The following clip features an urgent warning by Dr Devra Davis - author of Disconnect - during a video interview prior to an event in June 2013 entitled "Cell Phones and Wifi - Are Children, Fetuses and Fertility at Risk?".

Here is a transcription of Davis's comments in the video:

"Recently, South Korean scientists diagnosed a growing number of children in that country with digital dementia. This refers to the fact that the left hemisphere of their brain is over-developed and they are relying on digital devices so that they do not know how to remember phone numbers and they don't know how to do hand-writing.

"What the concern is here is that if you over-develop one part of the brain and under-develop the other, the opportunities to learn certain things - maths, music, hand-writing - are really limited and you should ideally do them at certain early times of life.

"These children are permanently damaged. That is the fear that scientists around the world have - that reliance on digital devices at young ages is causing brain damage in these children.

"The left hemisphere of the brain is the part that we rely on for understanding knowledge. The right hemisphere is the part that we rely on for empathy and judgement; the ability to anticipate the consequences of action.

Right and left hemispheres
© Mercedes BenzRewiring the brain; are we now creating a planet devoid of empathy and compassion? Who benefits – those who are profit-hungry or those who are just hungry?
Davis's warnings follows recent comments made by neuroscientist Professor Susan Greenfield, reported here, who argues that new digital technologies are rewiring the brain's frontal cortex - the area of the brain responsible for cognitive analysis and abstract thought.

They also follow publication of a document by Dr Aric Sigman - a Fellow of the British Psychological Society - entitled "The Impact of Screen Media: A Eurovision for Parliament" which presents an extensive compendium of evidence that screen-time can damage not only children's cognitive functions but also affect the physiology of the brain - irrespective of the content being watched. The paper is a must-read for parents, responsible citizens, law and public policy makers around the world.

If, as is suggested, we are rewiring the brains of our young and creating a generation of people with no capability to empathise with others, one question we must ask is whether there are parts of our society that would benefit from such developments. Another is whether we can we alert enough people to the damage being wreaked on the minds of our future generations - tomorrow's captains of industry, care givers and government representatives - before it is too late.

Where we go from here is up to you. Please take action and share this information with others.