When we talk about unplugging, detoxing and setting time limits these days, we’re no longer referring to cables, dieting or deadlines. The way we describe our relationships with technology suggests we’re being plagued by the endless scrolling and the constant notification in our digital lives.
On average, Americans spend 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones every day, a 2025 report from health data management firm Harmony Healthcare IT found. And yet, more than half, 53 percent, say they want to cut down on phone usage.
The consequences of screen addiction are most often associated with feelings of anxiety and depression, raising serious concerns about the mental health toll of being online. But the physical impacts are just as real. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans said they experienced phone-related health issues in the last year—the most common issue being eye strain, a condition that was reported in more than 4 in 10 Americans.
“Being in the digital age, we’re increasingly surrounded by screens. Even in school, instead of learning how to write on paper, [kids] are just typing on their iPads or laptops,” ophthalmologist Dr. Bryan M. Kim told Newsweek.
Although prolonged screen usage isn’t directly linked to a higher risk of serious eye conditions, it’s increasingly associated with higher rates of myopia, or nearsightedness. Today in the U.S., it’s estimated that more than 40 percent of the population, roughly 130 million people, are nearsighted.
“That’s a sharp increase from 50 years ago, when about 25 percent [of the population] were nearsighted,” Kim said.
Myopia, however, can greatly advance the risk of other eye issues that are much more severe. Kim—the No. 2 retina surgeon in the U.S., according to Newsweek‘s America’s Leading Doctors 2025 ranking—said that nearsighted individuals are five to six times more likely to experience retinal detachment. They’re also at a higher risk of glaucoma, which can cause enough damage to require surgery, and a higher risk of early cataract formation.
“There are a lot of ways that increased use of screens impact ocular health,” Kim warned.
While myopia is a bigger concern for children because their eyes are still developing, screen use can also be an issue for adults. To avoid suffering from eye strain or dry eye, Kim recommends that his patients, even the older ones, take a break from their devices every 20 minutes. That can mean closing their eyes for just a minute or trying to focus on something far away, pretty much anything that does not involve looking at a glowing screen.
“We call it digital dry eye,” Dr. Nicole R. Fram, the No. 3 ranked cataract surgeon in America, told Newsweek.
Fram explained that tear film—the thin fluid that covers the surface of your eye—is the first thing that light rays hit. So, the lubrication provided by the tear film is essential to your vision. However, if someone stares at a screen too long and isn’t regularly blinking, their eyes are not stimulating the system that makes tears.
Dr. Timothy P. Page, the nation’s fifth-ranked cataract surgeon, told Newsweek it’s the same outcome that would stem from “staring at a brick wall all day long.”
“If you’re not blinking and staring at fine detail or anything up close, that interferes with the blink reflex,” Page said. “We definitely see more complaints related to computer use, but it’s not that the computer is actually doing anything bad to the eye, it’s just that staring at something up close for so long, for so many hours a day, causes eye strain and dry eye.”
Still, he noted that with the increase in screen time, “dry eye disease has really become more of an issue than it was 20 or 30 years ago.”
One of the biggest surgical concerns that come with evaporating tear film is that it could lead to negative consequences for a patient in recovery.
“Treating dry eye prior to cataract surgery allows you to get better measurements and to know what to put in the eye,” Fram said. “It also allows you to have a better result after surgery because you have a healthier ocular surface for light rays to be focused on.”
Fram emphasized that even though tech usage doesn’t cause cataracts, “it’s very important to be aware of your digital screen time.”
“You want to take breaks, and you want to do active blinking because it can affect your ultimate outcome from refractive surgery, if you’re younger, or refractive cataract surgery when you’re older,” she said.
Other best practices Fram recommends to her patients include eating green leafy vegetables and unsaturated fats, which help support photoreceptors and tear film, respectively. She said patients can also take omega-3 supplements to help with overall eye health, use warm compresses and keep their eyelids clean from bacteria.
Page also suggests that patients protect their eyes from UV rays, whether by limiting exposure or wearing sunglasses, and regularly see an eye specialist to monitor for issues like chronic dry eye, glaucoma and macular degeneration.
“Ocular health is an important, but sometimes neglected, part of our overall health,” Kim said. “Sometimes an eye exam can pick up undetected diabetes or high blood pressure or other systemic diseases.”
The post How Digital Screens Harm Your Eyes—and Simple Ways to Protect Them appeared first on Newsweek.
