Digital technology is a crucial part of our personal and professional lives, and most of us spend a significant amount of time looking at screens every day. We use computers at work, watch TV at home, scroll through social media platforms on our phones, read the news on our tablets, and more. Our children are also highly dependent on screens for their entertainment and studies. In short, our generation is highly exposed to digital screens and the high-energy blue light they emit.
For many, some amount of screentime is an inescapable part of daily life. However, if you don't take measures to protect your eyes, this screen time can have a detrimental impact on your eye health. Keep reading to see how the digital age is impacting your vision and what you can do about it.
How Can Technology Affect Your Eyes?
It is amazing how innovative technology and technology-focused careers have become today. There is no doubt we are living in the digital era, and although the digital age has many benefits, it also has its downfalls. Constant exposure to screens can seriously damage your eyes and overall vision. Some of the vision issues that can be caused by overexposure to digital screens include:
- Computer Vision Syndrome: CVS, or Computer vision syndrome, describes symptoms linked with staring at a screen for several hours a day. Initially, this condition was limited to people who did most of their work on the computer. However, this problem has now extended to the general population as we all use digital screens throughout our days. If you have computer vision syndrome, you will notice symptoms including eye strain, dry eyes, watery eyes, sensitivity to light, and headaches.
- Dry Eye: Another problem caused by the excessive use of digital devices is dry eye. Although this condition is treatable, it can be uncomfortable. Technology causes dry eye because you look at digital screens close to your face, causing the eyes to blink less often. As a result, your tears evaporate quickly and dry out the eye surface. If the dry eye condition progresses, your eyes will become red, inflamed, and sensitive to light. Using eye drops and taking breaks from screentime can help.
- Eye Strain and Headaches: Spending too much time on digital devices can cause persistent tension headaches. Staring at the screen for an extended period without breaks increases your risk of eye strain. Your eyes work hard to read small, dark texts against a white background. This can cause stress throughout your face and neck muscles, leading to tension headaches.
Screen Time Moderation Matters
Spending too much time looking at digital screens can cause vision problems. Digital eyestrain leads to dry eyes and excessively strains the muscles that enable your eyes to focus. Excess eye strain causes faster evaporation and disruption of the film of tears protecting the eye surface. It can also trigger uncomfortable sensations like stinging and burning. The following guidelines can help you avoid eyestrain and maintain comfortable vision when using digital devices.
- Using lubricant drops or artificial tears to relieve symptoms of dryness
- Reducing overhead lighting to diminish screen glare
- Taking frequent breaks from digital screens
- Increasing text sizes on devices to ensure content is seen more easily
- Sitting with your eyes an arm's length away from the screen
Take Measures to Protect Your Eyes
Although more and more jobs and daily activities revolve around computers or smartphones, it's important to take the health of your eyes into account. The more time you spend on digital screens, the more you strain your eyes. Computers and smartphones are not going anywhere. Therefore, it is up to you to take good care of your eyes so that they can serve you for years to come. If you experience any problems or changes with your vision, don't panic; Pomerance Eye Center has seasoned ophthalmologists who can help you. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to help detect any possible eye problems before they progress.