Katharina Buczek
Over the past two years, COVID-19 restrictions and isolation have caused most of the world to turn to their phones for work, interpersonal communication, entertainment, and a sense of comfort.
According to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Health, “screen time” during the height of COVID-19 actually increased a whopping fifty to seventy percent.
This switch not only raises concerns about feelings of depression or anxiety but has also worried researchers about the state of our eyesight.
MyVision, an organization run by expert ophthalmologists and optometrists to help inform the public on eye health, recently conducted a survey to gauge the impact of increased screen time on vision acuity.
Over one thousand people who already wore glasses or contacts participated in the survey and answered numerous questions surrounding their eye health and screen time habits.
“It turns out that many people are having vision problems… but are putting off going to the doctor,” the report found.
In fact, forty percent of people believe that their eyesight has worsened since the pandemic’s start in March of 2020.
About a third of the survey participants find “reading close up” more difficult now, while about seventy percent of participants have encountered more difficulty seeing at a distance.
Moreover, thirty percent of people have sought out stronger eyewear prescriptions over the last two years.
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