The dangers associated with near-constant access to a smartphone are well-publicised by now, but the focus usually rests on cyberbullying and decreased concentration levels - what about the physical impact?
This, too, could be very serious – particularly as health experts in South Korea were recently able to establish a link between the overuse of smartphones and young children going cross-eyed.
In a recent study, doctors at Seoul’s Chonham National University Hospital found that children who used their mobile phones excessively throughout the day were more susceptible to developing convergent strabismus – a condition whereby the eye moves inwards until it crosses over.
In the study, doctors examined a group of children aged between seven and 16, who used their phones between four and eight hours a day, and held them at a distance of eight to 12 inches from their faces.
Out of the total number of kids who developed convergent strabismus, 75% had the effects successfully reversed (by banning their phones for two months) – a statistic that experts have used to establish the link.
In the wake of the study findings, the doctors have recommended that kids do not look at their phone screens for more than 30 minutes at a time.
