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I’m a sucker for surveys and studies, so when I saw this one written up at Cellular News, I had to jump on it. It involves teenagers and any ramifications of excessive cell phone use. After conducting an experiment, the study found that using a mobile phone often — in the study, this was considered more than 15 calls and/or text messages a day — don’t sleep well, and are more prone to chug “stimulating beverages.” So is this a sign that cell phones cause this kind of reaction? I’m not so sure.

Remember, we’re looking for causation, and that’s not easy to find. To say that a survey using just 21 youngsters — 10 in a control group and 11 in the experimental group — represents causation is a bit dubious. The sample size is terribly small, and could simply be a reflection of blind luck.

Even if this was a larger sample, I’m still not convinced that cell phones cause this type of behavior. They might be a contributing factor, but it’s definitely not the sole cause. I’m sure kids that talked a lot on landlines before the advent of the cell phone showed similar symptoms. And I’m certain that excessive use of the Internet would show the same results.

It’s about the kids, not about the gadgets they use. I think that’s an important bit to remember when we look at studies like this. The absolute worst thing to do is to lay all the blame on the technology.

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