More young people suffer from eye problems due to longer screen time

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/03
By: Chi Jo-yao

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) More young people in Taiwan have eye problems because of their increasing use of electronic devices such as smartphones, with the rate of teenagers suffering from dry eyes almost quadrupling in 2019, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan (OST).

The survey, covering 1,088 people of different ages, shows that Taiwanese people stare at electronic screens for 10.7 hours on average per day, compared with 9.9 hours in 2018.

This means that people spend 66 percent of their waking hours squinting at screens, according to the survey results.

Although television screen time has decreased from 2.4 hours to 2.2 hours, the use of computers and smartphones has increased from 4.2 hours to 4.9 hours and from 3.3 hours to 3.6 hours, respectively, the survey shows.    [FULL  STORY]