Summary
Research suggests that increased screen time raises the risk of myopia in children.
A Korean meta-analysis of 45 studies involving 335,524 participants found that each hour of daily screen exposure raises the odds of developing myopia by 21%, with a 97% increase after four hours.
Experts warn that limited screen use and more time outdoors are essential, as the “safety threshold” appears to be below one hour per day.
However, study limitations prevent proving causality, though reduced outdoor exposure is likely a key contributing factor.
This. The hypothesis before this study was that disproportionate time spent focusing exclusively on close things (reading, drawing, crafting), without corresponding shifts to distant objects, led to nearsightedness. Screen time is just another close-focus activity, one that has skyrocketed in practice since the days of “don’t sit too close to the TV, you’ll [insert bogus malady here].”
It’s never been about “closeness” it’s sun exposure https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-85825-y
More time with screens means less time outside, shocker!
Thanks for that! I knew there was something I was forgetting about but couldn’t pin down what it was without rabbit-holing myself. Could have sworn either that or another study mentioned lack of near-far focus changes as another contributor, but I could be mistaken.