#Children’s vision worsened during the pandemic: study

The pandemic increased Americans’ screen time — and deteriorated their eyesight. 

Doctors are reporting a disturbing trend of children having significantly worse vision post-pandemic, and the cause is believed to be the rise in screen time use during the lockdown. 

“We know that focusing up close and not being outside has increased the rate of myopia,” Julia A. Haller, the ophthalmologist-in-chief at Philadelphia’s Wills Eye Hospital, told the Wall Street Journal, referring to the uptick in reports of nearsightedness in minors. “There’s been a huge impact from the pandemic.”

In a study published this January in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, researchers in China found that children six to eight were three times more likely to have nearsightedness during the pandemic than they were in the previous five years. They based their findings on data from 120,000 homebound children. 

As a result of the upsetting health trend, more kids are needing glasses.

“We’re seeing a big jump in their prescriptions,” pediatric ophthalmologist Allison Babiuch told the Journal of the rate of children coming to her Cleveland, Ohio clinic with complaints of worsened vision. 

The recent findings are being taken into consideration by educators considering hybrid remote learning programs and policies. “Increasing screen time is usually accompanied with a lack of outdoor time and more sedentary lifestyle. The more time children are inside reading, studying and using their electronic device(s), the less natural light the eye is receiving to develop properly,” American Optometric Association president William T. Reynolds told Bloomberg of the drawbacks of digital learning in an email. 

For concerned parents looking to minimize the impact of unavoidable screentime for their kids, Dr. Babiuch recommends the 20/20/20 rule. This, she explained to the Journal, involves taking 20-second breaks looking 20 feet away after every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen. Blinking more, she said, can also be beneficial.