A gadget is a device or appliance having a unique purpose and function. At the time of invention, a gadget is often way ahead of its peers in terms of novelty and uniqueness. This is what makes them, so desirable and ‘cool’!

The top ten gadgets that changed the world are debatable. Nevertheless, popular choices would be the television, telephone, camera, movie camera, microwave oven, video cassette player and recorder, video gaming consoles, Sony’s Walkman, IBM’s personal computer or PC and the first cell phone released in 1996, by Motorola. The latest gadgets include superior versions of DVDs, smart phones, camcorders, laptops, iPods, iPhones, the Blackberry, PCs, computer notebooks, pedometers etc.

That modern gadgets have changed the world, is a gross understatement. No one wants to go back to the days of no television, no washing machines and certainly, no cell phone. Hi-tech gadgets are proliferating by the dozen, as companies vie with each other to catch the eyes of gadget freaks or just time-pinched consumers.

Yet, rising from the din of MP3 players, DVD film premiers and podcasts is an ever increasing evidence, braced by scientific work, of the ill-health effects of modern gadgets.

The study done by Carnegie Mellon University found that spending one hour a week on the Net led to an average increase of 1 percent on depression scale, a loss of 2.7 members of the Net users social circle and increase of 0.4% on the loneliness scale.

Intel Apple computer along with Hawlett Packard has kick-started US 1.5 million US dollar- study on the effects of Internet on society. According to a spokesperson of the companies, 'People who use the Net lose more of their friends, are lonelier and more inclined to depression than non-Net users. Greater use of the Net is associated with a decline in size of the social circle, social contact and family communication'.

A brief outline of how these gadgets and their hazards to health are described below:

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs)

Almost all modern gadgets produce electromagnetic fields or EMFs, be they powered by electric, electronic or battery sources.

Method

According to scientists, EMR (electromagnetic radiation) from EMFs, can be disruptive to the human body’s own natural energy fields. Like x-rays, these waves are not blocked or weakened by objects in their way. They pass into our bodies upsetting normal cellular function and biological processes. EMR can cause headaches, tiredness and even immune system disorders. Scientists believe that appliances such as electric hair dryers, shavers and bedside digital alarms are more dangerous due to their proximity to the human head.

According to the World Health Organization, ‘electronic smog’, created by electricity is 'one of the most common and fastest growing environmental influences'. New evidence has linked ‘electropollution’ with a rise in cancer, birth defects, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, learning disabilities and even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.