Report urges ‘compelling and consistent’ education to counter misinformation around 5G

26th February 2021

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Concerns about fifth-generation (5G) technologies’ health risks, while widespread, have no basis in fact and need to be met with education, the latest ‘Deloitte Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions 2021’ shows.

However, if education about 5G is to be effective in curbing popular fears, it needs to be compelling, consistent and pervasive, and it needs to start now, the report says.

Commenting on some of the nine predictions during a virtual launch of the report ealier this month, Deloitte Global TMT head of research Paul Lee assures that it is highly unlikely that the radiation from 5G mobile networks and 5G phones will affect the health of any single individual.

“Over the years, and particularly over the last three years, we always get questions around the impact of 5G on health,” Lee comments.

Compelling, consistent and pervasive education about 5G is required urgently to curb popular fears, as it is difficult to find an accessible explanation of how mobile networks work.

“There are a lot of scientific explanations of how mobile networks work, [but these are] written for people in science,” he says, indicating that these rumours can sound plausible to the mass market, particularly if there are gaps in the knowledge that is shared.

The TMT report says that extensive scientific evidence proves that mobile phone technologies – including 5G and earlier generations – have no adverse health impacts; however, between 10% and 20% of adults in many advanced economies erroneously believe that 5G can harm their health.

The report, citing a Deloitte consumer poll in May 2020, says that a fifth or more adults in six out of the 14 countries surveyed believe that there are health risks associated with 5G.

“Our research shows that understanding of 5G’s benefits is low in multiple markets, with up to two-thirds of adults stating that they do not know enough about 5G in general, as of mid-2020. Among women, the proportion is even higher, at three-quarters. The lack of understanding also peaks among older users.

“In 2021, consumers who are concerned about the health impacts of mobile networks are likely to be most worried about 5G,” the report highlights, noting that misinformation about 5G’s relationship to Covid-19 will be as pervasive in 2021 as it was in 2020.

“However, in some ways, 5G is likely to have even lower potential health impacts than earlier generations of mobile telephony,” the report notes.

Deloitte believes that, in many cases, the widespread provision of accessible but comprehensive information about how 5G and other wireless technologies work would put consumers’ minds at rest.

The report highlights the perceived association between the roll-out of 5G and the spread of Covid-19, pointing out that it is impossible for a virus spread through respiratory droplets to travel through radio waves.

“A variant of 5G misinformation related to Covid-19 is that 5G emits radiation that weakens people’s immune systems, making them more susceptible to illness. This is similarly false.”

Awareness by mobile operators, mobile handset providers, telecommunications regulators, government communications bodies and science programmes on broadcast and on-demand platforms could, in combination, counter the vast tide of misinformation about 5G, it says.

Further, individual companies and regulators could also work together to constrain the ability to share misinformation.

“Information campaigns also should do more than explain why 5G is safe. They should also educate people about its positive applications; for example, making every day mobile applications, such as browsing and maps, notably faster.

“Carriers could also talk about how 5G could make other mainstream applications, such as driving, easier and safer. The telecommunications industry could also showcase the many applications that fourth-generation has enabled and that consumers have come to depend on.”

The report also suggests debates on effective ways of preventing the proliferation of misinformation on social media, which has become a common source of news.

“Checks and balances that control for accuracy while still permitting freedom of speech are becoming increasingly important.

It may not be possible to persuade everyone that 5G is safe. There is likely to be a niche – perhaps less than 1% of the population – that will remain convinced not just that wireless technologies are harmful, but that their deployment is deliberate and that the intent is to cause harm,” the TMT report concludes.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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