that problematic CPU was associated with suicidal tendencies among all groups of adolescents.

(suicidal ideation increased by 11.74% and suicide attempts increased by 28% in the group afflicted with “problematic cell phone use” over the group not in the thrall of that compulsive addiction. - ed)

March 6, 2015 – The suicide rate for girls and young women in the U.S. continues to rise at a pace far faster than for young males , health officials said Thursday. The report found that from 2007-2013, the rate for young females went from 2.2 to 3.4 per 100,000. That’s the highest since 1981, when such tracking began.

April 4, 2015 – Other research proposes a correlation between social-media use and increased depression and suicide. A 2012 article in the American Journal of Public Health noted that more people using the internet is positively correlated to a higher general population suicide rate.

(says it’s ‘social media’, but it’s ‘the internet’, period. Connection to it. - ed)

November 6, 2015 – White deaths increase: drugs, alcohol, suicide, but in US only . Why?

November 4, 2015 – “Puzzling” Rise in White Suicide « The Thinking Housewife

January 27, 2016 – Can smartphone-assisted therapy help prevent suicide?

April, 2016 – From 1999 through 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States increased 24%, from 10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000 population, with the pace of increase greater after 2006.

April 22, 2016 – U.S. suicide rates up, especially for women - CNN.com

April 22, 2016 – U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High - The New York Times

April 22, 2016 – Suicide Rates Climb In US, Especially Among Adolescent Girls - NPR

April 22, 2016 – There’s Been A Startling Rise In Suicide Rates In The U.S. | Huffington …

April 22, 2016 - The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014 , … The suicide rate for white women ages 45 to 64 r ose 80%

June, 2016 – Suicide Replaces Homicide as Second-Leading Cause of Death …

June 27, 2016 – Elk Grove Village, IL - With suicide rising to the second-leading cause of death among adolescents, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is publishing updated guidelines advising pediatricians how to identify and help teens at risk.

July 2, 2016 – Utah officials unsure why youth suicide rate has nearly tripled since 2007

July 5, 2016 – Is The Recent Rise In Utah Youth Suicides Really Such A Mystery?

July 27, 2016 - Suicide is a leading cause of death for Nebraska teenagers and a new study finds Internet use is among the top contributing risk factors .

August 16, 2016 – Your Phone is the New Frontline for Suicide Prevention

September 7, 2016 – The number of suicide deaths increased 6 percent in Minnesota last year

September 7, 2016 - Minnesota suicide rate hits record high in 2015 – Twin Cities

September 10, 2016 - Suicides continue to steadily increase, and experts don’t know why

October 18, 2016 – US veterans suicide rate has dramatically increased by 32%

The suicide rate among US military veterans has increased by more than 30 percent since 2001

Smart Phones as Drivers of Overall Mortality in the U.S.

“The world today has 6.8 billion people … that’s headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent.”

Bill Gates

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:42pm

“1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature .

2.Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.

Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.”

The Georgia Guide stones

[According to what Carol and I read on those stones in April, 2001, the population of the earth was supposed to have been reduced to half a billion before the year 2,000, which was also the deadline for all the other hideous goals outlined on the stones. This dramatially shows how far off the parasitic corporate order has been from their target (genocide and the reduction of humanity to primitive feudalism) since long before 2,000. ~D]

October 2007 – Premature Death Rates Rising in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Patients …

July, 2010 – A new study by researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has found that women between the ages of 35 and 54 were more likely to die in hospitals following heart attacks than men of a similar age. This finding from a sample of more than 423,000 patients can be seen as surprising, given that women, on average, develop their first acute myocardial infarction about 10 years later than men, and are overall less likely to develop myocardial infarction than are men. The study was published in the July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Dec 31, 2015 - Heart failure deaths rising after decade-long decline.

April 8, 2016 - As white women between 25 and 55 die at spiking rates, a close look …

November 15, 2013 – One in five women with lung cancer has never smoked, and the diagnosis rate among women is only increasing.

March 4, 2013 – Mortality mystery : Female death rates are rising–and i t’s not clear why …

April 25, 2015 – Five months ago, a report made waves with the finding that middle-aged white Americans are dying earlier, and at markedly higher rates — a demographic health reversal only seen in the U.S.

Specifically, this increase in mortality rates was linked to increases in deaths from drugs, alcohol and suicide , especially among whites with less education.

But critics who re-analyzed the numbers and separated men and women found that this increase in death rates only applied to white women, not white men . And a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics affirms this view.

January 8, 2016 – Case and Deaton found that the death rates for middle-aged white Americans, ages 45 to 54, has been rising since 1999 . (Deaton is the 2015 Nobel Economics Laureate.)

February 20, 2016 – Rising Mortality Among Non-Hispanic Whites Is Only Among Women …

April 20, 2016 - White Women Suffered Biggest Drop In Life Expectancy In The U.S. …

April 20, 2016 – Life Expectancy Drops For White Women , Increases For Black Men

June 1, 2016 – "There’s no smoking gun here,” Farida Ahmad, mortality surveillance lead at the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC, told the Washington Post. “It’s something that we’re going to be looking into, and watching to see if it holds for 2016. It could be that it’s just a blip as it was 10 years ago.”

Recent research revealed the sharp increase of deaths among white, less-educated Americans since 1999 , while death rates among blacks and Hispanics over a similar time period fell overall.

June 1, 2016 - First Rise in U.S. Death Rate in Years Surprises Experts

June 1, 2016 - U.S. Death Rate Rises for First Time in a Decade, Reasons Are Unclear

June 1, 2016 – U.S. Death Rate Rises , But Health Officials Aren’t Sure Why - NBC News

June 1, 2016 – Experts Stunned By Rising Death Rate in Obama’s America. .

June 3, 2016 – America’s Mysterious Rising Death Rate

June 28, 2016 – Global Warming Will Cause Rise in Death Rates - ABC News

June 30, 2016 – While middle-age blacks and Latinos have seen steady declines in their mortality in recent years, whites in the same age group saw their mortality increase about 10% between 1999 and 2014.

September 7, 2016 – The report found a 400-percent jump in opioid overdose deaths among middle-aged white women from 1999 to 2014.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Increasing Infant Mortality in the U.S.

November 30, 2015 – Crib bumpers blamed for infant death rate increase

December 3, 2015 – As state’s child death rate rises, health officials focus on safe sleeping techniques

According to the study, 82 babies in the state died unexpectedly in sleep-related deaths in 2014, an increase from 74 deaths in 2013.

( That’s an 11% increase in infant mortality in just one year. I know because I did the math, after the hedging author refused to do so, as it would have increased the impact of the statement. -ed)

May 9, 2016 – Why is the U.S. Infant Mortality Rate So High?

May 9, 2016 – Swaddling babies is tied to heightened risk of sudden infant death …

August 20, 2016 – Maine has gone from having the lowest infant mortality rate in the country to one of the highest over the last 20 years. State health experts said they don’t know why more babies are dying during the first 12 months of their lives.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Declining Fertility and Birth Rates

December 22, 2010 – A newly released report shows the teenage birth rate has hit a 70-year low — and scientists are baffled as to why

March 14, 2012 – Why Declining Birthrates Are Good for the Planet | TIME.com

March 17, 2014 – Why are men’s sperm rates falling?

Men’s sperm production is decreasing rapidly and the scientific community is struggling to find an explanation, writes Dr Phil Hammond

Nobody’s quite sure what’s behind the general drop-off. It could be diet, environment, or girl power. The trouble with science is not just that there often isn’t a single answer

There does at least appear to be some circumstantial evidence to support what’s known as ‘the oestrogen hypothesis’. This holds that some of the 5,000 or so chemicals that inhabit our food, fertilizers and industrial cleaners are not dissimilar to the female sex hormone oestrogen - only they hang round a lot longer and at levels up to a thousand times higher than normal. This may have adverse effects on oestrogen-sensitive areas of the body (the reproductive tracts, breast, womb and possibly the developing foetus), which may possibly contribute to infertility and testicular cancer in men, breast and womb cancer in women and fetal abnormalities.

The theory originates from 1980, when thousands of gallons of DDT were accidentally spilt into a wildlife haven, Lake Apopka, near Orlando, Florida. In the following four years, the death rate for alligator eggs rose from 57 to 96pc and the males became sterile with shrunken, useless penises and very low testosterone levels. Was DDT to blame? We might never know.

June 8, 2014 – Here’s an article from the Washington Examiner (as linked to by Drudge): “Women are having fewer kids, and demographers don’t know why.”

The bottom line: the fertility rate has been dropping dramatically in the years since 2007, from 2.1 to a current 1.86, and demographers are struggling to understand “why the decline in fertility has persisted even as the worst effects of the labor market have abated.”

August 20, 2014 - For five years now, America’s teen birth rate has plummeted at an unprecedented rate , falling faster and faster. No one can figure out why.

December 26, 2015 – The US teen birth rate dropped 61 percent since 1991 - AOL News

June 10, 2016 – Baby Bust: US Fertility Rate Unexpectedly Drops To Lowest On Record

Aug 9, 2016 - Fertility rates in America — the number of babies born per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 — are at the lowest levels ever recorded

August 20, 2016 – The mystery of the falling teen birth rate – Vox

December 10, 2016 – Why aren’t there more babies? Cable TV access reduces fertility rates …

Maternal Mortality

October 6, 2016 - Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half, except in the U.S. , where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has significantly increased. 1

In a similar fashion, infant mortality rates are higher than any of the other 27 wealthy countries reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).September 15, 2016 – Maternal deaths worldwide drop by half , yet shocking disparities remain

The number of women dying from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth has almost halved since 1990, a global report has revealed.

Worldwide the annual number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births fell by 44% between 1990 and 2015, from approximately 385 to 216.

July 14, 2013 – US maternal mortality rate doubles in past 25 years

May 10, 2015 - American mothers die in childbirth at twice the rate they did in 2000 …

August 8., 2016 – Maternal Mortality Rates on the Rise in Most US States

Although much of the reported increase in maternal mortality rates from 2000 to 2014 "was the result of improved ascertainment of maternal deaths," the authors write, combined data for 48 states and the District of Columbia showed a 26.6% increase in the estimated maternal mortality rate, from 18.8 in 2000 to 23.8 in 2014. "Clearly at a time when the World Health Organization reports that 157 of 183 countries studied had decreases in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2013, the U.S. maternal mortality rate is moving in the wrong direction," they state.

August 15, 2016 – The US maternal death rate has doubled . But why? | Advisory Board …

August 25, 2016 – The maternal mortality rate across most of the US increased by 27 percent from 2000 to 2014August 25, 2016 – The maternal mortality rate across most of the US increased by 27 percent from 2000 to 2014,September 7, 2016 - More new mothers in Texas are dying and experts can’t say why … .

February 1, 2016 – His team put the maternal mortality rate increase in the U.S. between 1990 and 2013 at closer to 49 percent

September 21, 2016 - WASHINGTON — One of the biggest worldwide public health triumphs in recent years has been maternal mortality. Global death rates fell by more than a third from 2000 to 2015. The United States, however, is one of the few countries in the world that have gone against the grain , new data show. Its maternal mortality rate has risen despite improvements in health care and an overwhelming global trend in the other direction.

There were 28 maternal deaths — defined as deaths due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth — per 100,000 births in the United States in 2013, up from 23 in 2005, the institute found.

(That’s an increase of 21% . They hedged by not stating the percentage in the article, as that would be more impactful. I had to do the math – ed).

The rate in 2013, the most recent year for which the institute had detailed data for the United States, was more than triple Canada’s. The institute is projecting that the American rate dipped in the last two years to 25 by 2015.

In all, the American rate was up by more than half since 1990, according to the institute, which uses many data sources, including countries’ vital records systems, to calculate hundreds of health measures.

The findings are part of a gathering body of evidence on the dismal numbers for maternal mortality among American women and how they keep getting worse. This summer, a group of researchers published an analysis that found that the maternal mortality rate had increased by 27 percent for 48 states and the District of Columbia from 2000 to 2014. In Texas, analyzed separately, it had nearly doubled.

Maternal mortality was relatively flat in the 1980s and 1990s, and most experts agree that the increases began around 2000.

October 6, 2016 - Global rates for maternal mortality have fallen by close to one-half , except in the U.S ., where the number of women who die related to their pregnancy has significantly increased

Smart Phones as Drivers of Car Accidents and Deaths in the U.S.

“In their seminal article, Redemeier and Tibshirani (1997) reported epidemiological evidence suggesting that: “the relative risk (of being in a traffic accident while using a cell phone) is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit (p. 456).”

Total accidents, Alcohol, zero. Total accidents, baseline, zero. Total accidents, cell phone, 3.

When participants were intoxicated, neither accident rates, nor reaction times to vehicles braking in front of the participant, nor recovery of lost speed following braking differed significantly from baseline.

When drivers were conversing on a cell phone, they were involved in more rear-end collisions and took longer to recover the speed that they had lost during braking than when they were intoxicated .

Also noteworthy was the fact that the driving impairments associated with hand held and hand’s free cell phone conversations were not significantly different.

Across three studies, 120 participants performed in both baseline and cell phone conditions. Two were involved in an accident in baseline conditions, and 10 were involved in an accident when they were conversing on a cell phone. No accidents were involved in the alcohol sessions.

“Conclusion: when driving conditions and time on task were controlled for, the impairment associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving drunk. These estimates were made by evaluating the cellular records of 699 individuals involved in motor vehicle accidents. It was found that 24% of these individuals were using their cell phone within the ten minute period preceding the accident, and this was associated with a fourfold increase in the likelihood of getting into an accident.

Strayer, Drews, Crouch, from “A Comparison of the Cell Phone and the Drunk Driver”, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006.

July 8, 2011 - Smartphones Tied To 25% Of U.S. Car Crashes - InformationWeek

May 31, 2015 – Cell phones causing car crashes and deaths - Business Insider

November 3, 2015 – Allstate doubles pace of rate hikes as costs keep rising … That’s created something of a mystery as to what’s causing the increase in accidents.

November 28, 2015 – Smartphone Use Linked to Spike in U.S. Traffic Deaths - TheStreet

( ‘spike’ implies numbers have shot up, but will shoot right back down again, forming a ‘spike’ on the graph - ed)

November 21, 2015 – Smartphones may have role in rise of U.S. traffic deaths | Reuters

November 27, 2015 - Are smartphones to blame for increase in traffic fatalities?

January 20, 2016 – Washington - Pedestrian deaths on the rise in D.C. region

Data provided to WTOP by 10 of the top local police agencies show that 60 pedestrians died in 2015 after being struck by a vehicle. In 2014, 53 people were killed. In 2013, 45 deaths were reported.

(Pedestrian deaths in Washington D.C. increased 13% from 2014 to 2015, and 18% from 2013 to 2014. The article withheld the percentage in both cases, I had to do the math. They also cut it up into two pieces, vs. saying "Pedestrian Deaths in Washington D.C. increased 30% from 2013 to 2015." - ed)

February 17, 2016 – 2015 Brought Biggest Percent Increase in U.S. Traffic Deaths in 50 years

The annual mileage death rate in 2015 was 1.22 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up 5 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the annual population death rate rose by 7 percent to 11.87 deaths per 100,000 people.

August 26, 2016 – Number of deadly car accidents in Massachusetts rapidly increased

Even though only 3.3 percent more people are on the road, deadly accidents are up 20 percent

AAA president Sandra Marsian told 22News that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of accidents. “Illegally listening to your iPod player, people texting and driving, people just distracted by other things, ” Marsian explained, “and that can even be just mean having other people in the car; having lively conversations while you’re driving.”

September 1, 2016 – Traffic fatalities are increasing at their fastest pace in a half-century , and it’s not just smartphone use causing the spike.

(’ spike ’ implies numbers have shot up, but will shoot right back down again, forming a ‘spike’ on the graph - ed)

October 17, 2016 - Probation, 4 days in jail for texting driver who killed New Prague man getting his morning paper

Calling for wholesale change in societal views on distracted driving , a LeSueur County judge sentenced a New Prague woman to community service, probation and four days in jail in the death a year ago of 79 year old school bus driver Joseph Tikalsky.

“I would bet everyone in this courtroom has looked away from the road while driving,” Judge Mark Vandelist said.

Tikalsky was wearing a reflective vest at the time and was on a break from his routes as a school bus driver.

October 18, 2016 – Smartphone app helps reduce road mishaps

Smart Phones as Drivers of Insomnia in the U.S.

January 7, 2014 – Insomnia Tied to Smartphones : Harvard - Newsmax.com

September 9, 2014 – If you are buying a new iPhone, don’t use it in bed — and not just because nighttime smartphone use messes up your sleep cycle.

The blue light from personal electronic devices has also been linked to serious physical and mental health problems.

The damage that this habit does to our eyes alone is both significant and surprising. Direct exposure to blue light can cause damage to the retina. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation warns that retinal damage caused by blue light may lead to macular degeneration, which causes the loss of central vision — the ability to see what’s in front of you.

There may also be a link between cataracts and blue light , though more research is needed. Gigaom cited an eye doctor who says he’s starting to see 35-year-olds with eyes that are as cloudy with cataracts as 75-year-olds. Though a single account can’t prove that blue light exposure causes cataracts — this doctor just thinks there’s a link, which doesn’t count as evidence — the idea is being investigated. Still, studies haven’t concluded anything certain yet.
Exposure to blue light at night can ruin sleep. Bright blue light disrupts the brain’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle. That’s fine in the morning, but our brains are supposed to start producing melatonin when we are ready for sleep, and blue light interferes with that process. That’s why smartphones ruin sleep, and messing with your sleep has a long list of associated health consequences that range from obesity to genetic disruption and memory problems.
Sleep disturbance and "light at night" have been linked to higher cancer risk, particularly for breast and prostate cancers. In addition to helping us sleep, melatonin also functions as an antioxidant. And while more research is needed, researchers have pointed to "uninterrupted darkness" as potentially protective against cancer. People whose natural melatonin production is suppressed are at a higher risk for a variety of cancers, though a causal relationship has not been found.
Blue light may also take a toll on mental health. Research also shows that people whose melatonin levels are suppressed and whose body clocks are thrown off by light exposure are more prone to depression.

February 2, 2015 - Too much exposure to smartphone screens ruins your sleep, study shows

February 24, 2015 - The answer to the question “How’d you sleep?” has, for most of human history, been “not too well.” Even before the advent of electric light,

September 14, 2015 - Because of this, smartphone light can disrupt your sleep cycle

October 18, 2015 - Poor sleep? We can’t entirely blame our smartphones for it

September, 2016 - 5 Reasons to Take Your Smart Phone to Bed … - Valley Sleep Center

Having trouble sleeping? Read on and learn about these smart phone apps that do just about everything except brush your teeth and tuck you in

People Waking Up To All This in the U.S.

Mar 26, 2012 - When you dump your smartphone for a more primitive model, you’re losing real, valuable, potentially essential tools—maps, search, email …

November 5, 2012 – Got rid of my facebook…next up the smart phone

January 25, 2013 – Why I’m Glad My Smartphone Broke

March 12, 2013 – Disruptions: Even the Tech Elites Leave Gadgets Behind. If you were to meet 32-year-old Robin Sloan of San Francisco, you might think him a Luddite unable to get his head around new technologies. He owns an old Nokia phone with one main application: making phone calls. He takes notes using a pen and paper notepad. And he reads books printed on paper. But Mr. Sloan is far from a Luddite. He used to work at Twitter as a media manager, teaching news outlets to use the hottest social media tools. Before that he was with Current TV as an online strategist, inventing the future of digital journalism. Yet last year, as he set out to write his first book, “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” he found his iPhone and other technologies were getting in the way of his productivity, so he simply got rid of them.

April 9, 2013 – Dumb is better: Kicking the smart phone addiction

Oct 31, 2013 - Trading my smartphone for a 7-year-old Motorola Razr saved me money, and helped me focus on my wife and friends .

March 19, 2014 – In Defense of Inconvenience (and Why I Ditched My Smartphone )

April 1, 2014 – How To Wean Yourself From Your Smartphone

September 11, 2014 – A tech lover’s dare to ditch your smartphone for a day.

October 7, 2014 – Could you live without your smartphone for 100 days?

October 14, 2014 – Ditch the Smartphone? What the What? Does technology really make anything better? Yes, of course it does. I mean caller ID? How could we have ever lived without it? But what about personal interaction, sleep, trading personal information and learning? I think many of us feel constantly overloaded by the beeping, buzzing and constant pressure to stay connected. If you are feeling bombarded, choose your smartphone and computer time wisely and get out of the habit of constantly checking every device.

November 17, 2014 – Top 10 reasons to ditch your smartphone

November 20, 2014 – A study conducted at Baylor University in 2014 found that 60 percent of college students claim to be addicted to their phones.

Wikipedia: Some laypeople claim that there can even be such a thing as a "mobile phone addiction". However, most doctors do not use any such diagnostic phrase. There is no consensus among doctors that "mobile phone addiction" would be a useful diagnosis.

December 1, 2014 –Some boldface names from Hollywood and high fashion are using clunky old flip phones instead of smartphones

December 21, 2014 – Hipsters Ditch Smartphones For Old School 'Dumbphones’

December 23, 2014 – Ditch that smartphone- Sleep well! - Pioneer News

January 8, 2015 – Ditch the smartphone at bedtime ?

January 25, 2015 –There appears to be a new business success rule: put down your smartphone if you want to get ahead .

May 16, 2015 – In many ways, Giada and Evan are your average Brooklyn couple. Giada, 22, is a college student on the cusp of graduation; Evan, 24, works in a museum and as an artist. They visit museums, read together and try to be outside as often as they can. They’ve been dating for about six months.

Spend a few hours with the two of them, however, and you’ll quickly notice something that is a peculiar sight in 2015: Neither of them has a smartphone. With their feet firmly planted in the analog world, Giada and Evan have chosen to turn away from what many of us see as an absolute necessity.

"I’m trying to cultivate mindful relationships and a mindful life, and a smartphone is something that I personally have made a decision not to [own]," Giada told Mic. Her current device? A “shitty pre-paid phone” that resembles a Blackberry. "I wanted to cultivate my own relationship with technology, rather than having it take over my life," she said.

Grace, 22, told Mic that she values the old-school quality of her phone, a flip phone whose battery lasts a week between charges and has withstood falling down a flight of stairs. "All I want to do is text and call, the basics of communication," she said. She had a smartphone for a time in college, but returned it after a month because, as she put it, "it made everything so much harder.

"It was more expensive," she continued, laughing, "and irritating as hell. It was too much phone. It was a bad 30 days. "

March 2, 2016 - U.S. saw 6% overall drop in smartphone sales last quarter, research …

April 28, 2016 – Global smartphone sales fall for first time

Global smartphone shipments fell for the first time as “iPhone fatigue” dragged down sales for Apple’s once-unstoppable franchise amid a general weakening in the market for new devices.

After close to a decade of stellar growth, analysts say a tipping point in the smartphone market has been reached as most people already have a phone, phablet or tablet device.

April 28, 2016 - The global smartphone market has shrunk for the first time ever, as consumers spending slows

May 8, 2016 – iPhone Sales Are Down. Are We Flipping for ‘Dumb’ Phones Instead?

Whether you call them flip phones, feature phones, burners, or Mom phones, America bought 24 million "dumb" phones last year, an increase of 1.7 million from 2014 , according to a recent study by research firm IDC.

As Apple reports a decline in iPhone sales for the first time ever, are "unplugged" phones poised for a comeback?

It’s not just Jason Bourne or Walter White using the disposable (or durable) devices. Celebrities who want to unplug — and many who have already been hacked — are big fans of the “retro” device. Rihanna, Scarlett Johansson, and Iggy Pop have all been spotted clutching clamshells — and the fashion world almost self-imploded when Anna Wintour nonchalantly flipped open an old-school phone at the 2014 U.S. Open.

May 19, 2016 – Techitis: Smartphone Use Causing Widespread Health Problems …

May 19, 2016 - Several new studies show how our devices might be impacting our health .

May 28, 2016 – Smartphone sales drop , users await affordable options

June 7, 2016 –Analyst Gartner is expecting a big drop in smartphone sales growth

August 9, 2016 – Worldwide Smartphone growth slows to a crawl

August 31, 2016 – First Click: Isn’t it time to drop the ‘smart’ from smartphone? | The Verge

May 3, 2017 - Tim Cook says iPhone 8 rumors led to a slow-down in iPhone 7 sales

Apple’s earnings report yesterday was something of a mixed bag . While Apple impressively managed to increase year-over-year revenue and profits, quarterly iPhone sales fell ever so slightly . During the recent March quarter, Apple sold 50.7 million iPhones, representing a rather modest drop from the 51.9 million units Apple sold in the same quarter a year ago. Nonetheless, because investors like to use iPhone sales data as a barometer to measure Apple’s financial health, shares of Apple dropped quickly in the wake of the company’s recent earnings report.

When asked about the drop in iPhone sales during Apple’s earnings conference call yesterday, Tim Cook articulated that the proliferation of rumors surrounding Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone 8 helped contribute to a “pause” in iPhone sales over the past three months.

When UBS analyst Steve Milunovich asked about a recent 451 research survey which found that iPhone purchase intent is at a nine-year low, Cook addressed the question head-on.

“I only glanced at it and so I haven’t had time to study it, ” Cook said. “But in general, we’re seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases on iPhone, which we believe are due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones. And so that part is clearly going on, and it could be what’s behind the data. I don’t know, but we are seeing that in full transparency. ”

Ordinarily , it would be easy to dismiss Cook’s explanation as nothing more than a well-crafted excuse cobbled together by a PR rep . The reality, though, is that the hype and interest surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 is immense. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that the excitement people have for the iPhone 8 is rivaled only by the excitement consumers had for the original iPhone in the months preceding its debut back in June of 2007.

#5 Spain - 71%

Spain is in fifth place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 71%. 34th highest cancer rate in the world.

Cancer rates have risen by 10% in Spain in the last five years. Skin cancer rates are also rising alarmingly in Spain.

In terms of suicide, Spain ranks 121st in the world, with a ranking of "low". However, in 2016, suicide rates in Spain reached record highs. The media there attributes the sudden increase to the highest suicide levels ever recorded in Spain to " economic crisis ", " European austerity " and " harsh spending cuts ."

Motor Neuron Disease mortality increased in Spain from 1990 to 2005, particularly in the north of Spain.

Maternal mortality in Spain increased 20% from 1996 to 2005, with the highest mortality detected in 2003-4. The press there attributed the increase to " increasing age of mothers ."

In the 1970s, Spain had the highest fertility rates in the EU, but dropped 53% in 25 years, and now has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Cancer and Tumors in Spain

February 4, 2016 – Spain’s cancer rate: More cases, fewer deaths …

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday the globe is facing a "tidal wave" of cancer, a trend which seems to apply to Spain as cancer rates have grown by nearly 10 percent in five years.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Melanoma in Spain

Skin cancer rates are rising alarmingly in Spain.

July 2, 2011 - Skin cancer rates in Spain rise alarmingly - Olive Press News Spain

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in Spain

January 31, 2016 – Spain’s suicide rate highest in eight years - The Local

Figures from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) show a surge in the suicide rate but heart attacks remain the leading cause of death.

March 31, 2016 – Spain’s suicide rate jumps to record high in economic crisis - The Local

October 6, 2016 – Study: European austerity to blame for rise in male suicide - UPI.com

October 6, 2015 - Researchers suggest harsh spending cuts have encouraged suicides in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland

Smart Phones as Drivers of Overall Mortality in Spain

January 4, 2011 – Motor Neuron Disease mortality increased in Spain from 1990 to 2005.

Results showed that MND mortality was higher in regions lying to the north of Spain.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Maternal Mortality in Spain

2005 – The maternal mortality rate in Spain increased by 20% in 2005 with respect to 1996. The highest mortality was detected during 2003-2004.

July 1, 2009 – Increasing age of mothers in Spain leads to rise in mortality rates …

Smart Phones as Drivers of Declining Birth/Fertility Rates in Spain

June 7, 2014 – Spain’s declining birth rate equals “a demographic winter,” say experts …

In the 1970s, Spain had the highest fertility rates in the EU, but now has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. In the last quarter century, the number of children per woman fell from 2.8 to 1.3.

#6 New Zealand - 70%

New Zealand ranks sixth in overall Smart Phone penetration, at 70%. 13th highest cancer rate in the world. In terms of suicide, 72nd, 9.84, "medium".

Cancer

January 28, 2011 - NZ fourth in world in rate of cancer | Stuff.co.nz

Melanoma

Mar 31, 2016 - New Zealand now has the highest rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world – eclipsing Australia as the most dangerous place to be exposed

#7 The United Kingdom - 68%

The United Kingdom is seven on the list of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 68%. 23rd highest cancer rate in the world. 103, 6.28, "low".

Melanoma

UK skin cancer death rates worse than Australia | Daily Mail Online

(That New Zealand melanoma data, above, means we’ve learned that the second, third and sixth highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first and second and third highest melanoma rates in the world. -ed)

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in the U.K.

February 4, 2016 – In 2015, the male suicide rate in the UK decreased in 2014 from 17.8 to 16.8 deaths per 100,000 population; while the female suicide rate increased from 4.8 to 5.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

( Female suicide rate up 8% in one year, while male suicides decreased . They made me do the math.)

February 24, 2016 – SUICIDE rates among women in England have risen to their highest rate since 2005 , and experts are frantically trying to understand why.

May 25, 2016 – U.K. - Student suicides have risen to their highest level since at least 2007

Mortality

February 16, 2016 – U.K. - England and Wales show a five per cent increase in mortality rates in just one year

"The statistics clearly show that this is the biggest rise we have seen since the 1960s . But this may well turn out to be the greatest rise since the second world war , taking into account the sustained nature of the rise…”

March 16, 2016 – U.K. - Pension cuts have ‘significant link’ with death rates among older pensioners.

Maternal Mortality

May 5, 2015 – Women in the UK ’ more than twice as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth as many European countries’ - Britain fails to rank in top 20 nations to give birth for third consecutive year

People Waking Up To All This in the U.K.

September 29, 2015 – Ditch the smartphone stupid: Simplicity reigns at London’s biggest design festival

August 5, 2016 – Up to 15 million people in the UK have undertaken a digital detox in the past year, in an attempt to arrest the creeping dominance of smartphones and tablets in day to day life.

The Communications Market Report 2016, a major new piece of research for Ofcom, has found that 34% of adult internet users have sought to have a period of time offline in the past year.

#8 Canada - 67%

Canada is the eighth highest nation in terms of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 67%. 12th highest cancer rate in the world. In terms of suicide, 70th, 10.0, "medium".

Melanoma

May 28, 2014 - Melanoma: deadliest type of skin cancer is on the rise

In Canadian men, the melanoma incidence rate increased 2% per year between 1986 and 2010, from 9 to 15 cases per 100,000. The death rate has increased by 1.2% per year.

Cancer

March 2, 2017 - Why are colon cancer rates in Gen Xers and millennials in Canada rising ?

Suicide

June 2, 2012 – Suicide Rate Increase For Youth: Young Canadian Females At Risk

The suicide rate for Canadian girls aged 10 to 19 has risen over the last few decades, but decreased for boys of the same age, a study has found.

Suicide rates for girls aged 10 to 14 rose to 0.9 per 100,000 in 2008 from 0.6 per 100,000 in 1980. Rates for female teens aged 15 to 19 went up to 6.2 per 100,000 increased from 3.7 per 100,000 during the same period.

(The suicide rate for Canadian girls aged 10 to 19 increased 68% increase in 30 years – ed)

People Waking Up To All This

June 3, 2016 – Analyst house IDC has almost halved its forecast for worldwide sales of smartphones, and predicts that sales in Canada and Japan will actually fall this year. IDC had predicted 2016 would see smartphone sales rise by 5.7 per cent worldwide, but has now cut it to 3.1 per cent.

#9 Chile - 65%

Chile has the ninth-highest Smart Phone penetration, and the highest of all the South American nations, at 65%. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence. In terms of suicide, 49th, 12.21, "medium".

Melanoma

2010 - Chile has a medium-to-high skin cancer mortality rate. Previous studies have shown an increasing rate of skin cancer mortality

#10 Malaysia - 65%

And, lastly, in tenth place, Malaysia, with 65%. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence. In terms of suicide, 150th, 2.98, "low."

Cancer

February 18, 2014 - The incidence of cancer in Malaysia increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to 37,400 in 2012. ( a 16.8% increase , they printed the numbers, but withheld the percentage, as printing it would have been more impactful. I had to do the math. -ed)

Melanoma

June 11, 2016 - Skin cancer on the rise – a worrying trend – BorneoPost Online …

#11 Germany - 60%

<strong>#12 Italy - 60%</strong>

<strong>13 Turkey 59

14 China 58

15 Palestine 57

16 Lebanon 52

17 Jordan 51

18 France 49

19 Argentina 48

20 Venezuela 45</strong>

The bottom ten smart phone penetration nations

#31 Peru - 25%

In terms of suicide rate, Peru is 126th out of 172 countries, in the "very low" category, with a rate of 3.23. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#32 Philippines - 22%

July 17, 2015 - The figures in the Philippines are lower than the annual global age-standardized suicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 population

The Philippines rank 153rd out of 172 countries, in the "very low" category in terms of suicide rate, at 2.94. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#33 Ghana - 21%

Ghana is just one position higher than the Philippines, at 152nd, in the "very low" category, with a rate of 2.97. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

Suicide

September 11, 2016 - More youth committing suicide in Ghana, media blamed for it | 3News

March 16, 2017 - Suicide helpline gets busy as Ghana is gripped by surge in deaths …

#34 Indonesia - 21%

Suicide

Indonesia’s suicide rate is 137 out of 172 countries, in the “very low” category, at 4.22. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#35 Senegal - 19%

Senegal’s side rate is 124 out of 172 countries, in the “low” category, at 5.03. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#36 India - 17%

India ranks 12th out of 172 countries in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category, at 21.21. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

This is anomalous, so far, in this lower data set. Could it be that India’s overall technology consumption is such that the suicide needle is moved in this way, despite the relatively low Smart Phone penetration? There are also many other influencers - social, cultural, etc. - so we’re just looking for the broadest trends, here.

Suicide

April 29, 2015 – Depression kills too many people in India but smartphones can help …

April 12, 2016 - Why are India’s housewives killing themselves? - BBC News

August 12, 2016 - Suicide deaths in India increasing at alarming rate - Humanosphere

Suicide rates in India are climbing faster than in the rest of the world with Indian women having some of the highest rates on the planet

Infant Mortality

October 7, 2016 - Infant mortality rate reduced , India achieves MDG target - The Tribune

(India’s overall mortality rate and maternal mortality rates are also decreasing – ed)

People Waking Up To All This

May 28, 2016 – Smartphone sales drop in India - Times of India

Smartphone sales fell 8.2% sequentially in the January-March period

December 3, 2016 – Your smartphone is destroying your memory – Times of India

And if the Indian smartphone user study is accurate, we have reason to worry. The survey conducted by AC Nielsen across 46 cities in September and October 2012 revealed that the number of smartphones had touched 40 million, and almost half of the users were under 25. The dramatic growth was driven by a desire ‘to stay connected and have instant access to social networking sites’, it said.

Declarative memory refers to data that can be consciously recalled, such as important phone numbers, date and time of important meetings, and critical dates like your birthdays that we store in our brain. "While earlier, we’d easily remember at least 10 important phone numbers by rote, today we can’t recall any other than our own. Our mind is not challenged. Everything is fed in the phonebook, and under categories — family, work, miscellaneous. Sometimes,

In another interesting argument by neuro experts, the very advantage of smartphones becomes a cause for worry. Smartphones encourage you to carry out multiple tasks at once. Clifford Nass, professor of communication at Stanford University, reckons, "It is not physiologically healthy for you because (humans) are not built to do a multitude of tasks at one time. Your phone makes you feel like you have to respond, which then increases your stress and harms your cognitive thinking."

Dr Bhinderwala agrees. Multitasking, he says, lessens our ability to focus on what is relevant, and rewires the brain to make us shallow thinkers. Varied communication features (SMS, video, Whatsapp, BBM, Facebook, Twitter) available on our finger tips, makes us less responsive to the immediate environment.

Dr Sandy Chapman, chief director for the Center for Brain Health in Dallas, who has studied the effects of technology on the brain, was quoted in nbcdwf. com, saying: "It’s really keeping us at this distracted level, so everything that we’re thinking about tends to be quicker, less synthesised, and that’s what’s making us dumber."

#37 Burkina Faso - 14%

Burkina Faso, back on trend, ranks 128th in terms of suicide rate, close to the bottom of the "low" category, at 4.54. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#38 Pakistan - 11%

Ranks 83rd out of 172 countries, in the "medium" category, at 9.16. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

Suicide

June 8, 2012 - The alarming rise of teenage suicides in Pakistan - Pakistan - DAWN …

Girls are under more stress all over the world including Pakistan and making a suicide attempt is a sign of extreme distress, experts say.

February 5, 2016 - In last 25 years, Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in number of cases of various kinds of cancers

#39 Tanzania - 11%

10th, in the "High" category, at 23.34 - another outlier. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

Suicide

2017 - Experts worried over rising suicidal rate in Tanzania - Panapress

#40 Ethiopia - 4%

62nd, in the "medium" category, at 10.89. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

#41 Uganda - 4%

Ranks 17th, in the "High" category, in terms of suicide rate, at 18.67. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.

Cancer

Changing cancer incidence in Kampala, Uganda, 1991-2006

There has been an overall increase in cancer during the period in both sexes…

Now I’m going to go back through this thread and add data from previous posts…

(to be filed)

Brazil

Declining Birth Rate

September 10, 2009 – Brazil’s soap operas linked to dramatic drop in birth rates - CNN.com

China

Declining Birth Rate

November 2, 2015 – Educated women the cause for birth rate drop in China

Jeff · September 11, 2016, 9:43pm

Maternal and Infant Mortality in China

Maternal and Infant Mortality in China were improving as of 2012. The maternal mortality rate in China dropped 76% from 1990 to 2015, and dropped 6% in just one year, from 2014 to 2015. Then the maternal mortality rate in China increased 30% in 2016, with the establishment press attributing it to the country’s relaxation of its one-child policy.

2012 – The dramatic reductions in maternal and child mortality rates are undisputedly attributed to China’s economy and health-care services.

June 16, 2015 – China’s Maternal Mortality Rate Has Decreased Dramatically

China’s maternal mortality rate dropped from 23.2 per 100,000 births in 2014 to 21.7 per 100,000 births. The maternal mortality rate in 1990 was 88.8 per 100,000 births, which means there has been a 75.6%-percent drop in the last twenty-five years .

September 29, 2016 – Maternal mortality increases by 30% after China relaxes one-child policy

October 3, 2016 - Questions Surround Report Of Maternal Mortality Spike In China

(‘spike’ implies the numbers have shot up, but will shoot right back down again, forming a ‘spike’ on the graph - ed)

People in China Waking Up To All This

April 29, 2016 – Smartphone shipments in China plunged in the first quarter, falling more than the global market, a new report shows, a stat that could worry the world’s biggest phone makers including Apple and Huawei.

Vendors shipped 104.9 million units to China in the first quarter of 2016, a five percent year-over-year decline from the 109.8 million recorded in the same period last year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. The fall outstrips the global smartphone market which fell 3 percent.

Congo

June 21, 2016 – Child mortality rates have greatly decreased in the DRC - Ponabana

(examine Smart phone penetration in Congo)

Greece

Car accidents and deaths

May 14, 2016 – Rise in Traffic Accident Deaths in Greece After 18 years

Italy

Mortality

May 23, 2016 - Dramatic 2015 excess mortality in Italy: a 9.1% increase that needs to be explained

The Italian National Institute of Statistics released mortality data for 2015 in February, 2016. These data reported a 9.1% excess mortality compared with 2014.

These data are in line with patterns elsewhere in Europe. These data were poorly covered in the media.

June 23, 2016 – Concern over unexpected increase in Scottish mortality rates - The …

Ireland

Car Accidents and Deaths

May 4, 2016 – Ireland – John McManus: the great motor insurance price hike mystery

Japan

Japan ranks 29th out of 40 on Wikipedia’s SSmartphone penetration page, at 39%, less than half of the penetration of South Korea, at 88%, and the U.S., at 72%.

Japan’s suicide rate has been declining steadily since 2012, and dropped 6.4% from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, suicides in Japan dropped below 25,000 for the first time there in almost twenty years. Japan’s infant and maternal mortality rates are among the lowest in the world.

Suicide in Japan

January 18, 2016 - No. of suicides in Japan drops below 25,000 for first time in 18 years

The total number of suicides that occurred nationwide in 2015 has slipped below 25,000 for the first time since 1997, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Police Agency (NPA).

The NPA said that a total of 23,971 people killed themselves in Japan between Jan 1 and Dec 31 last year, a reduction of 1,456 from 2014, and the sixth straight annual decline, Fuji TV reported.

(a 6.4% drop -ed)

A steady decline began in 2012, slipping under 30,000 for the first time since 1997.

February 16, 2016 - Smartphone Shipments Fall in Japan as Flip-Phones Make a Comeback

For the first time in seven years, flip-phone shipments grew – and grew by 5.7 percent to a hard-to-comprehend 10.58 million units. In the same year, smartphones units shipped fell 5.3 percent, down to 27.7 million. Flip-phones still make up a surprisingly large proportion of phone sales in Japan and it’s actually the second year in a row that the market research firm has noted a drop in smart device sales.

Maternal and Infant Mortality in Japan

Maternal and Infant Mortality in Japan are both among the lowest in the world.

Wikipedia, October 21, 2016 - Women’s health related figures in Japan are inspiringly positive. The infant mortality rate is 2.78 deaths per 1,000 live births, one of the lowest in the world. Infant mortality rate has decreased to 2.13 per 1,000 live births in 2014. Maternal mortality rate is 5 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the lowest in the world.

Suicide in Japan

There’s a high suicide rate among young people in Japan.

October 1, 2012 – Using Cell Phones After Lights Out May Put Teens at Risk for Depression, Suicide

The study, from Japanese researchers, examined 18,000 young people in junior and senior high school in Japan. They found that teenagers who used their cell phones after going to bed were more likely to suffer from poor mental health and depression.

October 22, 2015 – The mystery behind Japan’s high suicide rate among kids

As the suicide rate surges among Japanese schoolchildren, no one is able to offer a clear solution to the alarming phenomenon.

People Waking Up To All This

Feb 16, 2015 - Japanese shipments of traditional flip-phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell.November 6, 2015 – Tokyo, Japan - The figures don’t lie: Smartphones hurt kids’ grades

“If rapid measures aren’t taken, we may be in for serious problems,” frets Ryuta Kawashima, professor at the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer at Tohoku University. “It’s no exaggeration to say that kids today are being controlled by smartphones, and becoming enslaved by them .”

Writing in Shukan Shincho (Nov 5), Shin Shiraishi has assembled a gathering storm of evidence to show that use of smartphones is not conducive to the development of young minds.

Children have become so dependent on their mobile devices for communicating that Masashi Yasukawa, director of the Web Counseling Association, believes that if things are allowed to continue as is, “the day will come when, as adults, they’ll attend a class reunion, and nobody will talk to anyone.”

That’s if they manage to graduate, because smartphone use—by cutting into both their daily activities and sleep time—is having a major impact on academic performance.

In August 2013, tests given by a research group at Rikkyo University found major discrepancies in test performance. The longer the time spent using smartphones, the lower the scores. In another survey of middle school student usage of the Internet, email and SNS by the Yokohama City board of education found, after cross tabulation was conducted, that students who said they use their smartphone for less than 30 minutes per day averaged a score of 60.7%, while students who said they use their smartphones for four or more hours a day had a considerably lower average score of 43.6%.

In a joint project undertaken by Tohoku University and the Sendai board of education, data was collected from some 17,000 students at 124 primary schools and 25,000 students at 63 middle schools.

“We were shocked to see that the study concluded that longer usage of smart phones or cell phones caused grades to decline, irrespective of the amount of time devoted to study,” Prof Kawashima was quoted as saying.

When students from the same classes were compared, those who utilized their cell phones for one hour or less per day scored an average of over 65 points on a test. Those who used their smartphones for four hours or more per day scored less than 55 points.

Among students who studied more than two hours per day, but who used their smartphones less than one hour per day, the scores averaged over 70 points. But among students who studied for the same duration, but who used their cell phones two to three hours per day, the averages score was more than 10 points lower. Moreover the same trend was apparent whatever the subject—Japanese language, science, social science or English.

Based on laboratory experiments with monkeys and mice, Kawashima won’t rule out the possibility that the lower academic performance may be organic—indicative of the smartphones’ effects on their users’ brains.

“There was once a time when even I myself was hooked on computer games, like ‘The Ambition of Nobunaga,’ so I can understand how kids get so attached to their smartphones,” recalls Toshimasa Ota, a journalist who specializes in child rearing and education. “But I had to stop and ask myself, ‘What the hell am I doing?’

“So for my kids, I have set some rules, like using filtering on the web browser. And also they have to tell me before I let them buy applications. What’s more, I obliged them to promise that they’d leave the phones to recharge in the living room, and not take them into their own rooms.”

“Even then, I think parents should give some thought to whether or not their kids really need a smartphone,” says Tohoku University’s Kawashima. “When I had a chance to meet children in Miyagi Prefecture, I asked the about whether they felt a smartphone was a necessity,” said Kawashima. “After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, many areas had no cell phone coverage for about one month. At that time compared with now, not that many families and friends were able to communicate using the LINE application.

“When I asked children about this though, in so many words, they said things didn’t happen that way. It’s more like they’ve just become so used to communications by sending each other text or pictures via their smartphones, they feel it’s a necessity for their daily lives.

“But maybe now’s the time to reconsider whether smartphones are really a necessity or not.”

January 28, 2016 – Samsung profits hit by falling smartphone sales | IT PRO

April 28, 2016 – Sony reports revenue dip following major smartphone sales decline

Jordan

Smart Phones as Drivers of Suicide in Jordan

August 30, 2016 – Amman, Jordan - The rate of suicides has been on the rise in Jordan since 2011

Russia

Russia, where we recently noted a 50% drop in suicides, has a SSmartphone penetration of 45%, very close to Japan’s 39%. Russia saw a sudden rise in overall mortality in 2015.

Smart Phones as Drivers of Rising Overall Mortality in Russia

May 26, 2015 - Experts puzzled by sudden rise in Russia’s mortality rate

May 27, 2015 – Sudden rise in Russia’s mortality rate puzzling | Russia & India Report

Dropping Suicide in Russia

February 16, 2016 – Russia has the lowest suicide rate for 50 years

(Russia’s cell phone penetration percentage 45%, almost half of South Korea’s 88%)

South Africa

Infant Mortality

August 31, 2016 – South Africa - Infant mortality has risen to 60 per 1 000 live births, compared to the 1998 figure of 45 per 1,000. (A 33% increase, article won’t print the percentage increase)

Taiwan

Suicide

April 28, 2010 – The association between problematic cellular phone use and risky behaviors and low self-esteem among Taiwanese adolescents

Positive associations were found between problematic CPU and aggression, insomnia, smoking cigarettes, suicidal tendencies, and low self-esteem in all groups with different sexes and ages.

1,827 adolescents (16.4%) had problematic CPU. Girls were more likely to have problematic CPU than boys (18.5% vs. 14.4%, χ2 = 34.847, p < 0.001).

This study found that problematic CPU was associated with suicidal tendencies among all groups of adolescents.

In this study problematic CPU was associated with insomnia in all groups of adolescents.

In this study, we found a positive association between problematic CPU and low self-esteem among all adolescent groups , which was consistent with the results of a previous study

In this study, we found that problematic CPU was associated with smoking cigarettes in all adolescent groups, with drinking alcohol in girls younger than 15 years and all boys, with chewing betel nuts in boys, and with using illicit drugs in girls younger than 15 years and boys 15 years or older. Research also found that intensive CPU was associated with smoking cigarettes and excessive alcohol consumption.

TO BE INTEGRATED

Wikipedia has Spain as the fifth highest cell phone penetration nation, at 71%, just behind the U.S., with 72%.

The data below from Spain shows increasing maternal mortality, increasing Motor Neuron Disease mortality, precipitously declining birth rate, increasing cancer rates, increasing suicide rates.

As you can see from a few posts preceding this, drilling into the highest cell phone penetration nations is showing mapping trends of this sort. I’m now going to go to the very bottom of the list, to the lowest cell phone penetration nations, and research the same subjects, and see what I discover.

Jeff Miller, October 21, 2016

“O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!” Thomas Paine