Dispelling Myths: Screens, Eyes, and the Truth Behind the Hype

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My mum would always complain when we seat close to the screen as children, she would say it would make us go blind. That wasn't the only thing I heard about the screen when growing up, I also heard things like staring too long at the screen would make me nearsighted, as well as television ruining my eyes. I have heard numerous statements like this and it is very funny how we are now surrounded by screens even on the street. So are these statements proven scientifically, or are we just going to call them myths?

When we look at screens, we aren't seeing people moving up and down like we would see in a normal circumstance, rather we are seeing an illusion created by our eyes which came to being by displaying bright light with a series of still images at high speeds which make our eyes perceive them as continuous motion known as persistence of vision from fluid motions. This is common with animation. So projecting images in a quick sequence and creating motion is how videos are being made.


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Louis Le Prince in 1888 created the first video camera, but nothing much was heard about him or video cameras until 1891 when Thomas Edison made the kinetoscope which made a 16-second film for kinetoscope with looping soundtracks. In 1985, the French Lumiere brothers improved video cameras by creating films about everyday life in France.

Television in its early stages showed that TV displays were just lines of images drawn across the screen as the lines were visible (if you had a Cathode Ray (CR) tube, then you would understand). CR tube drew scanline images 1 pixel after another from top to bottom, left to right, lighting up phosphors which are in red, blue, and yellow colors creating different colors. Today, things have changed as a 1080p screen has a 1080 scan line of pixels which now gives TVs high resolution and uses more processing powers.


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Now, back to the TV causing blindness and destroying the eye statement. In 1967, General Electric recalled over 90 thousand colored TV because of a manufacturing error that gave off X-ray radiation in excess amounts. This news spread far and wide, and that would possibly be the reason my mum and a few other older people are always saying that staying close to the TV or continuously watching the TV will lead to eye defects. The FDA has since then put limits to the amount of X-radiation for TV manufacturing. Actually, Flat panel LCD screens cannot produce radiation, according to the FDA.

The American Academy of Ophthalmologists has disclosed that there is no link between TV viewing and eye damage, nor will it cause nearsightedness. Sitting close to the TV would not cause any damage to the eyes but staring for too long can cause temporary discomfort which would be corrected once you are able to step out for a while. You know, the American Academy of Ophthalmologists went on to say that there is no link between Blue light and Retina damage or age-related macular degeneration. The discomfort you feel when watching TV is similar to that you get from driving a long distance because the eyes would not want to blink causing it to become dry.

Addressing another concern, epilepsy triggered by screens is a rare occurrence. One notable instance was in Japan, where hundreds of people watching a flashing screen suffered epileptic seizures during a Pokemon episode. Such cases underscore the importance of considering photosensitivity when designing screen content.

The fear of X-radiation from flat-screen TVs is unwarranted, and there is no conclusive evidence linking extended screen exposure, close viewing, or staring to blindness. If discomfort arises, consulting a doctor or ophthalmologist is recommended. As technology advances, understanding the real risks associated with screens can empower us to make informed choices about our screen time habits.

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Most of the time, we discovered some of the things we believe in when we were little are just mere suspense and myths that are not truth

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My mum really dealt with me for siting too close to the TV and would go as far as switching it off. To prevent that, I would always sit far away from the TV but now I wonder, what gain was there sitting so close to the TV when I could see it from most distant places in the living/sitting room.

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I share your pain. My mom also used to tell me that wearing headphones would make me go deaf.

While Blue Light messes up your circadian rhythm and the production of melatonin, there's no damage to the eye unless you push It to the extreme. There would be far more people with glasses in the world If that were true.

Excellent Post.

BTW: What's really scary about CRT TVs is that the CRT tube produces up to 35000 V in some models.

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