DNA Special: What is Computer Vision Syndrome? Know cause, 20-20-20 rule for screen time

This news is for everyone who checks WhatsApp updates, Instagram feeds, Facebook posts etc on their mobiles before sleeping. Imagine if you switched off the lights and then started checking your mobile before going to sleep and suddenly you are unable to see. This has happened in reality. This was the daily routine of a 30-year-old woman from Hyderabad. And suddenly one night it became difficult for her to see anything, not just the mobile. Doctors have named this problem Computer Vision Syndrome. The list of diseases caused by watching the screen for hours is very long but the most affected are our eyes.

According to the estimates of the Ophthalmology Department of AIIMS, even in school children, due to being glued to the mobile screen, the light is gradually decreasing. In the AIIMS assessment done in 2015, myopia was seen in 10 percent of school children, but by 2050, about half of India's children, about 40 percent, would have been victims of myopia. In this disease, near objects are clearly visible but distant objects appear blurred.

Do you know why this happens? At home, parents often tell you not to watch TV from close quarters. Eyesight will become weak. In fact, if you keep focusing on nearby things like a mobile, book or TV screen for a long time, then the distant vision starts getting blurred, the habit of focusing the eyes at a distance decreases.

When even the Prime Minister of India has to advise that children should cut down on screen time, then you can understand how big the problem would have become. Recently, in the Mann Ki Baat program, PM Modi advised children to reduce screen time.

However, it is not only about children. Most people make the excuse that mobile phones have become necessary due to work, then the survey of a mobile phone manufacturing company is exposing everyone's secrets. According to this survey of Vivo company, of the people who are spending time on the phone:

- 76 percent people are using these sites to view photos and videos

- 72 percent use social media to connect with old friends

- 68 percent use social media sites to watch news

- 66 percent of people use the phone for entertainment.

After the coronavirus period, when offline classes started instead of online, many children who reached the school could not clearly see the words written on the whiteboard. After receiving a complaint from the school, the parents of the children came to know that their eyesight is getting weak. In the language of science, this disease of the eyes is called myopia. The biggest problem of myopia is that the light gradually decreases and after a long time there is a danger of blindness.

Although now such smart lenses are available in the market which can slow down the rate of weakening of vision in children of 5 to 16 years of age, these glasses come in the price of 50-60 thousand.

In India, 34% of people above the age of 45 have poor eyesight. According to the estimates of the Department of Ophthalmology, AIIMS, by 2050, 40 percent of children in India will have weak eyesight. It is useless to advise India glued to the screen of mobile, laptop or tab to stay away from the screen. But according to doctors, the bigger the screen, the less the problem.

Doctors advise us to keep focusing on distant things intermittently. The 20-20-20 formula can prove to be effective for those who use the screen for a long time. 

What is the 20-20-20 rule?

How much to watch mobile, so that there is no harm to the eyes. There is no formula for this. According to the Ophthalmology Department of AIIMS, do not stick to the mobile screen for more than 2 hours in the whole day and every 20 minutes a break is necessary. Earlier, we used to blink 15 to 16 times in a minute but forgot to blink due to being engrossed in the screen and now blink only 6 to 7 times in a minute.