The  World of Digital Eye Strain  - The Hard Truth!

 

While growing up in a digital world, we often forget the hazards that it brings, especially to our young generation and the kids themselves. If we delve deeper, we would realize that the kid's screen time has grown at an alarming rate ever since the COVID crisis had prevailed. Parents, on the other hand, also complain about their children’s lack of interest in physical activities and socializing because of their indulging in digital screen entertainment.

 

 

The Dynamics of The Digital World For Today’s  Children: 

While kids are truly helpless by how their schools, homes, and daycares have been embedded with projectors, laptops, tablets, and even gaming consoles, it's up to the parents to walk the talk and understand the harrows of getting their kids caught up in the condition called: digital eye strain. Empirical research suggests that those kids who follow a combination of controlled digital usage and off-screen time in their routine are likely to find the right balance of cognitive activity, thereby improving their mental wellbeing.

 

Does Eye Strain From Looking At Screen Result In Myopia For Kids?

Excessive screen time can cause myopia, which is one of the most common eye conditions to have existed among toddlers, kids, and teenagers. It means that a kid can't see nearby objects clearly, not even when they're reading anything from an uplcose radius. 

 

BROWSE KID'S GLASSES HERE!

 

This condition is better known as nearsightedness, and it puts a strain on your kid's overall health, creates confusion at school, and even gives them moments of social embarrassment as they underperform in their games and academics. 

 

In fact, credible research states that kids who embrace digital exposure before the age of 3 are likely to develop myopia, and it grows with time, which reduces the quality of their vision. In this perspective, it has been proven that whether you're picking up a digital device for a learning purpose or entertainment, its visual setbacks will reflect  in your kid's eye health, and they will eventually suffer from weak vision and other conditions.

 

How Much Screen-Time Is Consumed By Kid's Today? - Research & Recommendation:

 

Research Stats:

 

- A recent study from the Journal of Paediatrics suggests that 47% of the kids have started spending 2 hours more than previous statistics as a part of their digital education.

 

- In next 5 years, this percentile will cling to somewhere around 98%, let alone in the US.

 

- Children aged 6 to 10 have started consuming their daily content more right after the COVID crisis. This has also affected their dietary habits, visual development, and mental health.

 

- The early 2022's report suggests that children aged 8 to 12 years are likely to spend 6 hours per day on multiple screen devices, which was previously 4 hours per day. This also includes the number of children with eye strain from gaming and looking at the digital screens for learning purposes.

 

 

 

Recommendations:

 

- As exposure to digital screen devices causes immobile behavior in kids, it's important to understand that saving their vision from digital eyestrain starts with making them habitual of physical activity on a daily basis. At the same time, keeping digital devices or multimedia gadgets out of their reach for entertainment purposes can also improve their well-being.

 

- Initiate a 60-minute physical activity for your kid, either slow-paced or vigorous. Do not allow your children to binge-watch their favorite cartoons and TV series on weekdays.

 

-Encourage homeschooling options for your kids or schools that monitor the digital usage of their students.

 

- Teach your kid's the 20/20 rule, where they take frequent breaks of 20 seconds after using digital devices for 20 minutes. This helps the retinal muscle relax and follow a normal working pattern.

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT:

 

It is clear that kids who have become habitual of consuming digital content or screen time in excess have higher chances of showing behavioral changes, ADHD, and developing obesity while growing up.

 

The whole notion of distracting your children with quality screen time is also solely responsible for keeping them at bay when it comes to physical activities: spending time under the sun, visiting a playground, or participating in healthy outdoor activities.

 

It's time for parents to take proactive measures and drive their children into purposeful screen time habits that do not burden their eyes or give them any health negligence. Having a controlled screen time is fruitful for your kid's eye health, as they can embark on their clear intrinsic vision without any visual disturbances for a longer span of life.