THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME ON MYOPIA PREVALENCE

Abstract

While the impact of cell phone screens on myopia over time is still unknown, there has been literature that might suggest a possible connection. This thesis examines the idea that increased screen time over the last few decades has had an impact on the prevalence and increased myopia over time. It first investigates how different parts of the visual pathway work and how myopia plays a role in disrupting the typical visual pathway. It then assesses the current literature available regarding studies that may lend some similarities to the relationship between cell phone usage and myopia. The thesis finds that while there are studies that suggest a possible linkage between cell phone screen time and myopia, there is still no concrete evidence that there is a link between the two. More research still needs to be done to verity that there is a positive correlation between the prevalence of myopia and the amount of daily screen time experienced.