Smartphone use in adolescents and association with ocular symptoms and binocular issues
Reviewed by Fiona Rowe

In this study, the proportion of ocular symptoms and binocular dysfunction was evaluated to determine their association with smartphone use on adolescents aged 10–19 years. This was a cross-sectional study of 123 participants (52% male, 48% female) with a mean age of 16.58 ±2.8 years. Most used smartphones every day and 90.2% used their phones in the dark. Glasses were worn by 50.4% of which nearly 60% experienced a frequent change in prescription. Only five (4%) were asymptomatic. The remainder had a mean of 2.67 ±1.10 number of symptoms. The ocular symptom score (OSS) was 0–2 (37.4%), 3–4 (57.7%) or 5–7 (4.9%). Of those with symptoms, significantly more used phones in the dark. Three quarters complained of eyestrain. The number of participants reporting symptoms was directly proportional and statistically significant to daily phone usage. Near point of convergence was highest with longer phone use and low accommodative convergence over accommodation (AC/A) ratio with longer phone use. Near point of accommodation was within normal ranges for most participants. The authors conclude that higher duration of phone use over two hours per day is associated with various ocular symptoms and binocular dysfunction. They recommend further research to evaluate this association in more detail.

Association of smartphone use, ocular symptoms and binocular dysfunction in adolescents: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.
Sharma S, Singh A, Agrawal A, et al.
STRABISMUS
2024;32(4):279–86.