Mobile Phones and perils of modern day living – Part 1

As a pediatric ophthalmologist I was used to families sometimes showing up late, often citing traffic or delay in finding public transport. When Amaya’s family came in almost an hour late for their first appointment, I was quite irritated. Amaya was 5 years old and had come to the clinic with both parents. While they apologized for the delay, I quizzed them about what happened and why they were seeing me.

Parents told me that they had a tough time waking her up as she was a poor sleeper and went to bed well past midnight. They also suspected that she may have some ‘eye power’ because she was taking the mobile phone too close to her face.

Alarm bells went off in my head when I heard about mobile phone usage. I started asking for more details about gadget use. Parents were both working and away the whole day. Amaya was left in the care of her grandparents and a babysitter. The phone use started with showing her videos to coax her to eat, and slowly became an addiction. She started throwing tantrums, asking for the phone before bedtime. They had consoled themselves that this was perhaps the case in every household with working parents and frankly felt helpless. Upon further questioning, parents also worried that she was making less eye contact and not engaging in conversation ever since the mobile phone exposure had increased.

They had consoled themselves that this was perhaps the case in every household with working parents and frankly felt helpless. Upon further questioning, parents also worried that she was making less eye contact and not engaging in conversation ever since the mobile phone exposure had increased.

I examined Amaya and noticed her eyes looked tired and lackluster. She was blinking her eyes frequently, and the tear lake looked diminished. It is well known that excessive gadget use (smartphones, tablets, laptops, and television) can lead to dry eyes in children, making them blink frequently or rub their eyes.

I completed her eye examination and found that Amaya’s refractive error was -1.50 in both eyes, confirming that she had myopia. Neither parent had a family history of glasses wear. Amaya hardly ever stepped out to play and spent most of her post-school hours glued to her smartphone. In addition, she had dry eyes.

There have been several studies linking smartphone use in children to the early onset of myopia. Not only does myopia or nearsightedness start early, but it also progresses at a faster rate.

Children who are on smartphones excessively are also at risk for developing a sudden onset inward turning of the eyes (esotropia), which is difficult to treat, necessitating the use of injections in the eye or even surgery to manage the condition.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, and the introduction of gadgets for online classes, an increase in digital eye strain was also reported in children who are using gadgets for many hours a day.

Are all the effects of excessive gadget use only on the eyes, or are there greater concerns?

More on the greater perils of gadget use in Part 2