Ever since Dial-up Connection was replaced by Wi-Fi, our lives have been significantly easier. Researching and watching videos on the internet can be done with such ease. Like it or not, most of the communications we use in our everyday lives require a Wi-Fi connection.
Given the fact that it takes up a big part of our lives, have you ever thought whether Wi-Fi has any harmful effects on our health? One girl apparently was “allergic” to it, so much that it later became the cause of her death.
The Case Of Jenny Fry
Who would ever think that something so invisible can end someone’s life? Jenny Fry was only 15 years of age when she allegedly took her own life because of her struggles with an allergy to Wi-Fi or more specifically, electro-hypersensitivity (EHS). She was found hanging from a tree in Brooke Woods, near their home in Cotswolds, Oxfordshire in 2015. It is said that EHS has not been proven medically but it seems like Debby Fry—the mother of Jenny—believes in it despite the lack of proof.
15-year-old, Jenny Fry
The disease was said to have caused Jenny a series of headaches, bladder problems, and tiredness. They had no Wi-Fi at their home but her struggles and illness started when she was exposed to the Wi-Fi connections in her own school.
Her bad condition lasted for three whole years and Debby said she understood what her daughter went through because she herself had quite the experience with it as well. She claims that the closer she was to a Wi-Fi router, Jenny would feel more ill.
Chipping Norton School, the school where Jenny was going to at the time of her death
Despite all the information Debby gave about her daughter, the coroner which was assigned to Jenny’s case, claimed that nothing that pertained to Debby’s alleged symptoms of EHS caused the death since there was also no medical proof that Jenny suffered from any of the said symptoms.
However, she was said to be often sent to detention because she would step out of the classroom to look for another place she could work in. Her mom presented her evidence to the school but it’s officials claim that there is an equal amount of evidence that can also prove that Wi-Fi is safe.
Jenny when she was younger
Jenny’s parents remained strong about their claims to the point that they are urging the government to research about EHS and later permanently ban it from nurseries and schools. On her parents’ defense, there was already news from before that support their claims. Apparently, a businessman died after spending six hours a day on his mobile phone which caused him to obtain a brain tumor.
Her parents believed that their daughter never wanted to end her life even if she left letters for them saying she couldn’t anymore handle her Wi-Fi allergies. She was said to be frustrated because she wanted to emerge on top of her class and go to a good college but her illness was hindering her from her goals.
Should We Stop Using Wi-Fi?
The National Health Service says that even though, today, there are no proven health risks, different researches are being conducted to see whether there are possible risks in the long run. The only medically proven effect is a rise in temperature in our body of up to 0.2C. Although, this is not cosnidered to be a serious health risk since there are tons of other everyday activities such as exercising that have the same harmless effect.
We think the safest thing you could do if you’re worried about having your health compromised by Wi-Fi, is to lessen your time on electronics.
Sadly, these days, there are a lot of people who spend more time on social media rather than communicating and socializing in person with other people.
Even if the modernization of our times has done a lot of us some good, don’t you miss those times where we would spend our hours engaging in hobbies and interests rather than checking our phone every minute for new notifications. Technology may be nice but are we still aware of our limitations?
