Screen Time and Eye Health for Students: What Can Be Done Differently?

Modern education looks vastly different for young students today. With the advent of educational technology, students can experience more interactive and immersive lessons thanks to the proper use of screen time. When focused on education purposes, digital tools can improve visual intelligence, stimulate hand-eye coordination, and strengthen tech knowledge while learning other skills in a controlled environment.

Of course, too much of anything can be a bad thing. A study on screen exposure revealed that children and adolescents are more likely to develop myopia, especially when directly interacting with computers often. This is why it is so important to know the potential repercussions of screen time and how best to navigate it so students reap the benefits.

How screen time is harming student eye health

More than 600,000 children have vision difficulties in the United States. Screen exposure has made eye problems an earlier concern, with 10% of preschoolers already having issues and 30% of adolescents having myopia. Furthermore, the latest CDC statistics even reveal that the number of children under 18 getting diagnosed with vision conditions has increased in the last decade.

The reality is that young kids are exposed to too much screen time, even during their recreational hours, making it harder on their eyes during delicate developmental stages. Blue light exposure is bad enough, but there is also the issue of glare, bad screen practices, and spending too much time in front of the screen. Thankfully, all hope is not lost, and there are ways to do things differently and mitigate the potential negative effects of screen time on students.

How to promote better eye care for kids in the digital age

Promote ocular hygiene

Eye care goes a long way in preventing damage and unnecessary strain. A significant part of this is good ocular hygiene, which ties into other cleanliness practices. A recent study in the National Library of Medicine found students touching their faces 23 times per hour, with 27% involving the eyes. From elementary to high school, students must be reminded to avoid their eyes and keep their hands clean when handling shared digital devices. This trickles over to students who already use corrective vision. Older students who wear contact lenses should clean their lenses regularly and replace their contacts upon expiration. They can even be routed to accessible digital ways of getting new lenses properly, especially when dealing with Dailies like the Acuvue Oasys for astigmatism or biweekly like Avira Vitality. The CDC finds that 40% to 90% of contact users don’t follow their lens care instructions, so teachers and parents need to advocate for them to stay on top of things. It’s also critical to teach students, particularly the younger ones, how to properly clean and use their eyeglasses.

Encourage break time

The American Optometric Association encourages the 20-20-20 rule to prevent digital eye strain. Since screen exposure is inevitable, especially considering how many students have their own mobile devices, it’s good to give them these tools to give their eyes a break. The rule indicates that you take a 20-second break for every 20 minutes of screen time. During this break, you must look at an object at least 20 feet away. The simple rule shouldn’t be hard to teach students, and it’s a genuinely effective method of minimizing strain. When using digital devices as a class, you can even set a timer and have everyone in the class practice the 20-20-20 rule together.

Teach proper screen positioning

Common ed-tech tools require students to be in contact with a monitor. Make sure that the screen is at least 20 inches away from the students’ eyes. For lessons that involve tablets or other handheld devices, teach students to keep at least an arm’s length distance when using larger screens. It’s also a good idea to impose a viewing angle that directs their eyes downward when looking at the middle of the screen.

Know the signs of strain

Many vision problems manifest in unobvious ways, so watch for them. School-aged children can display subtler symptoms like a short attention span, avoidance of reading and other vision or focus-related activities, difficulty keeping track of their place when reading, and turning their heads to the side when looking at something. While other factors may cause these, they can also be manifestations of eye problems.

Post written in collaboration with Maisy Byrne.

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