Smartphone screens could lead to blindness: study
New research suggests that computer and smartphone screens are making us short-sighted, and can even lead to blindness.
A report published in the Opthalmology journal, predicts that half of the world’s population could be short-sighted by 2050 – up from 34% currently, according to the Telegraph.
The study, carried out by Brien Holden Vision Institute, a non-profit global research and public health organisation, used data from 145 studies covering 2.1 million participants.
It found that in 2010, 28.3% of the global populous – or 2 billion people – suffered from short-sightedness, otherwise known as myopia.
The report said that as many as one billion people could be at significantly increased risk of blindness by 2050.
It said that the increase in myopia is attributed to, “environmental factors (nurture), principally lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near work activities, among other factors.”
The study claimed that people living in high income countries are more likely to be short sighted – because they spend more time looking at screens.
The Telegraph however, also pointed to researchers conducted at Ohio State University which debunked the above findings. The study, conducted over two decades found “no association” between screen time and declining eyesight in 4,500 children.
More on technology
How to embrace technology without dooming humanity to destruction
Loading ...