Technology is developing at such a rapid rate! When it comes to screen-based learning, balance is the key to healthy visual, emotional, physical and cognitive development.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has acknowledged both the risks and benefits of media use1,2 (see below for recommendations).
Wondering if your child is suffering side-effects of excessive screen use?
This brief article, published in Natural Awakenings, August 2019, identifies the key signs and symptoms of visual stress associated with screen time. Note that while some of these symptoms are behavioral, some are more insidious, with neurological impacts:
The sympathetic nervous system gets triggered with screen use, absorbing projected light. Signs of imbalance include enlarged pupils, intense startle response when engrossed in the activity, and side-effects such as reduced spatial awareness and orientation.
The adverse effect is greater on phones and tablets than on monitors. Firstly, they are held closer to the eyes, which incites a significant stress on the visual system. They often become immersive experiences, shrinking the viewer’s field of awareness to the screen surface but not beyond.
Additionally, tactile interaction with the surface provides a rapid dopamine release at the instant that the fingertip contact induces a change on the screen. Indeed, studies are finding addictive impacts with prolonged screen engagement. (See disturbing video of baby having a tantrum when a glowing phone is removed from her hands.)
Fortunately, the AAP has outlined age-based recommendations for screen use1,2:
- For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
- For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
- For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.
- Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms.
- Have ongoing communication about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.
Parents can consider this as a guideline, but should still be on the lookout for the visible signs and symptoms of excessive media use, in the article below.
Wondering whether your child could benefit from stress-relieving lenses?
Call us at 914-874-1177 to arrange a comprehensive vision evaluation!
- Media and Young Minds. Council on Communications and Media. Pediatrics Nov 2016, 138(5) e20162591; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2591.
- Media and Young Minds. Council on Communications and Media. Pediatrics Nov 2016, 138 (5) e20162592; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2592
Original Natural Awakenings article below:
Screen Time Can Affect Children’s Vision and Learning: “Screen-related near-point work can trigger problems with eye teaming, focusing control, eye-tracking skills and a tendency towards tunnel vision.”
August is Children’s Vision and Learning Month, for good reason: A new school year is just around the corner.
“With today’s screen-heavy load, effective vision support is more critical than ever,” says Dr. Samantha Slotnick, a Scarsdale behavioral optometrist. “Screen-related near-point work can trigger problems with eye teaming, focusing control, eye-tracking skills and a tendency towards tunnel vision.”
She says parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for the following signs and symptoms of vision problems associated with screen use:
- excessive blinking
- headaches, eyestrain and/or neck strain
- large (dilated) pupils
- clumsiness (poor spatial awareness)
- hunched posture (head thrust forward, toward the screen)
- tendency to lose place when reading
- reduced comprehension
- distractibility / lack of sustained concentration
- momentary blurry vision at distance
- avoidance behaviors
While each of these symptoms contributes to inefficient or ineffective learning sessions at home and in the classroom, Slotnick says, the underlying learning-related vision problems are treatable. She recommends that parents of school-age children add a comprehensive, near-point-oriented vision evaluation to their back-to-school checklist.
“While we can’t completely eliminate screen interactions in our modern era, glasses can be optimized for screens and other near-point use,” she says. “Learning-oriented lenses reduce the adverse impacts of prolonged, intense visual demands, bolstering a child’s physical comfort and ability to sustain attention when concentrating on screens, and in turn, improving his or her reading comprehension.”
Dr. Samantha Slotnick has offices at 495 Central Park Ave, Ste. 301, Scarsdale, NY. For more information or to attend a free workshop, call 914.874.1177 or visit DrSlotnick.com.
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