There are at least two 5G myths (that is, stories a community knows, most believe, and many act on): the industry hype, which I’ll call the 5G Vision, and the belief that 5G damages health, which I’ll call 5G EMF/Coronavirus. Technology is the protagonist in both – the hero in one, and the villain in the other.
5G Vision
The 5G industry vision comes with many taglines and catchphrases; “5G Changes Everything” is typical.
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| From dailyhive.com |
A few gems from the January 2019 keynote by Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg at CES illustrates the message:
- "the future that's going to be transformed by 5G”
- “5G is a promise of so much more than we've ever seen on any wireless technology”
- “5G is a quantum leap compared to 4G”
Cellular technology is depicted as one generation of innovation succeeding another in a chronicle of progress.
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| From ethozgroup.com |
This technology, it’s said, will transform our lives. According to https://qwilt.com/5g-mec/ (accessed 9 Feb 2021), for example, it will dominate our lives, transforming a wide range of day-to-day activities; there will be immersive experiences everywhere; connected and smart things will be strapped to our wrists, embedded in our clothes and within arm’s reach all day, every day; and applications like holograms and volumetric 360 video will emerge.
It’s a transformation not just of scope, but also scale, often communicated as order of magnitude increases. What, exactly, is being increased doesn’t matter so much as the staggering growth:
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| From qwilt.com |
The change is not only technological, but also geopolitical: 5G is as a race, with significant, long-term, negative effects on the economies of the losers. The “Race to 5G” is a frequent refrain.
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| From CTIA |
This narrative widely believed in industry and political circles. Telecom operators are expected to make significant capital investments; for example, the GSMA expects that Telecom operators w/wide will spend $890 billion on 5G networks over the next five years. Governments have bought in. Dozens of 5G auctions have been held or planned worldwide. The C-band auction in the U.S., which converted 280 MHz of a 500 MHz satellite service allocation to cellular use, recently raised $81 billion.
5G EMF/Coronavirus
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| From "Stop 5G" petition on change.org |
There is a counter to the industry vision that rests on long-standing concerns about the health impacts of electromagnetic radiation. A May 2020 poll of consumers by Deloitte found that a fifth or more adults in six out of 14 countries surveyed agreed with the statement, “I believe there are health risks associated with 5G.” Ofcom weekly surveys in late 2020 found that 29% of respondents had come across false or misleading information about COVID-19 in the prior week; the most common topic, seen by 21% of respondents, was “theories linking the origins or causes of COVID-19 to 5G technology.”
It has been claimed that 5G could be acting as 'accelerator' of COVID-19 by suppressing the immune system, and that viruses can communicate through radio waves. Some people believe that the pandemic is a secret plot to impose a totalitarian world government, and a nefarious effort to crush freedom. (See e.g. https://fullfact.org/health/5G-not-accelerating-coronavirus/ and The Guardian.)
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| Cellular equipment in Porth, North Wales, destroyed by an arson attack (5Gradar) |
Stories, characters, framing and tropes
I’ll now analyze the 5G Vision and 5G EMF/Coronavirus stories in terms of their characters, frames, and tropes; bulleted summaries are given in the appendix below.
5G Vision
The “5G Vision” plot goeth thusly: Cellular technologies succeed one another, each better than its predecessor. 5G, the fifth generation, is arriving and will transform lives, business, and society. Industry has worked hard to create 5G and is bringing it to everyone. 5G’s success is also essential for national competitiveness. Governments therefore need to help industry make 5G successful.
Technology is the protagonist; 5G is a magical hero and savior. Industry is its faithful companion and enabler, similar to mythical figures like Enkidu, and midwives: it brings 5G into the world. It's perhaps even a mother, since 5G is created and nurtured in 3GPP, an industry organization. Government can be a supporter or obstructer, depending on the choices it makes. Citizen-consumers are the beneficiaries, both of the economic and geopolitical advantages (if Government properly supports 5G by allocating spectrum) and as users of the technology.
The story is built on a conception of history as endless, linear progress. In terms of Nisbet’s typology of science-related policy debates, it is framed in terms of social progress and the public good (see Table 4.1 in Nisbet, 2016, “The Ethics of Framing Science,” in Nerlich, Elliott & Larson, Communicating Biological Sciences, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315572888-4).
This strikes me as a hero quest trope. 5G (like previous generations) is nurtured, sets out to change the world, has to overcome obstacles (posed by Government), and brings great benefits to its society when it succeeds.
5G EMF/Coronavirus
The dark star of the 5G EMF story is electromagnetic radiation: Cell phone signals are dangerous, and 5G transmits the coronavirus, or at least suppresses the body’s defenses. This is just the latest in a recurring pattern of threats, from powerlines to cellphones Wi-Fi to smart meters. The villains are industry, which only cares about profits; the majority of scientists, who don’t know what they’re talking about; and national governments and international bodies, which are passive, ignorant, or implicated in cover-ups. The health and freedom of everyone is at stake; citizen activists and a few clear-eyed scientists are the heroes in this battle.
Radiation is the protagonist of the story. Manifested as 5G cellular signals, it’s an invisible poison that causes disease. Industry and government are in league with 5G, at best ignoring the danger, certainly discounting or obscuring the risk, and even using it for their own purposes (profit-seeking and political domination). Activist citizens and a few unbiased scientists are the heroes, fighting back against these hidden, nefarious forces.
This is a battle between good and evil. The underlying language is of pollution and harm, and the Nisbet frames are scientific/technical uncertainty, Pandora’s box/runaway science, and public accountability/governance.
The trope that strikes me is “battling the monster.” Heroic activists are protecting their communities against a rising tide of toxic pollution.
Comparing the stories
Both stories concern heroes, but with the roles inverted: technology is the hero in one, and the adversary in the other. In both, there is a recurring pattern: successive technology generations, each more powerful (for good or ill, respectively) than the last.
Both narratives highlight science and engineering: the difference is whose science is authoritative. In the 5G Vision, international health and engineering bodies can be trusted; in the 5G EMF story, only the brave few who are willing to speak truth to power.
Both imply technology as having boundless potential. The 5G Vision portrays it as a cornucopia, and 5G EMF as a source of limitless harm.
One difference between them the direction of action. The 5G Vision is a top-down, insider story of beneficence being bestowed. 5G/Corona is a story of outsiders invading a community and being resisted by grassroots defenders.
Appendix: Bullet point versions of narratives, characters, framing and tropes
Some lists are numbered to allow direct comparison of comparable figures in the two stories (it’s hard to make tables in Blogger).
Narratives
5G Vision
- There is a succession of ever-better technologies
- The latest, 5G, will transform lives, business, and society
- Industry is working hard to deliver 5G
- 5G is essential for national success
- Governments need to support industry
5G EMF
- Radiation is dangerous
- 5G signals are dangerous, transmitting coronavirus or suppresses the body’s defenses
- Industry only cares about profits
- Health and freedom is at stake
- Governments are passive, implicated, or corrupt
Characters
5G Vision
- Technology as magical hero, savior
- Industry as faithful companion and enabler
- Government as supporter
- Citizen/consumers as beneficiaries
5G EMF
- Technology as toxin
- Industry as greedy
- Government as dupe/enabler
- Citizen-activists and a few scientists as heroes, protectors
Framing
5G Vision
- Endless, linear progress
- Social progress
- Public good
5G EMF
- Impurity/pollution
- Scientific/technical uncertainty
- Pandora’s box/runaway science
- Public accountability/governance
Tropes
5G Vision
- Hero quest
5G EMF
- Battle of good versus evil
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