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Are Screens Bad for Your Eyes?
- World in Focus
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
You have probably heard of it before: don’t watch too much TV or your eyes will go square! Right? Well, not necessarily.
As smartphones and computers have taken over television and print, the effects of blue light radiated from these digital machines have come into question. With a world becoming more digital by the second, rates of myopia have nearly doubled across North America, including among children (Myopia Epidemic, 2024). With an increase in technology usage, it can be easy to assume that screens are to blame. However, screens themselves are not the culprits.
What about blue light? The blue light exposure that social media has condemned devices for has not been proven to cause eye degeneration, leaving blue light glasses more like fashionable accessories. Instead, common causes of worsening eyesight include eye strain, dry eyes, and aging. By looking at a screen for hours at a time, your eyes become tired. The average human blinks around 15 times in a minute, but this rate can be halved when staring at screens. (Should You Be Worried About Blue Light?, 2021). Blinking keeps the eyes lubricated and prevents the dry, uncomfortable feeling you get in a staring contest. So, if you look at screens for too long, they can actually make your eyes go square.
However, this is not to say that you should not look at a screen; the key word is screen “time”. The amount of time spent, without break, looking at a computer is what contributes to eyestrain and later on, worsened eyesight.
To combat this, rest your eyes every hour or so in conjunction with a conscious effort to blink regularly (Harvard Health, 2011). The 20-20-20 rule, or taking a break every 20 minutes, looking at an object roughly 20 feet (6 meters) away, and blinking 20 times, allows the eyes to relax. But, there is more you can do.
One of the best things you can do is spend more time outdoors. Beyond benefiting your overall health, sunlight supports eye development by helping children maintain the correct distance between the lens and retina of the eyes, leading to a world in focus (Dawson 2023). Outdoor time also boosts natural dopamine and essential vitamin D, contributing to your well-being as a whole.
Proper lighting and viewing distance can also be essential. The more the eye has to work, the more strain it will endure. Ensure that the brightness of your device matches that of the environment, and keep your device an arm’s length away. This way, your eyes can rest as much as possible even while working (Philadelphia, n.d.).
Ultimately, it is the eye strain that comes from the long hours staring at a screen that might just make your eyes go square, not the screens themselves. In moderation, digital devices can be used without cause for concern so long as you give your eyes the easy job that they deserve.
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