Screen Illusions

By: Lauren Lamme

Have you ever heard a parent say, “Turn your screen off because it is bad for your eyes,” and most of the time you don’t listen because they’re parents? You should start listening to them though. Those “30 minutes” you say you spend on electronics do add up to those five to eight hours teens usually spend on devices.

You may be thinking, Why is this person writing about this? I have been playing videogames all day long and nothing has happened.  So far, nothing has happened. There are many symptoms to the computer vision syndrome, and this is caused by looking at a screen for long periods of time. These symptoms you might be familiar with: strained and dry eyes, blurred vision and headaches. This is worse for kids because they don’t have the discipline to limit themselves from screen time, they are mostly just playing games, and it’s not for school or work. Being on screens is an addiction, and there are some things to prove it. On average, people check their phones eight BILLION times per day! Also, thirty percent of adults spend nine hours on electronics per day. Lastly, kids ages 8-18 spend more than seven hours on electronics per day. There are reasons your parents say not to be on screens for too long, and it’s for your health.

Why screens disturb your perception is because there is a special light in the screen called blue light. Blue light is not bad for you, but if you get an overdose of it or too less of it the blue light is bad for your health. You already get natural blue light from the sun, and the blue light “decides” whether or not you need to go to sleep. Blue light is naturally in the sun, so when the sun goes down, your body says, “It’s time to go to bed!” because the blue light is not there anymore, but guess what happens when you get up to check your social media on your phone? You don’t feel drowsy anymore because your body sees the blue light. Then your body thinks the sun is still up, so you stay awake. Also, if you have constant exposure to blue light, your retinal cells will be damaged and can make long term vision problems. Your retina is something in your eye that processes light and color that we are able to see everyday. Ways you can help make blue light not as harmful are you can set limits on screen times and take breaks from the screen every ten minutes. Also, you can get glasses or new glasses lenses for screens that helps block the blue light in the screen.

Screens are becoming a bigger and bigger problem, and soon electronics will take over our lives good or bad. People need to wake up and realize this problem. Screens can affect our bodies in a good or bad way, but we just need to figure out how to use them correctly, set limits for ourselves, and work harder to reach the goal.