A survey by the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan said that most Taiwanese spend more than 10 hours a day looking at digital screens and increasing numbers of young people are being diagnosed with dry eye syndrome or cataracts.
Ahead of World Sight Day on Thursday next week, the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan and an eye care pharmaceutical firm on Wednesday published their annual survey results.
The survey showed that Taiwanese spend an average of 10.7 hours staring at a television, computer or smartphone screen per day. It was the first time that daily screen time had averaged more than 10 hours.
Society deputy secretary-general Sun Chi-chin (孫啟欽) said the average computer screen time increased from 4.2 hours last year to 4.9 hours, smartphone screen time from 3.3 to 3.6 hours, but average television screen time decreased from 2.4 to 2.2 hours.
He said 85 percent of respondents watch online videos and 71 percent watch them mainly on their smartphones, while 65 percent said most of their screen time was used watching videos.
Blink rates decrease when people are focusing on a screen, causing eye irritation, dryness, fatigue or blurred vision, Sun said, adding that if individuals are gazing at a screen for an extended period of time without adequate lighting, the risks of retinal damage or cataracts increase.
While dry eye syndrome was most commonly diagnosed in people in their 50s, the survey showed that the percentage of respondents aged 10 to 19 years diagnosed with dry eye syndrome grew from 3.6 percent last year to 12.1 percent.
Sun said National Health Insurance data also showed that the number of people aged 10 to 29 years diagnosed with cataracts increased from 3,158 in 2016 to 3,329 people in 2017.
He said a higher growth rate of dry eye syndrome and cataracts was also observed in people between the ages 60 and 69, and the average time they spent watching videos grew in the past year.
Moreover, the survey showed that up to 80 percent of respondents said they have felt eye discomfort in the past month, 43 percent suffered three or more symptoms, but only 15 percent consulted a doctor, Sun said.
The society urges people to see a doctor as soon as possible when eye discomfort occurs, and also to protect the eyes by resting 10 minutes for every 30 minutes of screen time, participate in outdoor activities at least two times per week and get an eye exam at least once a year.
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