Assessing the Impact of Prolonged Screen Time on Ophthalmic Health among Students: A Post-COVID-19 Study in Pakistan

Abstract

Human beings heavily rely on the sense of sight, as sight mainly controls approximately 80% of our perception. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students had to take their online classes by using different electronic devices. By not following the proper instructions to use these devices, primary students faced eyesight issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Low Vision is a commonly diagnosed issue in ophthalmology in Pakistan. Therefore, the current study is a survey-based research. For this purpose, a population of 100 primary students was gathered who took online classes during the pandemic and developed eyesight issues after their online classes. Based on statistical analysis, the logistic regression model was used to analyze the eyesight issues among the primary students considering several variables including gender, age, distance with devices, duration of using the devices, and analyzing previous eyesight issues. The findings indicated that male students have a more chance of developing eyesight issues than female students. Hence, it was deduced that female students who used their devices from a distance of more than 16 inches for less than 3 hours had the least possibility of developing any eyesight issues.