The days of spending entire afternoons riding bikes and playing soccer in the neighborhood aren't so long ago. It was just the other day, really. The thing is, everything is moving faster and faster. Those simple childhood games, so dependent on groups or gangs, have undergone an inexplicable evolution into a kind of individual isolation that's hard to understand. It's rare to find a child, regardless of their circumstances, who doesn't spend part of their afternoons with a video game console or some other digital device in their hands. But it doesn't stop there. The technological revolution, with all its positive and negative aspects, has reached all ages. While today's children spend their "leisure time" at home competing with a device , those of us who are a bit older spend our afternoons online or processing texts, and even those who once played their beloved toy cars now spend their afternoons selecting television channels via satellite.
But the technological revolution and digital entertainment come at a price. And I'm not referring to the cost in terms of diminished imagination, communication, cultural development, and social relationships, but rather to the impact on health, and in this case, eye health. Computer vision syndrome, or more accurately, visual display eye syndrome, is a clear example of this.
Since IBM began popularizing the use of cathode ray tubes in workplaces and homes in 1983, a variety of symptoms have been described that all seem to share a common denominator: visual strain. These symptoms include transient blurred vision, frontal headaches, eye fatigue, photophobia, transient double vision, difficulty concentrating, red eyes, and dry eyes, among others. The cause of these symptoms is due to multiple factors, including incorrect prescription, reduced blinking, prolonged visual work, poor ambient lighting, varying distances between work elements, glare, and poor posture. These and other causes trigger visual stress that affects between 50 and 90% of computer users, especially those who use a computer for more than six hours a day.
The recommendations for those who begin to experience the aforementioned symptoms include an eye exam and prescription check, as well as advice regarding visual work duration and conditions. The effectiveness of screen protectors is more debatable; however, it is always recommended to purchase only those that are properly certified.
In short, if constantly using the internet or word processor is causing you vision problems, see your ophthalmologist to have your prescription checked. And if you continue to experience symptoms, perhaps it would be a good idea to separate your son or nephew from his video game console and teach him how to make potato glue to attach the paper to the strings and reeds of his first kite…
Dr. Javier Rodríguez Martín
Medical Director – NIVARIA CLINIC
Specialist in Ophthalmology - University Hospital of the Canary Islands.