Can you imagine a world without technology? People today cannot live without smartphones and other gadgets. The digital age has altered all aspects of our lives, including how we interact with our environment.
The evolution of the digital world has had a severe impact on youngsters and the new generation. Amidst the pandemic, online learning and the work-from-home culture have become the new normal, leading to excessive screen time. The digital medium was the only medium that could maintain socio-emotional connections at the time. However, with the development of digital technology, needless screen time has become a severe problem. As a result, many people today have dry, strained, and tired eyes due to the constant stimulation of digital devices.
The endless scrolling, clicking, reading, and watching has taken a toll on our eyes and has radically impacted our eyes and vision. Modern devices' bright screens and backlights have caused eye strain, dryness, and tired eyes. Ajay Mishra: Certified Optometrist and VP of sales GKB Opticals, shares how the COVID-19 pandemic changed our lifestyle, including increased digital screen time and limited outdoor activities.
Today youngsters spend much more time indoors watching devices than going outdoors. But unfortunately, there are ample signs of the harmful physical health consequences of technology on children's comprehension problems such as vision, obesity, insomnia, visual impairments, carpal tunnel syndrome and neck pain.
Binge-watching sounds cool and trendy but can lead to severe brain damage, leading to poor mental health, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, etc. It is a trend that has been around for a while, but it has escalated in recent years. In particular, the augmented amount of screen time can also cause myopia, which can cause headaches and lead to less productivity. For some, however, it can be a severe addiction, causing them to spend hours a day watching shows. It's not just on television; today's technology allows people to consume content on the tiniest screens.
Considering the situation, we must cultivate the habit of getting regular eye checkups done once every six months. Of course, eye and vision examination frequency depend on the child's age and eye health conditions. Depending on the severity, it can be every three months, every six months, or standard yearly eye checkups.
Once your optometrist rules out any abnormality, you may go ahead and enjoy binge-watching. However, too much exposure to digital devices leads to blue light exposure that eventually makes us blink less, leading to dry eyes and other eye problems, including disturbance of circadian rhythm. Therefore, optometrists suggest that we should not exceed binge-watching for more than 2 hours. While binge-watching or being exposed to digital devices, always follow the 20:20:20 rule. One can have a routine of looking away from the screen every 20 minutes and focusing on an object or greenery at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Digital devices have become so embedded in our daily lives that we can't imagine a world without them, but the consequences of our addiction are beginning to show with eye problems. Like how we do our regular health checkups for various issues, regular eye health checkups should be done. Also, strive towards limiting your time online, venture outside more often by ensuring that youngsters spend at least 1-2 hours in outdoor activities, and take the time to appreciate the more minor things in life. This will improve our physical health, strengthen our relationships with the people around us, and build empathy for a better world.
