Mobile Devices and Kids' Eye Sight

Mobile devices have seen tremendous innovation in recent years and added great convenience to our lives. Yet, certain precautions are needed in their usage. Many studies have found potential damage to eye sight, especially in youth, due to excessive usage of these devices.

Here are some media reports.

Smartphones and Your Child's EyeSight 

by WZZM 13:
"Dr. Sharon Yurko, a pediatric optometrist, says in the last decade, she has seen an increase in the number of young patients with advancing Myopia or near sightedness."

This report mentions damage to eye sight is due to decrease in the rate of blinking while using mobile devices.

"Normally, our blink rate is 20 to 30 times per minute. When you read printed material, like a newspaper, the blink rate drops to 12 times per minute. When you look at the computer or a smartphone, it drops to seven, even three times per minute."

Read more here:
http://www.wzzm13.com/story/local/2013/12/19/1618134/


Here is another report on possible link between increased usage of mobile devices and computers on poor eyesight in youth.

Children's Vision and the New Classroom Technology

by Brenda Conway, published on WebMD

"So far, no evidence-based study has found that new technology itself causes vision problems, other than eye fatigue. Yet a 2009 study showed that the number of people with nearsightedness (myopia) has increased from 25% to nearly 42% in the last 30 years."

"One theory: Today’s kids spend far more time doing "near work," such as texting, looking stuff up on cell phones, and playing computer games. And the increased time spent looking at things close up may have an effect. Other possible factors may include genetics and lack of outdoor activity."

Read more here:

http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features/vision-classroom-technology

When to Introduce Your Child to a Smart Phone or Tablet

by Laura Lewis Brown, published on PBS.org

"Experts recommend parents be very involved in their child’s experience with electronic devices, especially at a young age. The goal is balanced exposure. “Parents should keep media screens in family areas so that a child’s media usage can be monitored, and TVs and computers should be kept out of bedrooms,” Jaynes (learning designer for Leapfrog Enterprises) says." 

"“I would recommend no more than a half an hour per sitting for a four to five year old, no more than an hour per sitting for a six to seven year old,” Galindo (supervisor of instructional technology for the Manatee County School District in Florida) says.  “I recommend no more than two hours for a high school student per sitting if the gaming is the focus of the interaction. However, if the student is using the device as a productivity tool that time would obviously be greater.”"  

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-when-introduce-child-smartphone-tablet.html


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