Do mobile phones ruin your vision?

First it was reading too many books, then it was watching too much television. After that came excessive hours spent in front of computer screens, and now mobile phones are often blamed.

Many reasons have been given for rising rates of short-sightedness over the years, but it turns out one time-worn piece of advice for avoiding the need to wear glasses could still hold true – spend more time outdoors.

A senior research fellow at the Lions Eye Institute in Perth has been crunching the numbers from one of the biggest surveys on human health to find out why the world is experiencing an epidemic of myopia.

Using data collected from 600 young adults participating in the Raine Study, Dr Samantha Sze-Yee Lee set out to find which types of digital screens contributed most to the onset of poor long-distance vision.

The results of her study, a joint project between Lions Eye Institute – a leading private provider of ophthalmology services – and the University of Western Australia, revealed the main cause to be computer screens rather than mobile phones or tablets.

"The reason for this difference may be due to a phenomenon called 'peripheral defocus'," Dr Lee said.

"When you look at your mobile phone, everywhere in our peripheral vision, with the exception of the small phone screen, is further away and relatively blurred.

"The brain registers things are generally far away and there is no need for the eye to become more short-sighted."

Dr Lee found that short-sightedness worsened faster in those who reported six or more hours per day of computer usage compared to those with low computer use, while time spent on mobile phones did not have any effect.

"When you focus on a large screen such as a desktop computer, more of our peripheral vision is taken by the screen," she said.

"The brain sees that more short-distance work is involved, triggering the eyes to become more short-sighted."

Dr Lee said it was important to understand what raises the chances of becoming short-sighted, because myopia is associated with increased risk of future eye problems such as glaucoma and retinal degeneration.

Nearly half the world's population is expected to be near-sighted by 2050, and studies have shown that myopia rates increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So what can people do to reduce their likelihood of developing the condition?

Children should be outside at least 90 minutes every day to help prevent myopia from developing and progressing, according to Optometry Australia.

"In this day and age, it is almost impossible to avoid digital screens," Dr Lee said.

"Mobile phones can easily be used outdoors, as opposed to laptops and desktop computers, and spending more time outdoors is known to be protective against myopia."

Launched in Perth in 1989, the Raine Study has become one of the world's longest-running records of human health from pregnancy through childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

"It is hoped the findings will help scientists develop techniques to mitigate the detrimental impact of computer screens on eyesight," Dr Lee said of her study's learnings from the Raine cohort.

Lions Eye colleague Dr Jessica Mountford is leading a ground-breaking study which aims to improve methods of identifying children at risk of early-onset myopia and to develop treatment and prevention plans.

"Without urgent intervention, myopia will become one of the world's leading causes of permanent blindness,"said Dr Mountford, the institute's Brian King Fellow and the Head of the Functional Molecular Vision Group.

She has already established Western Australia's first zebrafish ocular disease research group.

"Both genetics and environmental factors contribute to myopia progression, and we're studying how that interaction occurs using zebrafish as a model of refractive error," Dr Mountford said.

"Zebrafish are a powerful tool for learning more about myopia as their development is rapid, their eyes are large, and by five days old their retina is very comparable to a human retina."

Read more: Celebrating 40 years of expanding vision

Read more: Anna Sheehan – Lions Eye Institute

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