The Silent Killer!

The rapid surge in telecommunication industry has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the number of mobile phones in India reaching 867 millions, which is second only to China in the total number of mobile phones in use. This has led to the erection of cell phone towers by the mobile phone companies almost every nook and corner of the country irrespective of the places be it in residential rooftops; schools or college buildings; hospitals or office buildings throwing caution to the wind in every which way. The lackadaisical attitude of the governments both at the central and state level towards these companies in curbing this practice only added to this problem.  For a country with the population of 1.27 billion and growing, and according to the world bank report published in 2012, the population density in India was 411 per square kilometer, which is more than 12 times that of the United States also means that these many lives are under constant threat of mugging under the heat of microwave radiation emanating from these ubiquitous towers, majority of which are illegally sited and without any clearances from the government. As per the recent estimate by the Delhi Municipal Corporation, the nation’s capital alone has more than 2700 such illegal structures hovering over the residential rooftops or inhabited properties. Though this has generated a lot of concern among the general public in the recent past, but many of them are still oblivious of the dangers lurking right over their heads. This is my little attempt to spread that general awareness among the public on the health concerns that these towers pose. This is aimed at keeping it simple without going into the technicalities of radiofrequency radiation exposure, the details of which were discussed in my earlier post entitled, "Why cell phone towers are so bad for your health?", and only highlights the possible heath risks as a general awareness campaign and a free-to-use poster. 

If I were to throw a rhetorical analysis of this poster, it appeals to all the three elements of the rhetorical triangle, i.e., Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. By choosing the powerful title, "The Silent Killer," I appealed to both the pathos and the logos.  The title not only appeals emotionally to the target audience but also justifies the invisible nature of radiofrequency radiation thus satisfying both the pathos and the logos. Apart from this, incorporation of various logos in the middle depicts the underlying diseases associated with radiofrequency radiation emanating from the cell phone towers, informs the general public on the ill-effects these towers pose on their health, and the lurking dangers ahead of them because of these towers thus appealing to the pathos. The text "prolonged exposure" underlines the importance of maximum exposure, i.e., 24x7 received by those living in close proximity to the cell tower. The primary colors along with the carefully chosen fonts used in this poster appeals to the logos. Furthermore, the text "Say no to Cell Tower in Your Neighborhood!" appeals to the commonplaces. Finally, the title and the images together with the caption underlines the sense of urgency with which the governments needed to take proactive steps in curbing the practice of siting illegal cell phone towers primarily in the residential areas, schools and hospital buildings thus appealing to the kairos as well.

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