Heavy smartphone use is making children cross-eyed - study

Study

Mark O'Beirne

April 22 2016 11:45 AM

A South Korean study has linked excessive smartphone use to convergent strabismus, a condition that causes people to go cross-eyed.

A study in South Korea warns that excessive use of smartphones by children is causing them to go cross-eyed.

Doctors at Chonnam National University Hospital in Seoul have found a link between the heavy use of smartphones and convergent strabismus, a condition that sees a person’s eyes slowly moving inwards until the person is eventually cross-eyed.

Speaking to Yonhap News, the researchers said that the condition is becoming more prevalent in children when it had previously been quite rare. The South Korean study was based on 12 children aged between 7 and 16 who used smartphones for between 4 and 8 hours a day.

The doctors found that they were able to reverse this effect in nine of the children by banning them from using smartphones for two months. This, they say, proves the link between excessive smartphone usage and the condition.

The study also found that the children held smartphones too close to their face. During the study, it was noted that the children were holding smartphones eight to twelve inches from their face.

Samsung recently released an app to help prevent eye strain when using smartphones and tablets. Reducing the risk of convergent strabismus seems like another worthy reason to install it.