In this era of smartphones and mobile devices, many parents resort to entertaining their kids by giving them a gadget. However, there have been numerous studies done on this issue where it has been proven that excessive usage of smartphones and similar gadgets are actually bad for kids. Not to mention adults too!
This 2015 case from Hsinchu, Taiwan involving a boy who was then 15 years old is a good example that you should NOT allow your child to have too much screen time. According to TWGreat Daily, the boy’s parents had exposed him to electrical gadgets since he was five years old.
All was fine and good but in 2015, the boy started experiencing pain in his eyes and splitting headaches as well. It got so bad that when he was experiencing headaches, he would be rolling on the ground in pain. Afraid that something was terribly wrong with him, the teen was sent for a medical check-up to the neurologist but they didn’t find anything abnormal.
He was sent for an eye examination next as he had also complained that his eye sockets were painful. To the doctor’s surprise, he discovered that the teen’s ciliary muscles were very weak for his age. After a detailed examination, the doctor said that the boy’s eyes were deteriorating and the current condition of his eyes was similar to a person who is in their fifties. He was also diagnosed with presbyopia, which is rather rare in teens as their ciliary muscles are usually rather elastic.
The doctor explained that based on his examination, the boy’s ciliary muscles had almost lost their regulating function. He questioned the boy further and found out that he had been using electronic devices and playing video games for the past 10 years, even playing for more than 10 hours sometimes.
This led to the deterioration of the boy’s eyes and the doctor said that he had chronically overused his eyes, which caused his cerebrum to be hurt as well. The doctor advised parents to control their kids from using too much of their smartphones and gadgets as it is bad for their physical and emotional health.
Take note, parents and cut down on your child’s screen time on their gadgets!
Also read: 10yo Boy Suffers from Bowel Problems After Playing Games More Than 8 Hours Straight