Computer vision syndrome and other effects of prolonged screen time on eye health of children and its solutions.

1. THE DIGITAL DILEMMA-
AN EYE ON CHILDREN

2. EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

3.  How many hours in a day do we use smart phones
or computer screens ?
 For what purposes do we use screens ?
 How many devices do we use for our daily activities?

4.  Approx 90% Americans use 2-3 hours of digital device daily
 Approx 70% use it before bedtime
 65% children or teens use digital device for two or more hours in a day
 Purpose
 Before opening our eyes- 80% use them as alarm clock , Check the news and weather
 Women use cell phones more than men for recipe and directions ( or vice versa)
75% experience some form of digital eye strain from usage of two or more digital device
90% of patients do NOT talk with their eye care provider about digital device usage

5. WHERE ARE WE HEADING TO ???

6. THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY UNDER THE AGE OF 12 YEARS IS DETRIMENTAL
TO CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING (ROWAN 2010)
 In our efforts to provide our child the best of everything
we also expose them to best available gadgets.
 Smart phones and similar gadgets may be a social and
professional life saver to us but…
does your child benefit from it more than getting adversely
affected

7. LACK OF SOCIALIZING
 You give your smart phone to your toddler so
you get some time off for your chores
 You believe She/He is enjoying and learning
vibrant colors/ task online
 It is actually ruining your child’s social skills
 They think that these gadgets are their mates
and they become poor at interacting with real
people

9. American Academy of Pediatrics and
the Canadian Society of Pediatrics
state
• infants age 0-2 should have no
technology
per day,
• age 3-5 should have one hour of
technology per day
• age 6-18 should
have two hours of technology per day.

10. However,
60% of parents do not supervise their
child's technology use.

11. RESEARCH
Too much screen time is associated with many problems, including:
 Obesity
 Lack of sleep
 School/social problems
 Aggression
 Other behavioral problems
 Digestion problems
 Lack of environmental awareness
 Effect on the Eye Sight

12. DIGITAL EYE STRAIN/ COMPUTER VISION SYNDROME
 Eye strain
 Burning eyes
 Dryness, irritation or redness of eyes
 Headache during or after working on computer
 Neck, shoulder, back pain
 Overall body fatigue

13. HOW DOES GADGETS EFFECT EYES ??
 The blue light emitted from LED screens ( Mobile phones,
tabs, computer screens or artificial lights like fluorescent
bulbs or LED lights causes damage to photoreceptor cells
of retina, increases near sightedness (Myopia) or vision
loss in adults

14. Parenting Tips To Set Limits on
Electronics & Screen Time for Kids

15. Provide your children with the opportunity to learn about PHYSICAL environment
before the Virtual environment

16. Educate Yourself on Electronics

17. RESEARCH
 SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM AND SNAPCHAT ETC ARE INTENDED FOR AGES
15 YEARS OR OLDER
 WHEN KIDS SEE VIOLENCE IN VIDEO GAMES AND MOVIES
 BECOME NUMB TO VIOLENCE
 HAVE MORE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOURS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
 WATCH TV AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES WITH KIDS AND TALK ABOUT WHAT IS
HAPPENING

18. MODEL HEALTHY ELECTRONIC USE
 MODERATION: STARING AT A SCREEN FOR LONG HOURS DECREASES BLINKING, CAN
LEAD TO DRY EYES
 FOLLOW 20-20-20 RULE: EVERY 20 MINUTES , TAKE 20 SECONDS BREAK AND LOOK AT
SOMETHING 20 FEET AWAY
 DO NOT TRUN ALL OVERHEAD LIGHTS ON OR OFF
 POSITION: CHILDREN MAY BE USING ADULT WORKSTATION: ADJUST THE TABLE FOR
CHILD’S HEIGHT, SLIGHTLY DOWNWARD AT 15-DEGREE ANGLE.

19. Create Bedroom of Dining
“No Technology Zones”

20.  Do not
set
negative
examples

21. Make bedroom or dining table
“No technology Zones”
Establish Unplugged Time Frames

22. Encourage Other Activities

23. Parents over-estimate the amount of
learning their child receives from media
devices.

24. The challenge for parents
is to understand the
benefits and pitfalls
of children’s technology
use and to help their
children create balance
in their lives. (Institute of HeartMath)

25. ONLINE CLASSES ?? HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
While symptoms aren’t permanent, they can be distracting and painful and rarely have
long term effect
 Regular comprehensive eye check up
 Wearing computer eyewear- Talk to your eye care provider about digital habits for determine right
eye wear.
 Anti-reflective coating (ARC) or blue cut glasses- Reduces reflection and glare from indoor and
outdoor lighting
 Amber/yellow filters – filter out harmful blue and violet light emitted by digital devices
 Accurate power glasses
 Use of medication for dry eyes or allergies only when prescribed by eye doctor