If you look in the corner of your phone screen, you might see a little “5G” icon.
Even though the technology only started to see widespread use in America in the past few years, its benefits have already been enormous. Download speeds for 5G connections compared to LTE connections can be up to 100 times faster. Not only that, but lower latency means that time-sensitive operations, such as surgery or vehicle driving, can be performed remotely.
That said, some people have voiced fears about this new technology. Unfortunately, most of those fears are rooted in nonsense or pseudoscience, such as the belief that 5G towers cause or worsen COVID. Fears like these have resulted in the vandalism and destruction of 5G towers.
Now, a TikTok user claims that 5G towers may be having another, yet-unexplored impact on everyday people. But is it true?
What’s The Deal With This Tower?
In a video with over 414,000 views, TikTok user Jonny (@jonnyflix) shows himself going for a walk on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu.
“To anyone wondering why they might feel nauseous out of nowhere on a trail, it might be because of the 5G tower that you just mistook as a tree,” he starts.
He then zooms in on what, on the surface, appears to be a forest. One tree stands out—it’s unusually straight, and while it appears to be covered in branches, there are several antennae on top of it.
“That’s it right there. That is 5G, to my understanding, and you’ll only find them in certain neighborhoods,” he says. “I’m gonna keep it at that.”
Is He Telling The Truth?
Two claims are being made here. The first claim is that this is a 5G tower. The second claim is that 5G towers cause nausea.
So, is this really a 5G tower? It’s unclear. This is what’s called a “monopine,” and it’s a cell phone tower disguised as a pine tree.
While these have been garnering more attention recently, given the controversy surrounding 5G, they’ve been around for quite some time. The first of such disguised antennas was built in 1992. Since then, hundreds, if not thousands, have been built. Specific data is hard to come by, but companies in the industry that specialize in this technology claim they work on between 350 and 800 of these towers per year.
Given this, if one sees a stealth tower, it does not necessarily mean it is carrying a 5G signal. It could be 4G LTE, or even simply 3G.
Furthermore, these stealth towers are not only found in “certain neighborhoods.” For example, people have found such stealth towers in both rural and urban environments.
But Do They Make You Sick?
Concerning the latter claim, there is simply no evidence to suggest that 5G exposure would make someone nauseous. A 2024 meta-analysis examining radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure found zero evidence of these fields provably causing nausea.
To start, the analysis noted that those who claim to be sensitive to EMF cannot reliably detect when they are being exposed to it. This calls into question their sensitivity claims.
Next, after looking at the available evidence, the study concluded that “acute RF-EMF below regulatory limits”—a category that includes 5G—does not cause symptoms in individuals. Consequently, anyone experiencing symptoms is actually having these issues due to other, non-5G-related reasons.
The World Health Organization summarizes the debate by noting “to date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies.”
Commenters Are Divided
In the comments section, some users claimed to experience similar feelings of nausea.
“So I noticed that I’ve been on my phone more lately … and I’ve been feeling sick. Nausea every day,” declared a user.
“That’s exactly what it would be. 5G towers are affecting everyone’s health, whether they realize it or not,” added another. “I’ve been doing extensive research on this to come up with solutions for shielding the body from the waves.”
Others noted the similarity to the plot of the film Hoppers. More still clarified that there’s no proven connection between 5G and feelings of nausea.
“People are paranoid and let themselves be fooled. And those who say they feel different are literally falling for the placebo effect,” said a commenter.
“Those have been around forever,” stated a second.
BroBible reached out to Jonny via email.