Are Mobile and Computer Monitor Screens Harmful to the Eyes?

In the past, leisure time was spent solely on reading, watching television, listening to the radio, exercising, and gatherings with relatives and friends! But in our current era, the use of televisions, various tablets, phones, or similar gadgets has become so popular that they are with us all the time throughout the day and night. But what conditions does this level of mobile and tablet use create for the eyes?

Computer, phone, and tablet screens all cause you to experience eye fatigue. The harm caused by neglecting this issue is very serious and affects your vision. Therefore, to understand the harm of screens to the eyes, we address details in this article.

Learn More: Causes of Distraction in Children and Teenagers

Why Should You Know About the Harm of Screens to the Eyes

The use of mobiles and technological gadgets has significantly increased these days. Many children and teenagers experience screen use at younger ages. The need to protect the eyes from digital devices such as computer and smartphone screens has become more important than ever! Because continuing the trend of excessive use can have irreversible effects on our vision. Therefore, you must have sufficient awareness in this regard.

Eye Problems Caused by Screens

Excessive use of mobiles and similar devices can lead to vision problems and symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). These problems include the following, which we address below.

• Blurred Vision: Prolonged use of mobiles and tablets may cause blurred vision. This usually occurs due to the fatigue of eye muscles, and excessive strain on the muscles leads to headaches.
• Headaches: Constantly looking at a mobile screen may cause severe headaches. Dryness of the eye surface due to not blinking is the main reason for headaches. Therefore, you must consciously blink and use artificial tears.
• Dry and Red Eyes: Looking at a mobile screen may cause dry eyes and irritation, known as dry and red eyes. Sometimes this condition leads to headaches.
• Functional Errors: Individuals may experience functional errors due to weakened eyes under inappropriate screen use conditions.

To prevent these problems, you must prioritize caring for your eyes. Regular breaks at specific intervals, using specialized glasses, and artificial tears are common and accessible solutions.

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Can Screens Weaken Your Vision?

Digital Eye Strain (DES) or Computer Vision Syndrome is one of the common problems that troubles us more than ever today. Realistically, almost everyone in our daily lives is exposed to screen use! Therefore, its unpleasant effects on the eyes are very serious.

You might think that not everyone looks at a computer monitor every day! This is a valid claim; however, most people use smartphones for at least a few minutes or even several hours a day. Experts believe that DES affects about 50 percent of users. Due to not following proper screen use principles, there is certainly harm to the eyes. However, by adhering to important tips for using these technological tools, you can reduce vision damage.

How Screens Affect the Eyes

What exact impact do screens have on your eyes? Are the effects of screens temporary?

In response to these questions, it must be said that there are several signs you should pay attention to. The American Optometric Association lists the most common symptoms of eye strain as headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, neck pain, and irritation in the neck and shoulder areas. Strain on the cervical vertebrae causes head pain and affects vision.

Interestingly, when we look at a high-resolution screen, we unconsciously blink less. Other pain responses may diminish, and the body does not receive any natural signals as before. This causes your awareness of the current condition to decrease, and you may not notice pain and discomfort in various areas. This issue is referred to as “Computer Vision Syndrome.” This, in the long term, determines the impact of screens on the eyes and vision.

How to Protect Your Eyes from Computer Screens?

Eyes are considered the window to our mind and soul. We experience the pleasure of seeing natural scenery, feel love by seeing our loved ones, and gain more knowledge through reading! Thus, eyes have a high priority for humans. Therefore, discovering ways to prevent eye damage caused by screens is of great importance. In this section, we examine ways to prevent eye damage caused by screens.

1. Use the 20/20/20 Rule

The 20/20/20 rule is recognized as an excellent method and one of the ways to prevent eye damage caused by screens. Your eyes are not designed to look directly at something all day.

Therefore, you must change the pattern of using mobiles, tablets, and computers. In this technique, if you look at a screen for 20 minutes, you should look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds (20 feet is about 6 meters).

2. Ensure Sufficient Lighting in the Environment

One of the factors causing eye strain and damage is insufficient lighting. Dark environments can create the worst conditions for working with mobiles and tablets. Screen light in a dark environment destroys the eyes!

Therefore, there must be sufficient lighting in your environment, and you should avoid using fluorescent lights! Try to use low-voltage lamps and ensure that the light in your environment is about half the brightness of a typical office (without a computer).

3. Have Regular Eye Examinations

An eye specialist must periodically examine your eyes to ensure their health. The doctor, by conducting a thorough examination and being aware of your screen usage, can provide advice on maintaining eye health and follow the treatment process for eye problems.

4. Reduce Glare

Balance the screen light! Intense light glare from the screen to the eyes causes fatigue, headaches, and other problems. Therefore, you must use the screen intelligently. An anti-glare glass can meet your needs in this regard. In some cases, people use anti-glare glasses. Anti-reflective contact lenses are also a good option.

5. Use High-Resolution Screens

Most people no longer need to use CRT screens. These types of screens were common in old computers and had a low refresh rate. Therefore, they displayed a flickering effect. Today, screens offer a refresh rate of 75 Hz or higher. The higher this rate, the better the screen quality, and the less damage to the eyes.

6. Reduce Blue Light

One of the worst lights that causes screen-related eye damage is the blue light from mobile and tablet screens. Blue light from screens has a short wavelength, which is why it is recognized as a factor in eye damage. To protect against harmful blue light, use it when sitting in front of a computer or using a mobile or tablet.

7. Maintain Distance

You should be able to see everything from a distance of 40 centimeters. Thus, placing the mobile and tablet at this distance allows you to consider the conditions and act intelligently. Holding the screen too close causes significant eye damage. If you feel that reading text on the phone at this distance is not possible, use magnification.

8. Use Night Mode

Interestingly, modern smartphones of the new generation offer a night mode feature! With this feature, phones and tablets can easily and automatically reduce the strain caused by light and reflection on your eyes in the dark of night. Therefore, we recommend that you definitely enable this feature and keep it automatic and adjustable with a dedicated sensor.

9. Don’t Forget to Blink!

A large part of eye problems and damages caused by them is related to staring and not blinking. It may be interesting to you, but when you use smartphones and tablets, you easily forget to blink.

In fact, your focus and attention are directed at the screen, and without sufficient awareness, you forget to blink. Every time we blink, we keep our eyes moist and refocus them. To prevent eye strain and dryness, you must blink sufficiently. Remember that if you are not doing well in this regard, you must use artificial tears.

10. Use Parental Control Tools

If you are an adult, you certainly have some control and willpower to manage the situation and, given the proven damages from screens, take necessary precautions. However, to control the situation for teenagers and children, you must use parental control tools.

Imino is the best control tool in this regard, allowing you as parents to intelligently assess the situation and, based on house rules, protect your children’s minds and bodies. By enforcing mobile and tablet usage rules along with setting the daily usage time for the child, you can control everything.

When Should You Feel Alarmed?

So far, you have understood that screens are harmful to the eyes. Individuals who have previously experienced vision problems are at greater risk of developing CVS. They may also experience conditions like dry and red eyes more frequently!

It goes without saying that the more time you spend looking at screens, the higher the risk of problems. Over 83 percent of individuals surveyed about screen use reported using mobiles and tablets for more than 2 hours a day! Therefore, it can be said that these days, mobiles and screens are an important part of our lives, and we have a significant dependency on them. Thus, if you experience medical issues, headaches, eye pain, dry eyes, fatigue, or similar conditions, you must consult a specialist doctor.

Screen Damage to the Eyes at Different Ages

Considering the problems that screens cause for the eyes, it is necessary to act cautiously and, by understanding their potential damages at different ages, take control of the situation.

• Screen Damage for Children and Teenagers
  • Looking at screens for extended periods causes eye fatigue and leads to dry eyes or a feeling of swelling in the eyes.
  • Children, due to the eye development process, are at greater risk of damage. They are more sensitive to blue light. Therefore, using specialized glasses is essential.
• Screen Damage for Young Adults and Adults
  • In young adults and adults, individuals may experience difficulty focusing on the screen, and the likelihood of eye fatigue and headaches increases. Blurred vision is more common at this age, and headaches caused by the effort of eye muscles to clarify images are very frequent.
  • The effects of blue light from screens may directly impact the secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone).
• Screen Damage for Older Adults
  • In older ages, individuals may suffer from distorted vision! Numerous problems in reading small text or doing detailed work also originate from screens!

To prevent the negative effects of screens on the eyes at any age, you must use methods to prevent screen-related eye damage. Parental control tools help you manage mobile usage time at young ages and establish a permanent mechanism in children’s minds.

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