We talk a lot about the importance of eye health, and the impact of screens and tech on vision, but we rarely directly compare the two. At the unveiling of an educational exhibit called “The Eye” Thursday (which is exactly what it sounds like — a giant prototype of a human eyeball), the American Optometric Association made the case that we should be valuing our eyesight’s capabilities with equal interest as the latest camera or OS update.
There are similarities between the human eye and tech we’re familiar with. For example, the AOA says that the human eye has 576 megapixels, which is multiple times more than what’s found on a solid smartphone camera. As another example, the lens of the eye actually functions like a camera, bringing things into focus; it hardens and becomes less flexible as we age, which is what causes the nearly inevitable age-related blurry vision. And there’s the link between tech use and digital eye strain, which are a constellation of temporary symptoms from staring at a screen, including dry eye, blurred vision, headache and more.
Optometrists are using The Eye prototype to prompt people to get eye exams, but the unveiling really highlighted room for future research on technology’s impact on vision.
Through The Eye, built for display in New York this weekend, the AOA also seems to be positioning the eye’s likeness to tech as a tool of sorts to remind people to go in for eye exams, which is a good idea for most people at least once a year. But most notable was how the giant eyeball prototype, and all the tech buzz around it, also called attention to a lack of long-term research around consumer technology’s impact on vision health — at least compared to the growth of tech itself and the amount of time it demands from our eyes.
Judner Aura, a tech reviews content creator and panelist at The Eye’s unveiling, called attention to the lack of education around vision health, adding that he’s looking forward to “increased language” around vision health and consumer technology.
But for adults who spend hours upon hours with their smartphones, computers, tablets and TVs, there really isn’t research linking technology use to long-term vision problems. Claims around eye health and screens tend to be speculative or meant to make you buy something. That leaves it mostly up to consumers to decide how their eyes feel on a daily basis, to stay on top of general eye exams to make sure they’re not missing an underlying health condition and to wait patiently for more long-term information about vision health and tech.
The “pearl necklace” is one pattern an eye doctor may see deep in the eye during an exam that indicates a health problem. Other potentially problematic patterns, such as an onion, were also made into metallic displays at the AOA’s The Eye pop-up.
What’s the real impact of long-term tech use on eyes? ‘Jury’s still out’
Fewer things have been more confusing in the vision health world than the impact of blue light on our eyes. There is currently no evidence supporting the benefit of blue light-blocking glasses for eye health, for example, though some people anecdotally report them as useful or relaxing, especially at night.
And while there is research showing potential for lasting eye damage with exposure to blue light, it’s at much higher doses than what we get through tech and screens. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation sums up the current thinking about blue light from tech as “contradictory and inconclusive.” While there is research that “definitively” supports wearing sunglasses to protect against the sun’s UV rays, for example, the same can’t be said for light from tech.
At The Eye event, optometrist and AOA panelist Dr. Belinda Starkey said that research is ongoing into the long-term impacts of technology on eye health.
“The jury’s still out,” she added.
Consumer tech has made some moves in the vision health space. Apple, for example, has added a dash of vision health within the limits of available research with a setting that’ll alert you when your phone or tablet is too close to your face, which may cause eye strain. It also has a feature for the Apple Watch that measures time spent in daylight, which is important for kids since there is an identified link between developing eyes and time spent outdoors versus time spent indoors and risk of myopia (nearsightedness).
The designer behind The Eye prototype, Sebastian Arrieta, has a lot of experience designing with the eye in mind. He’s worked on mixed reality headsets including the Magic Leap. Whatever comes of future research into vision or tech, he points back to our advanced visual system and says we should never take our built-in tech for granted.
“We have the best tech,” Arrieta said.
If you’re in the New York City area, you can view The Eye exhibit for free at 39 Wooster St., New York, now through Sunday.
