COVID-19: Too much screen time can hurt kids’ eyes: specialistBy Liao Hsueh-ju and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerRemote learning can place increased strain on children’s eyes and parents should supervise the amount of time they spend in front of a screen during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Hsinchu-based ophthalmologist said. Taiwan’s level 3 COVID-19 alert means that schools nationwide remain closed and have shifted to online classes. Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山), a doctor at China Medical University Hospital’s Hsinchu Branch, said that he recently treated a high-school student whose sight declined from minus-1.5 to minus-3.5 diopters since the COVID-19 outbreak began. A student looks at a tablet screen while participating in an online class in Taipei on June 1. Resting the eyes means not using devices with screens, especially cellphones, which have a smaller screen than computers and are more tiring on the eyes, he said.

Source: Taipei Times June 12, 2021 15:56 UTC