Fact:

Contrary to this popular belief that has been passed down to most of us, sitting in front of a screen, regardless of the distance to it, will not harm our vision. The worst thing that hours in front of a screen could cause are eyestrains, which result in pain or aches around the eyes or head. Eyestrain is simply our eyes being tired, much like our bodies get tired or sore after intense physical work or carrying heavy loads. Apart from watching digital screens, other activities which require our eyes to be focused such as reading and driving also cause this eyestrain. Mistaking this eyestrain for a loss of vision implies that basically everyone has poor eyesight.

The myth of the danger of sitting too close to the television may have emerged way back when the first television sets were introduced into households. As televisions emit radiation, or electromagnetic fields, the earliest models emitted much more radiation than TVs today. Staying far from the TV in the 1950s was a sensible decision. Some of the models used today emit no radiation whatsoever. Regardless of the amount of radiation, any radiation in television sets would generally be released from the back rather than the front. It is therefore unlikely for it to cause any direct physical harm, let alone damage to the eyes or vision.

Eyestrains from digital screens can cause dry eyes, watery eyes, or itchy eyes. In some cases they might even make one’s vision blurry and bring on subsequent headaches. These symptoms are temporary however and can be alleviated after adequate rest away from these screens. In no way do they contribute a direct deterioration of vision. In fact, it is not the screen that leads to the weakening of eyes, but rather weak eyes that exacerbate the response to long exposure. People with poor eyesight are more prone to this strain than people with normal vision. Other factors such as the conditions of the air, whether too dry or too humid, and stress and fatigue, can also contribute to strains in the eye.