EYE FOCUS | NEWS
Survey
highlights
link between
screen time,
dry eye
By Denis Langlois
Canadians spend an average of 11
hours each day looking at smart-
phone, tablet, television and other
screens, while Millennials spend
even more time on digital devices
at 13 hours daily, according to a new
survey by the Canadian-owned re-
search firm Leger.
The survey of 1,500 people, commis-
sioned by Alcon Canada, is intended
to shine a light on the link between
excess screen time and digital eye
strain, which is believed to be a form
of evaporative dry eye, according to
Nelson DaSilva, senior brand man-
ager – dry eye at Alcon Canada.
“Alcon Canada wanted to find out
just how many hours Canadians are
spending on screens then share the
implications it could have on the
quality of their vision and how it can
contribute to dry eye,” DaSilva tells
Optical Prism.
16 EYE FOCUS December Digital 2019
“Highlighting digital eye strain was
extremely important in terms of en-
couraging Canadians to proactively
treat or take steps toward preventing
dry eye.”
The study found that Canadians aged
18 to 34 are spending an average of
13.1 hours on screens, compared to
adults over age 64 who spend 8.4
hours on average viewing screens.
Leger’s research also discovered that
people in British Columbia self-
reported spending the most time on
screens, at 11.2 hours per day, followed
by Ontario at 11.1 hours and Manitoba
and Saskatchewan at 10.9 hours.
Respondents said they spend the
most time on computer screens -
about 4.2 hours daily on average
- followed by about 3.1 hours each
day looking at television screens, 2.4
hours viewing cell phones and 1.5
hours daily looking at tablets.
The Leger survey found that two-
thirds of Canadians say their eyes get
tired from looking at a screen, other-
wise known as digital eye strain.
Digital eye strain is among the largest
contributing factors towards dry eye,
a condition that affects up to 25 per
cent of Canadians and occurs when
the eyes don’t produce enough tears
or when they produce tears without
the proper quality.
“Dry eye is becoming one of the most
common patient complaints I see as
an optometrist,” says Dr. Judy Parks,
optometrist at the Ancaster Eye Clinic.
“More and more, I’m seeing patients
in my clinic who are suffering from
sore, tired eyes and blurry vision.
They come in thinking they need to
adjust their glasses prescription, but
in many cases, they’re actually suf-
fering from dry eye due to the hours
they’re spending in front of screens,