Do you have a cell phone? Your answer is probably yes. The underlying question is: do cell phones cause cancer? The number of cell phone users has grown rapidly and continues to grow. “In 2010, there were more than 303 million subscribers to cell phone service in the United States, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. This represents a nearly three-fold increase compared to the 110 million users in 2000” (Mobile phones and cancer risk). This means that currently 96% of Americans own a cell phone. Cell phones are not only becoming more and more widespread in the United States: “There are 6.8 billion people on the planet. 5.1 billion of them own a cell phone, but only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush” (Hopkins). Twenty years ago you would never have heard of someone having a cell phone on a necessary hygiene product, this says a lot about our culture today. With more and more people owning cell phones, the more people use and depend on their cell phones. The average person uses their phone 300 minutes a day, or about five hours just on the phone. This includes phone calls, text messages, using apps, and simply checking your phone (Lepp, Andrew et al, 5). Checking your phone means “unlocking” it when you don’t have any notifications. Average people do this about nine times per hour. “…the average phone user checks their phone up to 150 times a day” (Warzel). The greater the use of cell phones, the more people are exposed to the radiation they emit. Cell phones emit microwave radiation, non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, and with the rise of cell phones, they pose a potential threat to human health. "Cell phone microwaves contain almost all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum... middle of paper... about twenty times." October 6, 2013. New Jersey Online. November 10, 2013. • Lepp, Andrew et al. “The relationship between cell phone use, physical and sedentary activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample of American college students.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 10.1 (2013): 79-87. Academic research completed. Internet. November 15, 2013 • Warzel, Charlie. “BuzzFeed.” BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, Inc. October 7, 2013. Web. November 10, 2013 • Jing, Ji et al. “The influence of cell phone microwave radiation on the fetal rat brain.” Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 31.1 (2012): 57-66. Academic research completed. Internet. November 15, 2013 • Colak, Cengiz et al. “Effects of electromagnetic radiation from 3G mobile phone on heart rate, blood pressure and ECG parameters in rats.” Toxicology and Industrial Health 28.7 (2012): 629-638. Academic research completed. Internet. November 16. 2013.