Ever since I was a teenager, my parents consistently told me that I should reduce my screen time because the blue light emitted from my electronic screens would increase my chances of macular degeneration and permanent eye damage. So, I was curious and wondered, how much harm am I actually putting myself in? I took to Google and started reading many media articles which gave me contradicting information, so I questioned who was right and who was wrong.
It is known that blue light suppresses the production of melatonin which would lead to the disruption of ones’ circadian rhythm, making it more difficult for a person to fall asleep at night.
“Person looking at smartphone in the dark” by Japanexperterna.se is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
However, there are multiple reports saying that an increased exposure of blue light can also speed up blindness. According to an optical chemistry study at the University of Toledo, blue light exposure can transform a vital molecule for sensing light in the eye, retinal, into a poisonous chemical molecules in the photoreceptor cell, inducing cell death. This study was highly covered by multiple media outlets. For example, USA Today covered this study stating, “Blue light from phones, tablets could accelerate blindness and hurt vision, study finds” and the Independent said, “blue light from screens on devices such as laptops and smartphones causes blindness.” These articles used confusing wording and jargon to manipulate and possibly confuse their readers.
The way this study was presented, media outlets could easily mislead a general, non-expert audience to believe that blue light from our electronic devices are causing damage to our eyes. Rather this study shows how blue light has the potential to cause cell death in photoreceptors, such as retinal, which we need to see.
A post on the researcher’s website announced that their findings in this study, “does not show that light from digital devices causes blindness.”
This study does not use actual human eyeballs as part of their study. Instead this study is a start for research investigating an association between blue light from mobile devices and accelerating blindness.
There is no scientific proof that supports that blue light emitted from electronic devices accelerates the rate of blindness. The study conducted by the research team only gives insight into effects of blue light on cultured photoreceptor cells, but the media took these results and distorted the fact by trying to directly link blue light to the light emitted off our devices and the photoreceptor cells to those related to our sight. Therefore, the media misrepresented the fact that blue light causes cell death with the idea that using electronic screens causes accelerated blindness.
This video explains what is currently known about the effects on our vision when we stare at various screens for extensive hours. It also emphasizes on the fact that there is not enough scientific studies to suggest that blue light is harmful for the eye:
“How to save your eyes from screens” by The Verge
-Katherine Lam
