Eyecare News
3 Rules to Help Avoid Vision Problems Caused by Texting Posted 6/29/2010 Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg recently stated that if you want to know what you'll be doing in the future just look at what teenagers are doing today. She says that today teenagers are rarely e-mailing because they mainly communicate with friends by texting. Most texting is on smart phones or personal devices and if you've observed a teenager texting they generally hold this device about 10 -12 inches from their face and for long periods of time. In our office we are seeing a significant increase in teenagers reporting visual discomfort and increasingly poor focusing skills and increasing nearsightedness. When we ask how much they text daily it could be from an hour to several hours. Our visual systems are not designed for this prolonged and intense close work and this is likely why recent studies show over a 50% increase in development of nearsightedness in just the last few years. While we are not going to stop teenagers or others from texting there are some simple but powerful rules to follow with texting to reduce the visual problems that can occur.
1. Take short visual breaks from texting, for instance after every other text look at a visual object at least 20 feet away, make it clear and then complete a couple more texts.
2. If you've been texting and you look up and you can feel your eyes strain to refocus this is a strong signal you've been over doing it, take a long break from texting.
3. Don't text while driving or riding bikes.
Same rules apply for handheld video games and those cool apps. Have you noticed texting affecting your vision? Tell us on our Facebook page - we'd love to hear from you!
Return to the Front News Page
Previous News Stories:Follow us on Facebook and Twitter - 4/20/2010 The key to 3-D vision - From the Los Angeles Times - 7/5/2009 Integrated Eyecare sponsors the Bend Elk's Umpires - 6/26/2009 "Integrated Eyecare an Out of Sight Eyecare Experience" - 6/4/2009 State should do more to screen students for vision problems - 2/25/2009 Send those kids outside! - 1/30/2009 Glaucoma on the Rise in USA - 1/30/2009 Website Recognition - 3/12/2008 Darn Those Screens - PDAs, BlackBerrys-the Little Devices that Rule our Lives also Play Havoc with our Vision. - 2/27/2007 See All That You Can See: Fall is Time to Monitor Children's Vision - 6/19/2006 Good Bye Dry Eyes: Winter Symptoms Can and Should Be Treated - 6/19/2006 Is There a Link Between Car Color and Accidents? - 6/7/2006 Eye exams can catch problems in kids early - 8/9/2004 Does Cigarette Smoking Cause Macular Degeneration? - 3/16/2004 Are Your Soft Contact Lenses Comfortable? - 1/30/2004 New Chesterfield Sunclips - 12/19/2003 Lens replacement material may improve cataract treatment, eliminate bifocals - 11/14/2003 Tight Ties Make IOP Rise - 9/5/2003 Miss TeenŽ USA hopeful shines light on vision problems affecting millions of children - 8/1/2003 AR Coating from Hoya sets new standard in scratch resistance - 3/15/2003 CIBA Vision's Mini Glaucoma Shunt - 2/1/2003 What's your number? Antioxidant measurement technology records nutrition's vitals - 1/23/2003 Americans lack knowledge of ocular hypertension, survey finds - 12/13/2002 Integrated Eyecare Visual Performance and Visual Therapy - 11/12/2002 Cars are higher priority than eyes reveals healthy eyes survey by TLC - 10/1/2002 International survey shows lack of awareness of diabetes severity - 9/1/2002 |
