Researchers in the United States have said that around half of the global population could need corrective lenses by 2050. According to Rochester Institute of Technology Professor, Andrew Herbert attributed the development to the development is because myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is at epidemic levels. Although increased screen time plays a role, people are developing the condition for reasons other than their phones.

“Two recent studies featuring extensive surveys of children and their parents provide strong support for the idea that an important driver of the uptick in myopia is that people are spending more time focusing on objects immediately in front of our eyes, whether a screen, a book or a drawing pad,” Herbert said.

“The more time we spend focusing on something within arm’s length of our faces, dubbed ‘near work,’ the greater the odds of having myopia,” he continued. A 2022 study out of Germany, and published on ‘BMC Better Health’, discovered sunlight plays an important role, as well. Children who didn’t spend significant time outdoors were more than four times more likely to develop myopia, reported the ‘ The Seattle Times’.

For example, East Asia has seen booming levels of industrialisation over the past 50 years, leading to more young people spending time in classrooms and less time outdoors.