Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Nov 20;11(11):1408.
doi: 10.3390/children11111408.

Media Device Use and Vision Disorders in the Pediatric Age: The State of the Art

Elena Bozzola  1 , Mariangela Irrera  1 , Romie Hellmann  2 , Salvatore Crugliano  3 , Michele Fortunato  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Media Device Use and Vision Disorders in the Pediatric Age: The State of the Art

Elena Bozzola et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence is consistent with increased screen viewing time among children and adolescents, and anticipation at the age at which children interact with media devices. Incorrect use of technology, as well as overuse, may lead to serious consequences. This study aims to revise scientific international literature and to describe the potential eye risks correlated to screen viewing time in the pediatric age.

Materials and methods: A review of the literature was performed according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, using the search terms "media device" and "eye" with the filter "age 0-18".

Results: Analyzing the international literature, we found 26 articles. Pre-myopia, myopia, digital eye strain, and acute acquired comitant esotropia were listed as potential and time-related consequences associated with the incorrect use of media devices among children and adolescents.

Discussion: Family education on media device exposure and potential risk for children and adolescents' sight in case of prolonged digital/screen exposure is required. During pediatric check controls, a dialogue with families on prolonged media device use at a close distance should be undertaken. Pediatricians and ophthalmologists should consider screen viewing time in case of ocular problems.

Keywords: adolescents; children; eye; health; media device.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the selected process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barber S.E., Kelly B., Collings P.J., Nagy L., Bywater T., Wright J. Prevalence, Trajectories, and Determinants of Television Viewing Time in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Young Children from the UK. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 2016;14:88. doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0541-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kabali H.K., Irigoyen M.M., Nunez-Davis R., Budacki J.G., Mohanty S.H., Leister K.P., Bonner R.L., Jr. Exposure and Use of Mobile Media Devices by Young Children. Pediatrics. 2015;136:1044–1050. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-2151. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Duch H., Fisher E.M., Ensari I., Harrington A. Screen time use in children under 3 years old: A systematic review of correlates. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 2013;10:102. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-102. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Council on Communications and Media Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20162591. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2591. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bozzola E., Spina G., Ruggiero M., Memo L., Agostiniani R., Bozzola M., Corsello G., Villani A. Media devices in pre-school children: The recommendations of the Italian pediatric society. Ital. J. Pediatr. 2018;44:69. doi: 10.1186/s13052-018-0508-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources