Digital Eye Strain: Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention

In an age of digital overload, you demand a lot from your amazing eyes. Let’s take a good look at how prolonged screen time is affecting your eyes, and how you can protect your vision.

You can’t remove yourself from the digital world – it’s a large and pervasive part of daily life. Work, education, and leisure time all involve screen time but you do need to be aware of just how much digital time you log and its implications to your physical and mental health.

Screen Time is Steadily Increasing

Global daily average screen time is 6 hours and 40 minutes, but did you know that Americans log in slightly more time – about 7 hours and 4 minutes? Device usage breaks down into about 3 hours of looking at computer screens and approximately 4 hours on mobile devices per day.

Screen time is increasing across all age groups and currently accounts for more than 40% of our waking hours!

And screen use increased significantly during the pandemic but hasn’t decreased to pre-pandemic levels. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than half of teens aged 12 to 17 spend at least four hours per day in front of a screens, likely including time on social media. Teens, in particular, report experiencing anxiety, depression, and general mental health concerns associated with high screen usage.

Research reports that young children who exceed two hours of screen time daily are more likely to develop negative effects like risks associated with autism spectrum disorder, cognitive development, language delays, and lower academic performance. Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z all report spending 8-9 hours of screen time per day. According to the Washington Post, the group logging the least amount of screen time is the Baby Boomers, who spend “only” about 3 hours and 31 minutes on digital engagement, which reflects a tendency of decreased digital use with age.

How Screen Use Impacts Your Vision

What do rising screen use statistics mean when it comes to your vision?

There is a likelihood of experiencing vision issues associated with increased screen time. Not only does excessive screen time affect mental and general health, specifically, it affects your eyes.

Computer Vision Syndrome, also known as Digital Eye Strain, is a group of vision problems with symptoms that include:

• Tired, red, dry, teary or itchy eyes
• Blurred vision
• Headaches
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Double vision
• Difficulty focusing

The Causes of Digital Eye Strain

The causes of digital eye strain include:

• Screen glare
• Uncorrected vision problems
• Prolonged viewing of the screen
• Viewing too close, too far away, or at the wrong angle
• Bad posture when viewing screens
• Poor lighting
• Reduced eye blinking
• Not enough breaks from the screen

How to Reduce Your Risk for Digital Eye Strain

So, what can you do for yourself and your family to reduce the risks of digital eye strain?

• Rest your eyes for at least 15 minutes for every two hours of device use.
• Every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet away — for at least 20 seconds.
• Reduce glare by adjusting light sources and consider using a glare filter.
• Don’t slump over the computer screen — place the screen below eye level and an arm’s length away.
• Enlarge your text size.
• See your optometrist on a regular basis – the major cause of eye strain is uncorrected vision problems – even minor ones can cause eye strain.
• Consider a pair of “computer glasses” – task-specific spectacles made to enhance your focus on the computer screen and ease your workday vision.

Tips to Reduce Your Screen Usage

Another great way to reduce your risk for Digital Eye Strain is to reduce your screen time in general by:

• Scheduling screen time: To balance time between the screen and family, schedule specific times for screen use.
• Screen-free meals: Turn off your phones during meals! This can give your family time to have conversations, discuss family activities, and interact IRL (in real life).
• Encourage outdoor activities: Playing outside and participating in sports can reduce reliance on devices.
• Promote hobbies: Reading, arts and crafts, and volunteering all offer opportunities to step away from the digital world.

Making these changes can help most people eliminate or lessen digital eye strain.

During your annual eye exam, your optometrist will examine your eyes for vision changes and for other hidden health problems that could be causing eye strain. That’s why it’s so important to schedule and keep your annual comprehensive exams!

And don’t wait for your yearly exam if you’re having vision issues between yearly appointments. Call our office so we can help you work through any issues and enjoy the healthiest eyes that you can have.