Ants Suddenly March In A Circle When An iPhone Rings

Ants Suddenly March In A Circle When An iPhone Rings

It's the damndest thing.

Ron DickerGeneral Assignment Reporter, The Huffington Post

Posted: 09/03/2015 12:12 PM EDT

Bizarre video of bustling ants suddenly marching in a circle around an iPhone when it rings has the Internet wondering what the heck is going on.

Here are some theories:

"The electromagnetic wave of an incoming call" keeps them in a circle, according to ViralVideoLab's YouTube description. Australian entomologist Nigel Andrew from the University of New England explained that the radio waves of the phone realign the ants' sense of direction because they rely on "magnetic receptors in their antennae" to orient themselves, outlets reported. 

"The vibrations are affecting the trail-following behavior of the ants," Gene Robinson, an entomology professor at the University of Illinois, theorized. "Ants do follow each other on trails and have very elaborate ‘rules of the road’ to avoid congestion,” he said, according to reports.

"My theory is that the ants were engaged in the spiraling behavior before the phone was put down," Anurag Agrawal, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, told The Huffington Post.

Tech Insider provided yet another hypothesis: The clip could be fake. "Not that ants aren't capable of being tricked into doing amazing, fascinating behaviors but something about their movement in general doesn't seem quite ant-like to me," Phil Torres, an entomologist, told the outlet.

Whatever the case, we'd love to see one of the ants answer the damn phone already. Now that would really get the Internet talking.

 H/T Laughing Squid

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ants-circle-iphone_55e84b90e4b0aec9f35625a6

Avoiding Electromagnetic Pollution in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems

Avoiding Electromagnetic Pollution in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems

Michel Daniek

Michel Daniek (aka Solarmichel), author of Do It Yourself 12 Volt Solar Power, explains how to avoid electronic magnetic pollution – 'electrosmog' – in an off-grid 12 volt power systems.

Over 20 years ago, I put my first, small 50 watt solar system together. At that time, something like this was very special. I particularly liked the idea of being independent of the big energy companies, who had conspired against all arguments and protests to nuclear power. Since those early days of Photovoltaic solar power much has been achieved, but in a global perspective, it is far from enough. The boundless energy waste has still not changed. With a little more energy consciousness and even more effective devices, we could easily save half the electricity we use. Technically, it should be possible to live 100% on solar power if we were to reduce our electricity consumption a bit. Solar systems are becoming part of the modern landscape but even so the potential of solar energy is greatly underestimated. 
In this article I would like to draw your attention to the literally silent potential of photovoltaics. Solar systems give us the possibility of setting up an independent power supply without causing any disturbing alternating electromagnetic fields (also called Electrosmog). With solar energy we can enjoy the luxury and benefits of electricity, while not being forced to live in a permanent electrosmog field.

Electrosmog 
We know that mobile phones can cause brain tumors and that some people can't sleep well near mobile phone masts but we should also be worried by the growing number of domestic electrosmog polluters which most people use without any thought of the possibly harmful radiation. Energy saving light bulbs, cordless phones, WLAN routers, and other wireless devices are all major culprits. 
Electrosmog is an issue that is very difficult to get to grips with because it has so many parameters.

The typical effects are:

• Restlessness, sleep disturbances. (Typical at 50 Hz AC power fields)


• Tension, headache. (Usually the range of KHz up to MHz)

• Immunodeficiency and cancer. (MHz and GHz frequencies)

Nearly all of us are exposed to electrosmog around the clock and we all react differently to it. It is as if we are doing a collective experiment on ourselves, with largely unknown side effects. As with many other areas of human experimentation like climate change, genetic engineering, radioactivity, etc. Most people don't seem to really care about the insidious effects of electromagnetic pollution but those that do can only change things by taking responsibility for the devices they use.

Electromagnetic pollution in solar systems 
Although solar panels and batteries in off grid systems generate a clean direct current. The situation is quite different with modern solar controllers, 230Volt inverters and the inverters for feeding the grid. These are the ones, which can turn a basically very harmless technology into a bad electrosmog polluter. There are technical ways to do it differently and I think the entire direction of solar development really needs to be rethought.

Solar controllers
After the first simple 2-point controllers (on/off), came the pulsed shunt regulators that have been on the market for many years now. They feed the battery at the end of the charging cycle with small chopped pulses (50-100Hz), in order to maintain it at maximum charge. The advantage being that the battery is fully loaded as quickly and as effectively as possible. The disadvantage is that strong electromagnetic fields are also distributed via the whole cable systems (often you can hear interferences in audio devices connected on the same supply network). These electrostatic fields interfere with frequencies that are very similar to the 230V mains.

The latest rage in solar charge controllers are called MPPT-Solar-Controllers (Maximum Power Point Tracking), which have a voltage converter that works between 20 and 30kHz. Their advantage is that they can generate the optimum ratio of current and voltage to charge a battery from any input voltage. A practical idea, one would think. Also these regulators can be used in systems with solar modules in series to get a higher output tension (for example 60V), which means you can use thinner cables, or at least the cable losses are reduced. It is also practical to use solar panels that were designed for grid feed only in a 12 volt system with these controllers. But no one mentions the major disadvantage, that this type of controller is a really potent electrosmog polluter, happily humming all day to itself. The interference fields are often comparable with those of small transformer stations! Well meant, but unfortunately the very opposite of well done.

Inverters
Inverters fall into the same category of electrosmog polluters. Unfortunately, they are often unavoidable unless you are able to source or rebuild all your appliances to be 12 volt, which have lower electrosmog and converting losses. Many 12 volt conversions are easy to do, such as 12 volt lighting with halogen or LED lamps and even cordless tools and most other battery devices but computers, TVs and washing machines are best used with a 230 volt inverter. The less we have to turn on the inverter the better, because our bodies respond better to short electrosmog attacks than to continuous 24-hour stress. The interference from inverters is very strong because of the large currents between battery and the inverter. Low-cost devices are the worst with high-frequencies (20-30KHz) generated on top of the trapezoid waves, which causes a lot of more interference. For the cleanest results use pure sine wave inverters with a big ring core transformer and low-frequency technology (50Hz). Not cheap but they will last a lot longer than the low-cost ones.

Grid Tie Inverters
In terms of electrosmog the disadvantages of MPPT controllers and 230 volt inverters are combined with grid inverters, as they always make a lot of wave motions in the ether. The interference frequencies of these inverters (mostly 20-30KHz) often also bleed over into the DC circuit of the solar panels on the roof. The electrosmog is then potentially very strong because of the large size of the installations. Capacitors or mains filters can buffer the harmful electromagnetic waves but not eliminate them entirely. This problem could really only be corrected by creating a decentralized DC network, but this is something that is still a long way off.

In conclusion
Certainly, not all problems can be solved. Life is always full of compromises, but if we would at least try to do our best it would certainly help. I don't want to scare anyone here, because no one benefits from that, but I think a conscious level of respect for this phenomenon could not harm us at all. Choose your equipment carefully and ask your suppliers for more information about their products. 
If you want an electrosmog free solar controller, you will not really have much choice than to build one yourself, because amazingly you can't buy one anywhere. I have therefore developed and published a DIY regulator in my book: Do It Yourself 12 Volt Solar Power. The described solar controller uses the latest MOSFET shunt technique but with very slow switching frequencies of about 20 seconds, which makes it electrosmog free. The only drawback with it is that the last 5% of the battery capacity is only recharged quite slowly. A small loss, but it should be worth for our health. In this book you will also find a whole chapter about electrosmog, and lots of practical instructions, tips and tricks on how to measure it and also how to reduce and/or avoid it.

Do It Yourself 12 Volt Solar Power, is published by Permanent Publications and is available in print or as an eBook.

For more from Solarmichel see: www.solarcontroller.blogspot.com 

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/avoiding-electromagnetic-pollution-solar-photovoltaic-pv-systems

Brain on fire. The Sydney Morning Herald article on electrosensitivity

Brain on fire. The Sydney Morning Herald article on electrosensitivity

From Steve Weller:

Excerpt:

Hellish headaches are just the start for people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity – and in our wi-fi world, there’s almost nowhere to hide.

After an hour of measuring radio-frequency levels around Benalla, the north-eastern Victorian city of 9300 deep in Ned Kelly country, Australia, Bruce Evans puts down his smartphone-sized digital meter.

He says he wants to demonstrate how badly cordless phones leak radiation, and there’s one in the Benalla bookshop he can test. He strides off with intent on a sunny Sunday morning, a burly man with a shaved head, like a friendly bouncer you nonetheless wouldn’t want to mess with.

Evans, a 50-year-old web designer and former Australian Army commando, is showing me where he can go without falling ill. He says he has a controversial condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), triggered by electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by power lines, devices such as smartphones and laptops, by wireless routers and towers pumping out telco and NBN signals – the building blocks of the modern economy; indeed, of modern living as we know it.

Symptoms range from a mild headache through to tingles, tinnitus and heart palpitations to incapacitating migraines, fatigue and nausea. Being EHS puts a huge mental strain on sufferers, both from their symptoms and from not being believed.

SNIP

Read the post here.

2015 International Scientific Declaration on EHS and MCS / Déclaration Scientifique Internationale sur l’EHS et le MCS 2015

2015 International Scientific Declaration on EHS and MCS / Déclaration Scientifique Internationale sur l’EHS et le MCS 2015

Dear Madam, Dear Sir

Following the fifth Paris Appeal congress, which took place on the 18^th of May, 2015, the attending European, American and Canadian scientists unanimously decided to create a working group and to write a Common International Declaration to request an official recognition of these new diseases and of their sanitary consequences worldwide.

The declaration calls upon national and international bodies and institutions and particularly the WHO, for taking urgently their responsibility for recognizing electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as real diseases, including them in the International Classification of Diseases.

This International Declaration also asks national and international institutions to adopt simple precautionary measures of prevention, to inform populations and requires the appointment of real independent expert groups to evaluate these sanitary risks in total scientific objectivity, which is not the case today.

Madame, Monsieur

A la suite du 5^ème colloque de l’Appel de Paris, qui s’est déroulé le 18 Mai 2015 à l’Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique, des scientifiques européens, américains et canadiens ont décidé de créer un groupe de travail international et de rédiger une Déclaration commune pour demander la reconnaissance officielle de ces nouvelles pathologies et la prise en compte de leurs conséquences sanitaires à l'échelle mondiale.

Cette déclaration appelle les organismes nationaux et internationaux concernés, particulièrement l’OMS (l’Organisation Mondiale de la santé), à prendre de toute urgence leur responsabilité, en reconnaissant l’EHS et le MCS comme de vraies pathologies, et donc à les inclure dans la Classification Internationale des Maladies.

Cette déclaration internationale appelle également à développer l'information en direction des populations et à adopter des mesures de précaution et de prévention simples, et exige la nomination de groupes d'experts réellement indépendants pour évaluer ces risques en toute objectivité scientifique, ce qui n’est pas le cas actuellement.

Déclaration Scientifique Internationale de Bruxelles : appel-de-paris.com

Best regards / Cordialement

-- 

Sarra Selatnia

Chargée de Projet

Recherche & Communication

57/59 rue de la Convention

75015 Paris
01.45.78.53.53
artac.info
eceri-institute.org/fr/
ehs-mcs.org
appel-de-paris.com

Suivez nous en cliquant :

  

Cell oxidation-reduction imbalance after modulated radiofrequency radiation

Cell oxidation-reduction imbalance after modulated radiofrequency radiation
Marjanovic AM, Pavicic I, Trosic I. Cell oxidation-reduction imbalance after modulated radiofrequency radiation. Electromagn Biol Med. 2015 Aug 28:1-6. [Epub ahead of print].

Abstract

Aim of this study was to evaluate an influence of modulated radiofrequency field (RF) of 1800 MHz, strength of 30 V/m on oxidation-reduction processes within the cell.

The assigned RF field was generated within Gigahertz Transversal Electromagnetic Mode cell equipped by signal generator, modulator, and amplifier. Cell line V79, was irradiated for 10, 30, and 60 min, specific absorption rate was calculated to be 1.6 W/kg. Cellmetabolic activity and viability was determined by MTT assay. In order to define total protein content, colorimetric method was used. Concentration of oxidised proteins was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) marked with fluorescent probe 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate were measured by means of plate reader device.

In comparison with control cell samples, metabolic activity and total protein content in exposed cells did not differ significantly. Concentrations of carbonyl derivates, a product of protein oxidation, insignificantly but continuously increase with duration of exposure. In exposed samples, ROS level significantly (p < 0.05) increased after 10 min of exposure. Decrease in ROS level was observed after 30-min treatment indicating antioxidant defence mechanism activation.

In conclusion, under the given laboratory conditions, modulated RF radiation might cause impairment in cell oxidation-reduction equilibrium within the growing cells.

KEYWORDS: Modulated RF; ROS; non-thermal; oxidised proteins; redox processes

http://1.usa.gov/1Odm3e6

Note: I do not have access to this paper.

--

Following is a link to a recent review paper on oxidative stress which is open access.

Oxidative mechanisms of biological activity of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation

Igor Yakymenko, Olexandr Tsybulin, Evgeniy Sidorik, Diane Henshel, Olga Kyrylenko, and Sergiy Kyrylenko, Oxidative mechanisms of biological activity of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. Posted online on July 7, 2015. doi:10.3109/15368378.2015.1043557.

Abstract

This review aims to cover experimental data on oxidative effects of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation (RFR) in living cells. 
Analysis of the currently available peer-reviewed scientific literature reveals molecular effects induced by low-intensity RFR in living cells; this includes significant activation of key pathways generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of peroxidation, oxidative damage of DNA and changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes. It indicates that among 100 currently available peer-reviewed studies dealing with oxidative effects of low-intensity RFR, in general, 93 confirmed that RFR induces oxidative effects in biological systems. A wide pathogenic potential of the induced ROS and their involvement in cell signaling pathways explains a range of biological/health effects of low-intensity RFR, which include both cancer and non-cancer pathologies. 
In conclusion, our analysis demonstrates that low-intensity RFR is an expressive oxidative agent for living cells with a high pathogenic potential and that the oxidative stress induced by RFR exposure should be recognized as one of the primary mechanisms of the biological activity of this kind of radiation.

Conclusions

The analysis of modern data on biological effects of lowi-ntensity RFR leads to a firm conclusion that this physical agent is a powerful oxidative stressor for living cell. The oxidative efficiency of RFR can be mediated via changes in activities of key ROS-generating systems, including mitochondria and non-phagocytic NADH oxidases, via direct effects on water molecules, and via induction of conformation changes in biologically important macromolecules. In turn, a broad biological potential of ROS and other free radicals, including both their mutagenic effects and their signaling regulatory potential, makes RFR a potentially hazardous factor for human health. We suggest minimizing the intensity and time of RFR exposures, and taking a precautionary approach towards wireless technologies in everyday human life.

Open Access Review Paper: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/15368378.2015.1043557

--

Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley

Electromagnetic Radiation Safety

Website:              http://www.saferemr.com
Facebook:            http://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
News Releases:    http://pressroom.prlog.org/jmm716/
Twitter:                 @berkeleyprc

Support EHT's Music Video Through Old Bill's

Support EHT's Music Video Through Old Bill's Visit our booth at Old Bill's on Saturday, September 12th

Your donation to EHT will be matched until September 18th    This has been an amazing year where we've taken EHT from a local organization to one that has a truly global reach. The Jackson Hole town proclamation on cell phone safety is now available and being adopted by cities around the world.  Help us turn this year's Grand Prize Winning Song into a music video and promote Practice Safe Tech contests in schools locally and nationally  Please note that those of you who are in a position to do so can now donate appreciated assets directly to EHT. Contact us for more information. Donate Now

Generation Zapped video producer-director seeking EHS testimonials and funding

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR FUNDING CAMPAIGN AND BE PART OF THE MAKING OF THIS HISTORIC FILM http://generationzapped.com/take-action
On Sep 1, 2015, at 12:02 AM, Richard Conrad <rc@conradbiologic.com> wrote:
Hi again Sabine,
I want to add a thank you for the work you are doing; we need all the help we can get, especially visual media which of course can have an impact way beyond print.  I feel that video testimonials from astute, strong, convincing people with EHS could help a lot to counter the industry propaganda.  These days, arguing back and forth about this and that peer-reviewed (which can mean biased towards the conventional) publications can be like arguing over interpretations of the Bible, because industry and the mainstream media encourage people to think that science is a matter of opinion or belief.  Good science is neither, but is a reflection of reality, and although we have much good science showing harmful effects of non-thermal levels of EMF on animals, and some epidemiology implying harm to humans, industry has proactive propaganda that can convincingly minimize the importance of these.  But now we have EHS - short term very disabling effects - on real people.  People with EHS are the SMOKING GUN that industry will have a harder time waving away.  That’s why I believe that emotionally and intellectually convincing video EHS testimonials can be a huge help.  Maybe you already are doing this.
We can’t prove that EMF harms absolutely everyone, but we can demonstrate that:
1.  EMF is a major initial triggering cause of EHS, and is currently converting more and more previously normal people to become EHS at an accelerating rate.
2.  EMF causes those with EHS to suffer real physical symptoms that they had never before experienced.
Common pre-disposing factors are:pesticide exposuretoxic mold exposureserious infectionhaving Multiple Chemical Sensitivities or Chronic Fatigue or Lyme Diseasepossibly genetic factors
If I can help with your video in any way, please let me know.Richard

Metabolomic study of urinary polyamines in rat exposed to 915 MHz radiofrequency identification signal

Metabolomic study of urinary polyamines in rat exposed to 915 MHz radiofrequency identification signal

Paik MJ, Kim HS, Lee YS, Do Choi H, Pack JK, Kim N, Ahn YH. Metabolomic study of urinary polyamines in rat exposed to 915 MHz radiofrequency identification signal. Amino Acids. 2015 Aug 29. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract

Metabolomic analysis of urinary polyamines (PAs) from rat exposed to 915 MHz radiofrequency identification (RFID) signal for 8 h/day for 2 weeks was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as N-ethoxycarbonyl/N-pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Large alterations in nine PA levels including four aliphatic and five acetylated PAs were monitored in sham-exposed and RFID-exposed groups. Total PA and urinary levels of N 1-acetylputrescine, N 1-acetylcadaverine, putrescine, cadaverine, N 1-acetylspermidine, N 8-acetylspermidine, spermidine and spermine were reduced, whereas N 1-acetylspermine was significantly increased after sham and RFID exposure compared with those before exposure. Their levels were normalized to the corresponding group means before exposure and then plotted into star symbol patterns. N 1-Acetylspermine after RFID exposure was 54 % higher compared to the level before RFID exposure, while it was elevated by only 17 % in the sham group. The results suggest that 915 MHz RFID exposure may induce metabolic disturbance of PA. It may also elevate spermidine/spermine acetyltransferase (SSAT) activity. Thus, the present metabolic profiling combined with star pattern recognition method might be useful for understanding the complexity of biochemical events after exposure to RFID signal.

http://1.usa.gov/1fTHbtY

-- 
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley

Electromagnetic Radiation Safety

Website:              http://www.saferemr.com
Facebook:            http://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
News Releases:    http://pressroom.prlog.org/jmm716/
Twitter:                 @berkeleyprc

Woman who claims she is allergic to Wi-Fi is awarded £650 a month in disability grants by French court

Woman who claims she is allergic to Wi-Fi is awarded £650 a month in disability grants by French court

• Marine Richard, from southern France, suffers from a condition called EHS

• She is allergic to mobile phones, Wi-Fi routers, TVs and remote controls

• Claims other gadgets trigger heart palpitations, nausea and headaches

• Judges awarded the former radio producer a monthly payout of nearly £650

• 
  

By JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:11 EST, 31 August 2015 | UPDATED: 13:18 EST, 31 August 2015

A woman has been awarded a £650-a-month disability grant by a French court after claiming she is allergic to Wi-Fi.

Judges in Toulouse heard that claimant Marine Richard suffers from the condition EHS, an extreme sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation found in most modern electronic devices. 

As a result, the 39-year-old is allergic to mobile phones, wi-fi routers, TVs, remote controls and hundreds of other gadgets which trigger heart palpitations, nausea and headaches.

+2

A woman has been awarded a £650-a-month disability grant by a French court after claiming she is allergic to Wi-Fi (file picture)

The court heard that she only copes with the condition by living in a converted barn in remote mountains in south west France with no electricity and water from a well.

Spanish health authorities do not recognise EHS as a genuine clinical illness.

But judges ignored the medical advice to award Richard - a former radio producer - a monthly payout of nearly £650.

'It's a breakthrough,' she said after the hearing.

The court's legal recognition of the condition could have encouraging implications for British sufferers, like Mary Coales.

The 63-year-old former Civil Servant and Cambridge graduate can't go to theatres, restaurants, cinemas, airports, or parks for fear of picking up agonising electromagnetic signals.

+2

The 39-year-old is allergic to mobile phones, wi-fi routers, TVs, remote controls and hundreds of other gadgets which trigger heart palpitations, nausea and headaches (file picture)

And whenever she leaves the house she wears a special silver gauze jacket to earth herself from the radiation.

She said: 'The pain I've suffered is very real. At its worst, it has felt like I'm being tasered inside my mouth.

'I've had to change my entire life to find ways to avoid being exposed to wifi and phone signals.

'Wi-Fi is everywhere now, so it's very difficult to avoid. It's even more difficult to avoid people with mobile phones.

'I hardly ever go to public places, and only go to friends' houses if they have switched everything off beforehand.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3217214/Woman-claims-allergic-Wi-Fi-handed-650-month-disability-grants-court-hearing-France.html#ixzz3nFXNQzbs
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Comics About Cell Phones

Digital detox holidays: Switching off from technology dependency

Digital detox holidays: Switching off from technology dependency

If modern technology means we can be connected anywhere, then how do we switch off? Digital detox holidays are the latest trend for holidaymakers who need to curtail their technology dependency.

BY JOHN O'CEALLAIGH

MARCH 11, 2013 11:09

There are clear benefits to be derived from the ubiquity of technology in our daily lives, but if mobile phones, constant internet access and multiple social media accounts mean we’re always on call then how can we switch off? The dilution of holiday time is a case in point. A recent American Express surveyfound that 83 per cent of holidaymakers expect to stay digitally connected during their break, and 64 per cent of those expect to check their work email daily while on leave. With so many of us allowing our working lives to infiltrate our leisure time then opportunities to truly relax are severely curtailed. 

Recognising that some consumers want to sever their constant dependency on technology, a number of companies are now offering experiences that allow us the opportunity to switch off temporarily. In January, Selfridge’s opened a felt-covered Silence Room, where shoe-free, phone-free shoppers can retreat from the hubbub of frenetic Oxford Street. Around the same time, ‘No Wi-Fi’ benches which block Wi-Fi signals within a five-metre radius were erected in central Amsterdam. Urging people to ‘take a break’, they were sponsored by Kit Kat. 

And away from busy shopping streets, other travel and leisure companies are cajoling customers into switching off too. In LA, Eva Restaurant is offering diners a 5 per cent discount if they leave their phones with the receptionist. More demanding is the ‘digital detox’ holiday on offer at Palm Island and Young Island on St Vincent and The Grenadines. Guests booking ‘de-tech’ packages will be asked to hand over their electronic devices at check-in and can avail of the services of a life coach if they need guidance on how to use their free time productively. 

A number of options are available for travellers who need even more drastic intervention. At Jongomero safari camp in southern Tanzania, connectivity-craving guests who sneak an illicit smart phone into their room are still foiled from going online. The site offers no mobile-phone reception, Wi-Fi or television sets. Stay at Three Camel Lodge in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert and there’ll be no chance of you tweeting a quick snap of the endangered Bactrian camels that roam the surrounding area – the nearest Wi-Fi point is 300 miles away in Ulaanbaatar. 

Often thought of as an encumbrance, isolation is now a selling point for stressed-out travellers. And the benefits of a digital detox are numerous and significant. In a New York Times discussion on the subject, Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains comments that constantly flitting from one forum or application to another is associated with “shallower thinking, weakened concentration, reduced creativity, and heightened stress.” Limiting the digital bombardment we’re accustomed to will reduce the cognitive and emotional stress we’re constantly exposing ourselves to. His views are supported by other experts who show similar concern for the elevated stress levels we face through being constantly on call, always searching for the next message or text that requires our attention. 

An easy test to see how your concentration span is faring is available on the website Do nothing for 2 minutes. Users are asked to observe the static seaside scene and listen to the sound of the waves for two minutes. Give it a go. If you last the two minutes perhaps you’d enjoy a digital detox holiday, and if you don’t, you probably need it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/3317/digital-detox-holidays-switching-off-from-technology-dependency.html