Description
Increased screen time is having a significant impact on eye health for both adults and children.
In this video, Dr. Ryan Wood of the UAMS Health Jones Eye Institute explains how prolonged use of computers, phones, and digital devices can contribute to dry eye disease, eye strain, and changes in vision over time. He also discusses how focusing heavily on near screens can contribute to worsening nearsightedness, especially in children whose visual systems are still developing.
One major concern is reduced blinking during screen use, which can lead to dry eye symptoms that often go unnoticed until they become more severe. Dr. Wood emphasizes the importance of early awareness and simple preventive habits such as taking regular breaks, spending time outdoors, and using lubricating eye drops when needed.
With rising rates of nearsightedness in children worldwide, understanding the effects of screen time on eye health is more important than ever.
Learn how to protect your vision in a digital world and support long term eye health.
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Transcript
Screen time impacts eye health quite a bit. One of the biggest contributors to the uptick in dry eyes and ocular surface disease over the last decade or two is the increased use of computers and cell phones. It can also affect your prescription and change your vision. Especially when we’re young, our bodies like to accommodate to what we’re doing. So if we spend all our time looking at a phone two feet away, our body and our eyes can adjust to that over time, and eventually we become unable to see things clearly far away, because our eyes have become better focused up close.
We also don’t blink as much as we think when we’re looking at screens, and that tends to contribute to things like dry eyes. Those problems, when they’re mild, often aren’t addressed, so by the time they become moderate or severe, patients become symptomatic and it becomes harder to address. I always like to remind patients, in addition to treatment, to take breaks from their devices, go outside, use lubrication drops if needed, and mainly just protect their eyes from those screens.
The prevalence of nearsightedness in kids is becoming an epidemic. By the year 2040, it’s estimated that over half the kids in the world will be nearsighted, and it’s largely because of our extreme dependence on devices.
