As the new year begins, many people make resolutions to improve their overall health and wellbeing. A popular goal for the modern era — when daily use of computers, tablets and phone is common — is limiting personal screen time. Understanding how to monitor the time you spend looking at a screen and knowing the impacts it can have on your body make all the difference.
According to a study published in 2024 by the National Center for Health Statistics, as technology becomes more intertwined into American teenagers’ lives, the time they spend in front of their screen continues to rise — with about half of teenagers surveyed having four or more hours of daily screen time.
Derek T. Sprunger, MD, professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, says that the most common problems related to screen time use include, eye fatigue, headaches, dry eyes and blurred vision.
“Children should be having more unstructured play time and spending more time outdoors,” Sprunger said. “These activities are associated with less eye strain and reduced likelihood of development and/or progression of nearsightedness, also known as myopia.”
Question: At what age should parents begin monitoring their child’s screen use? What does healthy screen time look like from an eye-health perspective?
Derek T. Sprunger: There are no definitive rules on how much screen use is okay for children. However the general recommendations are:
- If the child is less than 2 years old, no screen time
- If the child is between 2-5 years old, 1-2 hours per day (more unstructured play is recommended, i.e. exploring nature, riding bikes, LEGOs, etc.).
- If the child is over 5 years, parent guided, with frequent breaks.
Q: How much continuous screen time is too much? What habits do you recommend to reduce digital eye strain?
Sprunger: Before 5 years of age, the screen time should be limited to none. After age 5, there is no specific time limitation, but in general, the less the better. There are many demands to use screens for education, work and other life-critical activities; this cannot be avoided. Therefore, recreational use of screen activities should not be excessive.
If digital eye strain occurs, utilization of the 20-20-20 Rule should be utilized. The rule states that when doing any near vision activity for an extended period, one should stop every 20 minutes and gaze at an object 20 feet away (clock across the room, out the window at a tree, etc.) for 20 seconds.
Q: For people who spend long hours on screens, is specialized eyewear recommended? Do blue light glasses or other types of eyewear meaningfully protect the eyes for people who work on screens all day?
Sprunger: For those unable to limit screen time it is important to periodically get an eye exam (including refraction) by an eye care professional. This will assure that a person is in the appropriate optical correction (glasses or contacts) if needed. Early research on the use of blue-blocking lenses in glasses or filtering products (for example, computer screen overlays) has been underwhelming. There is no evidence that it is harmful, but very little that it is beneficial, the research is ongoing.
Q: What are the most common eye-related issues you see linked to prolonged screen use in both children and adults?
Sprunger: In adults, dry eye, eye “fatigue,” headache and blurred vision are the most common eye-related issues seen with prolonged screen use. All of those issues, plus progression of myopia can be encountered in children.
