“So we need to put the two together –
limit the screen time and hope that this moves
children back to more outdoor play.”
Those are among the recommendations
for the safe use of electronic screens
contained in a joint position statement
by the Canadian Association of
Optometrists and Canadian Ophthal-
mological Society.
CAO president Dr. Michael Dennis
said the organizations decided to create
the position statement, entitled
“Effects of electronic screens on chil-
dren's vision and recommendations
for safe use,” because of their collective
concern that too much screen time
can be harmful to children's eyes.
“We know screens in all forms –
television, computers, smart phones
– are prevalent in our society and chil-
dren spend far more time on screens
now than ever before,” Dennis tells
Optical Prism magazine.
“Myopia rates in children are soaring.
A 2016 study by researchers at the
University of Waterloo found that the
rates of myopia were just six per cent
in children aged six to eight but
increased to nearly 29 per cent in chil-
dren aged 11 to 13. This suggests that
as kids get older, they are spending
more time on screens and less time
outside playing, when we know that
exposure to outdoor light reduces the
onset of myopia. The group reviewed current literature
on ocular and visual symptoms relat-
ed to electronic screen use in children
and then drafted evidence-based
recommendations for safe use.
“So we need to put the two together –
limit the screen time and hope that
this moves children back to more
outdoor play.” Other research, including reports
from South Korea, suggested that longer
use of smartphones was associated
with higher odds of developing multiple
ocular symptoms in childhood, the
daily duration of smartphone use was
a risk factor for dry eye disease in
children aged nine to 11 and screen
use may interfere with children's
sleep due to the emission of blue light.
Dennis said the guidelines were
developed by a working group, which
included representatives of both
professions.
The available research, which the
report says is scant overall, included
a 2014 survey of 200 American chil-
dren between the ages of 10 and 17 that
found that 80 per cent of participants
reported burning, itchy or tired eyes
after using portable electronic devices.
OPTICAL PRISM | July 2018 31