Digital devices and our children’s eyes.  If you are a parent these days, you are probably getting asked about access to digital devices daily.  Be it a tablet, iPad, computer, or mobile phone.  The days of just asking to watch television, appear to be long gone.

Why is this change in behaviour a concern?  We all know that exposure to technology, is necessary for them to get ahead in life.  But how much screen time is the right amount?  Also, does this increased screen time have any negative consequences?  If so what are they? And how can they be avoided?

The short answer is YES.  But, I will go into more depth into what you can do and why you might like to police device usage.

Firstly, prolonged exposure to a close working distance, has been linked to the development of myopia/short sightedness.  Which is thought to result from prolonged near blur, causing a growth in the axial length of the eye itself.  This results in the need for a correction to see clearly in the distance, that may need to be worn all of the time.

Once the eye has grown, it can not be made shorter again.  So how to we prevent this from occurring?  A large Australian study has found that being outside, is the best protection against the development of myopia.  It was found that 2.5 hours of outside play/day was the best protective measure that could be taken against the later development of short-sightedness/myopia.

Another measure that can also protect the health of your child’s eyes is limiting the time, that they spend on their devices.  15-20 minutes in a sitting is thought to be maximum, without a break.  Their eyes need to relax to looking out into the distance after this time.  The other benefit of limiting screen time is limiting their access to the blue light that they wouldn’t normally be exposed to.

The blue light is emitted from digital devices in much higher concentrations, that in nature lighting situations.  The increased exposure has been linked to disruptions to sleep, by disrupting the pineal gland melatonin production and also the eye diseases of macular degeneration and glaucoma.

It isn’t all doom and gloom, with simple measures that you can take to help prevent problems down the road.  These measures include: Getting your children outside as much as possible (with sunglasses and other eye protection, so we don’t have other problems to deal with later)

  • Limit screen time without a break to 15-20minutes
  • Do not let your children use screens, right before sleeping
  • There are also blue-light blocking coatings available for glasses these days so are probably worth thinking about.  Or night mode on the Apple devices.
  • Look at the distance that your child is holding the screen away from their eyes – please make sure it is a reasonable distance. (Using L arm posture – rather than making a V, which is too close)