DailyMail: excessive smartphone use can lead to blindness in children

Ophthalmologists are concerned that a large number of children are at risk of severely impaired vision, up to and including blindness, because of spending too much time on mobile phones, according to the DailyMail news portal.

Research shows that the number of myopia cases among children in the UK has doubled in the last 50 years. More than a quarter of children aged between 15 and 16 now suffer from myopia. Ophthalmologists attribute this to the fact that today's children spend too much time behind screens - children strain themselves looking at mobile phones up close and don't take enough time to focus on distant objects outdoors in daylight.

In extreme circumstances, myopia (nearsightedness) can lead to serious, sight-threatening complications, including blindness. However, this is rare and occurs mainly when high-grade myopia has reached a late stage called degenerative (or pathological) myopia. Myopia occurs in childhood, as a result of excessive elongation of the eyeball. This causes light entering the eye to be focused in front of the light-sensitive retina, located at the back of the eye, rather than directly on the retina. The result is blurred vision at a distance, although near vision remains clear.

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