Any opticians about ? Do phones / screens damage your eyesight ?

[opalplumstead]

DS (16) has worn glasses since he was 11, started off a very low prescription so I wasn't concerned

However he's recently had an eye test and needs new glasses. I'm really worried as his latest prescription is almost as high as mine and I'm 41 and VERY short sighted. (-6 and -7)

I worry that all the screens kids go on these days have an impact on eyesight. So I'm looking for any wise words from any opticians here to find out if a) it's true and b) If so is there anything I can do to try and help lessen the impact of it? other than confiscating his phone for 23 hours of the day and c) is this a really terrible prescription for a young person? Optician didn't seem phased

We do try and limit it as much as possible already particularly with the younger ones. But the older dc seem to do a lot of their socialising online / ie what's app , tiktok etc so they do spend a fair amount of time on phones / tablets.

"Back then adults used to worry that reading books too much was the cause."

I thought this had recently been proved right?

@Zztop I lived in HK for years and virtually everyone wore glasses. I thought it was due to too much studying. I'm really short sighted & I used to read for hours at night when young from the light from the lamp post outside my window.
So I asked an optician recently and he said the latest research shows that it's important to read outside under natural light. The Asian countries are so hot & bright that it's difficult to do that.
However I'm sure that it's a little more complex than just that.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Back then adults used to worry that reading books too much was the cause."

I thought this had recently been proved right?

Quite possibly with mild prescriptions.

I doubt it's what caused me to go from perfect vision to unable to see the blackboard from the front of the classroom within a month, or the OP's son's fairly strong prescription.

NHS says it is caused by

Genes

Too little time outdoors

Too much close work like reading or screens

@Gwenhwyfar

"Back then adults used to worry that reading books too much was the cause."

I thought this had recently been proved right?

This is totally depressing !!

I absolutely love reading I am a total bookworm 😔 have been since eek learned to read as a child.
that's crap if that's what's made me have shitty eyes.

It won't be ds's reason as I think he's allergic to books lol

Since I learned to read - bloody autocorrect

As far as I remember I dropped 5-6 points throughout my teens, then stabilised at -9/-10 in my early 20's.
I was told deterioration of eyesight often happens when you have a growth spurt. The same thing happened to me. Similar to how your eyesight can change and contact lenses no longer fit properly when you're pregnant.